Tepin Chile Corn Mini-Muffins with Coconut Sugar

Recipe by Joanna Marco, submitted in the 2011 Ridiculously Delicious Challenge (contest note: joanna does not have a cooking blog, so she asked to publish here)

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These tender cornbread mini-muffins pack quite the flavor punch—they begin with the sweet earthiness of the corn meal, followed by a kick of fruity heat from the ground Tepin Chiles. They finish with more notes of sweetness, but this time, the sweetness is toasted and complex, from the crunchy coconut sugar topping. The mini-muffin size is the perfect size to get a delectable bite of these complex, swirling flavors. Watch out, though—these little flavor bombs are addictive!

Makes about 75 mini-muffins, or can fill a 9-by-13 pan

• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground Tepin Chile
• 1 Tbsp Coconut Sugar, plus more for topping
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 and line a mini-muffin pan with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground Tepin Chile, and Coconut Sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk until smooth and fluffy.
4. Pour the buttermilk-egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.
5. Fill the mini-muffin liners with the batter, top with a sprinkling of coconut sugar, and bake at 375 for 13-15 minutes, or until muffins are golden brown and topping is crunchy and caramelized.