Sunday, September 27, 2009

SMS: Caramelized Onion, Sage and Cheese Muffins


I will admit, I wasn't terribly excited about these muffins. Especially after reading about others slightly blah results. After making a few changes, though, these are the best savory muffins I have ever eaten. They were unbelievable!


I made a 1/2 recipe because my sage plant has been so picked over, all I could get off of it was 1 tablespoon and I didn't want them to be sage-poor like these cornbread muffins were. Tracey told me not to skimp on the spices, but the spices were cayenne and black pepper - too spicy for my little one. I knew I had to compensate somehow to add some flavor to these muffins. The first thing I did was to brown the butter. I know, I know, do I ever make anything without brown butter? I'm obsessed with it, and it really adds another dimension to baked goods, so I just couldn't help myself. I also added 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (remember, this was for 1/2 recipe), and took the sugar out entirely. The recipe calls for sharp cheddar, which we usually keep around, but we were out so I used what we did have: jack and parmesan.

I absolutely loved these muffins. They smelled divine while baking, and tasted divine once they were out. The coriander was a perfect complement to the caramelized onions, sage and cheese. These are a wonderful beginning-of-fall treat, and I'm sure they'll be making several appearances throughout the chilly seasons to come.


Thanks to Hanaa of Hanaa's Kitchen for choosing these muffins for all of us to bake. They were a wonderfully delicious surprise! Visit Hanaa's blog for the original recipe, and take a look here to see what the other SMS ladies came up with this week.

17 comments:

  1. How wonderful that they ended up being a hit for you after not really wanting to bake them! I love cooking experiences like that. Your muffins look great and loved how you changed the recipe to fit your needs!

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  2. Browning the butter sounds like a great change to this recipe. Great looking muffins.

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  3. I love your changes Sarah and I'm so glad they were a hit for you! I'm going to try them again once I finish this batch (I stuck most of mine in the freezer) and try some of your ideas. Your muffins are gorgeous - great pics!

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  4. Love your changes. These look amazing!

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  5. glad you liked them! i loved these :D

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  6. They look amazing! So glad you liked that!

    Katie xox

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  7. I love the changes you made to these! I didn't bake SMS this week. Now I am wishing I had!!

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  8. I wasnt excited about this one either. Your changes make it sound really good though. Your muffins look perfect!

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  9. I'm glad you ended making these after all. Beurre noisette sounds like an excellent substitute for "plain" melted butter. Love the addition of the ground coriander. It adds a lemony kind of flavor. Yum.

    Thanks for baking with me this week!

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  10. Browned butter and coriander sound like amazing additions to these muffins. I love browned butter, but I never think of using it, I need a post it note in my kitchen that says: browned butter. I'm glad that you liked these!

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  11. How yummy...parm and jack cheese! Your muffins look great!

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  12. So many of us were worried about these muffins and then pleasantly surprised. I love your flavor combination and your muffins look perfect!

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  13. Hey Sarah, what a great idea to add coriander and parmeson, that would have been a nice balance to the onions :)

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  14. glad to hear you loved them- they look perfect!

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  15. I'm glad you liked tham after thinking you wouldn't. I almost browned the butter, but I was too lazy. Ha!

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  16. This was such a great base recipe, I love all your subs. Nice looking muffins!

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  17. I will absolutely have to try these again! Mine tasted great, but were super dry. But I didn't even check them for doneness until the timer went off, so they were probably over-baked! Your results look beautiful.

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