Whole Wheat Dinner Muffins

pic courtesy of Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Yeast bread, schmeast bread. It takes too long. And, when it's 5:00 and dinner's supposed to be on in an hour, there's just not enough time for all that kneading, rising, and rolling out. So, I stumbled across this recipe when I needed something fast and homemade. And, I'm so glad I did because these rolls were DELICIOUS. They were soft, fluffy, and so scrumptious. My 4-year-old ate his in 2 bites and was begging for more before he even swallowed. Skip the yeast next time and reach for these.

Whole Wheat Dinner Muffins
adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

*Makes 15-16 muffins

2 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (I used white whole wheat for a lighter texture.)
4 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
6 tablespoons firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
6 tablespoons butter, melted, or olive oil
2 cups buttermilk
4 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
3 tablespoons sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional, I didn't do this)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease 16 standard muffin cups; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping during baking.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl or a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the egg yolks, butter, buttermilk, and sour cream until blended. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture just until evenly moistened. Don’t overmix! The batter will be slightly lumpy.

In a clean bowl, using a mixer with spotlessly clean beaters on medium speed, beat the egg whites just until they form soft peaks. Using a large rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter until blended, again, taking care not to overmix because that will result in tough, dry muffins. There will be white streaks through your batter!

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup nearly level with the rim of the cup. Sprinkle the muffins with the sesame seeds. Bake the muffins until they are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and serve warm or at room temperature with butter and/or jam, if desired.