DSC01696Did you start to drool when you read the title? If you didn’t, I can only imagine that you are deathly allergic to the cheese or perhaps eggs. I can’t take any credit, though, as this beautiful concept came from Kate over at Food Babbles. Her blog was my May Secret Recipe Club assignment. Boy, did it want to make me bake! Cheddar Walnut Sables, Plum Macaroons, Carrot Apple Spice Muffins…

I eventually landed on these cornmeal muffins because I thought they would convert to a gluten-free recipe fairly well, and they did. The tang of the goat cheese and buttermilk complemented the earthiness of the sage and sweetness of the onions. They basically had little flavor bombs every other bite, and may be one of the best muffins I’ve ever eaten. I doubled the recipe (why not? breakfast for the week!), forgot the sugar, and switched out the fresh sage for dried. If only I had my herb garden up and going…

I definitely prefered them warm, particularly because the crumbles of goat cheese inspired enough food safety concerns that I kept them in the fridge. I can easily imagine these served beside an egg-based brunch, asparagus, a simple green salad, or a mild vegetable soup.

Carmelized Onion & Goat Cheese Cornmeal Muffins

1 large onion, diced
2 T oil, for cooking
1 1/3 c yellow cornmeal
1 c buttermilk
1/2 c amaranth flour
2 T ground golden flaxseeds
1/3 c potato starch
4 t baking powder
1 heaping T dried sage
2 large eggs
6 T canola oil
6 oz crumbled goat cheese

Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until caramelized and browned around the edges. Set aside. While the onions cook, mix together the buttermilk and cornmeal in a medium bowl. (I like to soak cornmeal for a bit before using– anywhere from 20 minutes to overnight. Keep it in the fridge if you soak for much longer than 20 minutes.)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line muffin tins with papers (I ended up with 12 full sized muffins and 12 mini muffins).

In a small bowl or pyrex measuring cup, mix together the amaranth flour, flaxseeds, potato starch, baking powder, and sage.

Beat the eggs, oil, and onions into the buttermilk-cornmeal mixture. Lightly stir in the dry ingredients. Finally, fold in the onions and goat cheese. Spoon into the muffin tins. Bake 18-20 minutes until lightly golden. Move the muffins to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Then serve warm or at room temperature.

For those not familiar with the secret recipe club, it’s a group of bloggers who exchange blogs once a month and select a recipe to make. It’s a great way to explore food you wouldn’t ordinarily think of yourself. To see what else our bloggers made this month, click on the blue froggie.