Muffin tops were a big thing on Seinfeld, and understandably so: They’re crunchy yet soft, and the best part of the muffin. They’re also the ideal item to dunk in bisque.
What to buy: Muffin top pans can be found at specialty kitchen stores, but if you can’t get your hands on one, a regular 12-well muffin pan will work, too (baking times remain the same).
This recipe was featured as part of our Festivus menu.
- Yield: 12 muffin tops
- Difficulty: Easy
- Total: 35 mins
- Active: 10 mins
Ingredients (11)
- 6 ounces bacon, cooked, crumbled, drippings reserved (1/2 cup crumbled)
- 1 cup fine stone-ground yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup low-fat buttermilk, well shaken
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Coat the wells of 2 6-well muffin top pans or 1 standard 12-well muffin pan with bacon drippings (or vegetable oil); set aside.
- Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk to aerate and break up any lumps.
- In a medium bowl, combine butter, buttermilk, eggs, and thyme and whisk until incorporated and smooth.
- Add wet ingredients to dry, stirring just until incorporated, about 1 minute. Divide batter evenly (about 1/3 cup) among the wells, and sprinkle about 1 heaping teaspoon of bacon over each muffin top.
- Bake muffin tops until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes. Let sit in the pans 5 minutes before removing.