Summer Berry Corn Muffins

Who doesn’t love a good corn muffin? With a big cup of milk, few things hit the spot more. Problem is, store-bought corn muffins tend to be high-calorie, low-nutrient fat bombs with truly inscrutable ingredient lists. Dunkin’ Donuts’ version, for instance, is a fun treat in a pinch, but it’s a rare kid who’s going to benefit from starting the day with a side of gelatinized wheat starch, artificial butter flavor, Polysorbate 60, and Propylene Glycol. I love Double D as much as the next New Englander, but I think we all agree there must be a better way.

August is a perfect time to make a big batch of homemade corn muffins. Berries, which pair deliciously with corn, are widely available from our local farms, and can be whipped into a muffin that can be easily frozen to retrain freshness, and later defrosted, either on the counter overnight for breakfast or in a lunchbox throughout the morning. What’s more, in the realm of baking, muffins are perhaps the easiest to make and the hardest to mess up. (Mixing too thoroughly is probably the worst thing you can do.) The only thing you may need to add to a moderately stocked pantry is cornmeal (which happens to double as delicious coating for chicken and fish, so it won’t go wasted.) I sampled from the incomparable Ina Garten (and her original and best-ever Barefoot Contessa Cookbook) for this recipe, but substituted yogurt for whole milk, since we always have it around and it lends a nice, subtle tang to the mix.