Whether you’re cooking for a small number of people or you’re just wanting to limit carb-centric indulgences in the kitchen, there are a few reasons why making small batches of baked goods might appeal to you. For me it’s a combination of these two things. I generally prepare food for 2-3 people and if there is a full batch of piping hot muffins on the counter we are going to polish off every last one. I love this recipe, not only for its small yield, but also for the fact that it’s a total cinch to prepare. Toss everything in a food processor, spoon into muffins tins, wait 20 minutes, done. It’s hard not to love that sort of simplicity, right?
I made these muffins with reduced fat cream cheese, but not so much that it lends an intense cheesy flavor to the muffins. It’s more of a textural element that I used in place of butter to keep them fluffy and tender. You could modify the recipe by adding in some shredded sharp cheddar cheese if you’re feeling a jalapeño cheddar vibe. Alternatively, you could omit the jalapeño entirely and have a great, simple cornbread on your hands. Toss in a little bit of sugar if you prefer a sweeter cornbread.


- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn meal
- 1/4 cup dry polenta (this provides a texture that we enjoy, but you can use all corn meal if you don’t have polenta on hand)
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
- 2 jalapeño peppers (remove seeds for less heat)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (you could use regular or soy milk, but it will increase the calorie count slightly)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer dissolved in 2 tablespoons of unsweetened almond milk (or one egg)
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Put all dry ingredients + the peppers into a food processor and pulse until the jalapeños are roughly “chopped”. You will pulse the dough a few more times so don’t worry about making it too fine.
- Add butter, olive oil, and cream cheese then pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- Pour in almond milk and egg replacer and pulse until the dough just comes together. Do not over mix or you may end up with tough muffins.
- Spoon the mixture into your muffin tin, making six muffins. It will be thick so you may want to pat it down just a little. I leave it rough for a rustic texture on top (and because I’m lazy).
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until the muffins start to brown slightly at the edges.
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