Ready in a “JIFFY” — Corn Muffins or Cornbread

     This is the cornbread/muffin recipe my mom swears by and mothers are never wrong! Normally I do not use boxed mixes or if I do, I make them from scratch (see our tab – Mixes and More), but this is an exception. The resulting product in sweet and tender yet doesn’t crumble when eaten.

     Mom used Jiffy® mixes when I was growing up so I got to wondering how long they’d been around. Of course, I found what I wanted to know on the company’s webpage. Jiffy® mixes are produced by the Chelsea Milling Company of Chelsea, Mi. The mill is operated by the Holmes family whose roots in the flour milling business date back to the early 1800’s; they’ve been milling flour for over 120 years. And, according to the site, Mabel White Holmes, grandmother of current President, Howdy S. Holmes, developed and introduced the first prepared baking mix product, “JIFFY” Baking Mix, in the spring of 1930.

Ingredients are assembled.

Jiffy® Corn Muffins or Cornbread   Makes 4 doz, mini muffins, 1 ½ to 2 doz. standard-sized muffins or an 8”x8” pan of cornbread

1 (9 oz.) box Jiffy® cornbread mix

1 (9 oz.) box Jiffy® yellow cake mix

½ cup water

½ cup milk

2 eggs

¼ cup oil (1 used canola)

Optional – chopped jalapeño peppers

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine all ingredients and mix by hand just until combined (overmixing may result in tunnels in the interior of muffins or bread).

Stir just until wet & dry ingredients are combined -- the batter will be slightly lumpy.

3. Spray muffin tins or 8”x8” pan with pan release (such as Pam®).

Spray both the sides and bottoms of the muffin tin depressions.

4.     Muffins – fill muffin tins ½ to ¾ full (I used a scoop to transfer batter). Cornbread – pour batter into prepared pan.

I topped half of the muffins with chopped jalapeño peppers.

5. Place in the middle of preheated oven and bake: Mini muffins – 10 min. @ 400°; standard-sized muffing – 15 to 20 min. @ 400°; cornbread – bake 5 minutes @ 400°, then 20 to 25 minutes @ 350°.

6. Remove to cooling rack. For muffins – turn pan over so muffins can slide out (if needed, run a knife around the edge of individual muffin tins. Let cornbread baked in pan cool slightly and then cut into squares.