If you surf this blog even for a few minutes no more, you’ll quickly come to a glaring conclusion: It’s seriously lacking in desserts. Nope, our family doesn’t have a sweet tooth, not even kiddo. And these Onion & Cheddar Muffins won’t make up one iota of difference, since they’re salty all the way. This recipe, which I bake often, comes from a free magazine, Marmiton, that was published in the summer of 2007 by the Dairy Producers of Canada’s team of nutritionists and distributed in daycares throughout Québec. My son was one at the time, so for a while, his parents got to selfishly enjoy these until he was old enough to claim his share. Since then, he often eats the lot in the same day, without sharing. He did have his picky phase though, when these muffins fell out of favour, but these days, he’s pretty much on the Repeat button.
Flavoured with two kinds of onions, then torqued with kid-friendly marbled cheddar cheese, these muffins lend themselves to myriad changes and permutations, like most of the recipes here. (No, I don’t like the dictatorship of baking, which is also a reason for the dirth of desserts.) In other words, feel free to add whatever cheese you’d like, from Swiss to Parmesan — I would probably use half the quantity here — or even a local artisan cheese, why not. A word of warning though: Aged cheese that make you feel like the ultimate foodie do not always yield the mellow results of a lesser quality marbled cheddar, go figure, so you may have to tweak more. Finally, anyone who’d care to suggest I sometimes also use all all-purpose flour because muffins turn cakier if less healthy: Shame on you. As if ever.
You can also use only one type of onion or even replace the green onions with your fine herb of choice: dill, basil, thyme etc. In other words, this recipe’s a springboard that lets you lend anywhere you like.
Today’s grown-up version for Monsieur’s lunchbox, you can tell by the size of the onions which are a complete no-no with kiddo.
Thanks to the protein provided by both the eggs and cheese, these muffins are perfect for the kids’ lunchbox, either as a snack or even a main if they eat like birds. On weekends, I love to serve these as part of a brunch basket or breakfast on the run, with fresh fruit and multiple double espressos. The combo of onion, cheese and bitter orange marmelade spread on top is a perennial favourite of mine.
Quick and easy, these versatile muffins have a knack for making my life easier, here’s hoping you’ll find them just as handy.
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Kitchen Tip
You hate greasing molds and fighting to get your muffins out of the pan? I love the two-tone silicone STRUCTURE pans from Trudeau. (Actually, I’m not crazy about the colour scheme, but the quality technology, very much so.) The muffins just pop out, no hassle, no extra fat. You may want to use the smaller molds for this recipe, though Trudeau also offers a large-muffin size in the same collection. They’re pricy but come with a lifetime warranty, so you’ll never have to buy another muffin pan unless your accessory-addicted. The handling’s sturdy, the cleaning’s easy, what more can one ask?
To learn more about my favourite muffin pans, click through to Amazon.
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