If you’re thinking “Doesn’t she already have a cornbread recipe on here?” the answer is yes. In fact, I have three. Don’t worry, this isn’t a fourth. Ohhh no. You see, these are corn muffins, not cornbread. Sure, both recipes share a lot of the same ingredients, but I am here to tell you that these corn-centric sides are two different things.

You read that right. This is not a cornbread recipe, or at least it’s not the cornbread I know. The southern-style stuff I grew up with is super savory, sugarless, grainy and crumbly, while corn muffins are a sweeter, softer, more northern thing—they’re like cornbread and cupcakes had a baby. A sweet little corn muffin baby…or twelve sweet little corn muffin babies, if you want to get specific.

These evoke everything I love about Jiffy corn muffin mix (the only baking I ever saw my mother partake in), but better and completely from scratch. Sure, they take an extra minute or two since you have to measure everything out before mixing, but that’s really no trouble when the results are this soft, sweet and delicious.

The secret to really excellent corn muffins? Sour cream. I made eight test batches with whole milk and buttermilk, and while both will work in a pinch, the gorgeous muffins you see here are super moist and tender from rich, tangy full-fat sour cream. It keeps my corn muffins in perfect shape for days after baking—nothing sad or dry here!

Corn Muffins come together with almost no fuss. You’ll see in the recipe that you need some ingredients to be at room temperature, but that’s pretty standard and no real trouble—I routinely get eggs to room temp by putting them in a bowl of warm water and pop milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to take off the chill. The simple truth is that room temperature ingredients combine more evenly than cold ones do; that’s very important in baking. If these tiny steps sound like too much “extra” effort for you, remember that adding cold milk and eggs to melted butter will un-melt (?) it and then you’ll have to start all over again. Talk about a time suck. I promise that all your room temperature-ing will be worth it when you pull a pan of corn muffins from your oven.

Oooh, y’all. These are pretty irresistible. Soft and corny (in a good way!) with a solid sweet and savory balance, homemade corn muffins are the perfect accompaniment to a roast chicken or chili on a cold night. And, pro tip: should you have leftovers, you should split and toast them with butter and jam for breakfast the next day. Or do what I do and eat them cold, straight out of the fridge in the middle of the night for days on end. Really, you can’t go wrong.

Corn Muffins
makes 12 muffins

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup milk (preferably whole), room temperature
1/2 cup full-fat sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 400F.

Line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with cupcake liners, or grease well. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a small-medium mixing bowl (or large measuring cup), whisk together milk, sour cream, butter and eggs. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon just until combined.

Divide batter among muffin cups, about 3 tablespoons each. Carefully tap the pan on the counter five times to release any large air bubbles. Bake for 12-13 minutes.

Remove muffins from the oven and let cool in the pan for five minutes before serving or removing to a rack.

Leftovers will keep well tightly-covered at room temperature for up to two days or in the refrigerator for up to five. Muffins may be double-wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 3 months.