Cheesy Chipotle Beer Cornbread Muffins

We all know the cornbread muffin recipe that comes in the classic blue and white box with what looks like a 1970’s photo of cornbread squares, right? And although I am a firm believer in if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it, that photo could use some updating 🙂

As I was making beef stew the other day I decided to pull out the o’ blue and white box of cornbread mix to make a side of cornbread. Except I decided to doctor the recipe, because if they aren’t going to update their photo then I’m going to update their recipe!

I poured the box of cornmeal into a bowl and added the single egg as the recipe requested. This was the first and last thing I did to follow instructions. I then switched the 1/3 cup of milk for a 1/3 cup of blonde ale. I recommend a light colored beer with low hops so that it does not bitter while baking.

I then grated up about a cup of cheddar cheese. I had mild cheddar on hand but I would recommend sharp cheddar as it has better flavor for baking. I then cut up four canned chipotle peppers, seeds ‘n all and placed them in the mixture along with the cheese.

I stirred until the ingredients were just mixed, still lumpy as the instructions on the box indicates. Yeah yeah you caught me… I went back to following the recipe. I’m not the rebel I claim to be.

I then greased a muffin tin and scooped the mixture into the muffin tins.  I then placed the muffins in a 400 F degree preheated oven for about 18 minutes.

The cornbread muffins turned out delightfully smokey and spicy thanks to the chipotle peppers. The beer flavor was prevalent and added a nice addition to the muffins.

Have you ever doctored up the classic cornbread muffin recipe? Share your experience in the comments.