Cheese and Onion Muffins

Cheese and Onion Muffins
As mentioned here, this month’s Daring Baker’s challenge saw us experimenting with loaves and muffins. Having always made sweet muffins with ease, it was time to try something different and new.

Savoury muffins. 

Figuring out the flavour profile was something of a challenge; I wanted the muffins to be vegetarian friendly but still be satisfying and moreish. Cheese was definitely the way forward. It so happened that onions were on offer at the supermarket, so that was that. Cheese and onion muffins were on the menu. Having never worked with marjoram before, I was curious as to how it flavours a dish so in it went into the muffin batter. Not surprisingly it worked well! The sweetness and delicate flavour of the marjoram worked really well with the cheddar and onions.

Some of the ingredients: onions, cheese, marjoram, black pepper and salt. Isn't Himalayan salt so pretty with its various tinges of pink?
The muffins turned out to be incredibly soft, moist and had a lovely crumb. The additional cheese on top gives it a nice crust while the black pepper imparts subtle heat. The muffins keep well in the fridge and for the past couple of days I’ve been enjoying this delight before work. There is nothing better than a warm muffin and a cup of coffee/tea first thing in the morning to get you going. Plus I am also under the illusion that this is a relatively healthy start to the day; of course you prefer it to be super healthy, just reduced the amount of cheese.


This is Rusky four muffins later. Contented beyond words.
These muffins were so good that Rusky, my beloved cocker spaniel snuck into the kitchen and stole and greedily scoffed FOUR muffins in one go before anyone realised what had happened.

Cheese and Onion Muffins

Yields 12 muffins


Ingredients


300g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large onions, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
225ml milk
1.5 tsp majoram
6 tbsp olive oil
100g cheddar, grated
Ground black pepper


Method
  1. Pre-heat oven to 200C. Line muffin pan.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan and gently fry onions for 10-12 minutes until soft and translucent.
  3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt and sieve.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, milk, marjoram and remaining olive oil. Add a generous pinch of black pepper.
  5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix. Stir in the onions and grated cheese and mix until just combined.
  6. Spoon the mixture into the prepared muffin pan and sprinkle with remaining cheese and more black pepper.
  7. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown, firm to touch and well risen.