A tear rolled down my face. It was followed by another and soon it was hard to see. Walking away was the only option. Was my heart broken? No. Did I just receive some terrible news? Nope. It was the darn onions. Chopping them released that eye-burning chemical. I had forgotten to light a candle or run a fan to circulate the air before chopping. The tears finally stopped and I was able to get back in the kitchen. A little while later Sausage, Onion and Cheese Muffins were ready to eat.
Some onions are stronger than others. Every now and then I get one that seems to burn my eyes no matter if I have refrigerated it first, have a candle burning close by, or have a fan running. Perhaps it is a really fresh one or where it was grown. The tears do not get in the way though. I don't know what I would do without onions. They are an important flavor component in so many recipes whether it be subtle or the main one.
Sausage, Onion and Cheese Muffins are a quick bread. They are cornbread filled with crumbled breakfast sausage, cooked onions, and shredded cheddar cheese. The spice from the sausage (I used hot) comes through at the end. Cornmeal must tame the initial heat. Onion flavor is subtle in these muffins and so is the cheese. They are a great meal on the go. You can warm up one in the microwave for about 15 seconds and it is just as good as right out of the oven.
Do you bake bread with onions? It is the Twelve Loaves challenge this month. I thought about making onion rolls or focaccia. Once I came across a recipe involving sausage that is all it took. And I'm a sucker for cornbread too. It's something special to me because of my Dad's cornbread and I always think of him when eating it. Scroll down to see a list of onion breads by talented bakers meeting the challenge. The recipes are only a click away.
Sausage, Onion, and Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ pound bulk pork breakfast sausage*
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup plain cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
- Cook sausage and onion in a skillet over medium heat until sausage is browned. Stir to break up and crumble sausage while cooking. Drain.
- Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
- Stir together buttermilk and beaten egg.
- Add cooked sausage and onions, buttermilk/egg mixture, and cheese to the flour mixture.
- Stir until just moistened.
- Spoon batter equally into muffin cups.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
- Remove muffins from pan and serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Recipe adapted from one in the Southern Living 1986 Annual Recipes cookbook (no longer in print).
Are you ready to bake bread with onions? Light a candle, put on your goggles, or get out some tissues. These breads are worth the tears from chopping onions:
- Caramelized Leek and Onion Focaccia by Renee at Kudos Kitchen By Renee
- Caramelized Onions Muffins by Kathya at Basic N Delicious
- Caramelized Vidalia Onion Rolls by Lora at Cake Duchess
- Crusty Cheese and Onion Bread by Karen at Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Leek Bread with Red Curry by Rossella at Ma che ti sei mangiato
- Onion and Fennel Rye by Donna at Cookistry
- Onion Cheddar Bread by Dionne at Try Anything Once Culinary
- Onion Rolls by Holly at A Baker's House
- Rustic French Onion Focaccia by Felice at All That's Left Are The Crumbs
- Sausage, Onion and Cheese Muffins by Renee at Magnolia Days
- Spicy Onion Paratha by Stacy at Food Lust People Love
- Spinach and Onion Braid by Liz at That Skinny Chick Can Bake
#TwelveLoaves May: Onions. The month of April was filled with gorgeous orange breads! We have chosen onions for our May theme. Choose a recipe including onions (red, white, yellow), scallions (green onions, spring onions), leeks, shallots, garlic, pearl onion, cipollini, or chives. Whatever you bake, (yeasted, quick bread, crackers, muffins, braids, flatbreads, etc.) have fun and let's have a delicious month of bread with onions. Let's get baking!
Do you want to add your bread to the collection with the linky tool this month? Here is what you need to do:
- When you post your Twelve Loaves bread on your blog, make sure that you mention the Twelve Loaves challenge in your blog post. This helps us to get more members as well as share everyone's posts. Please make sure your bread is inspired by the theme.
- Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
- Have your Twelve Loaves bread that you baked this May, 2014, and posted on your blog by May 31, 2014.
Twelve Loaves is a monthly bread baking party created by Lora from Cake Duchess and runs smoothly with the help of our friend Renee from Magnolia Days.
Sausage, Onion, and Cheddar what a great idea.
Being in a very UK oriented culinary phase of my cooking life :), the combination bread (even if quick) and sausage sounds yummy.
Thanks Rossella.
Bill tends to avoid muffins like the plague...but I've never added sausage!!! I have a feeling these would be a huge hit 🙂
My husband isn't a fan of muffins either. I wonder if it is a man thing.
Adding sausage to the muffins is culinary genius!
You made me smile again Christine with your kind compliment.
This is my absolutely ideal muffin, Renee. Sausage - check. Cheese - check. Onions - check. And a cornmeal batter? The only way you could improve these is with some cayenne and the hot breakfast sausage takes care of that! Perfection!
(In a completely unrelated matter, who buys all that non-Hot breakfast sausage? It's missing vital flavor without the heat!)
I have no idea of buys that non-hot sausage either. Bring on the heat!
What a yummy combination! You could always try goggles while cutting onions--wayyyy back when I worked for H.Salt Fish & Chips, I had to slice 50 lb sacks for onion rings... swimming goggles were the only way to get through it!
I just wonder if they make goggles to fit over glasses. These days I can't seem to do anything without my glasses.
these would be so nice if I baked them ahead of time over the weekend and heated them up for a weekday breakfast. I was out of ideas for my breakfast this morning and now I am ready with your recipe. thanks!
I would freeze them too. Most frozen cornbread warms up nicely in the microwave.
Oh my, I totally thought that something bad had happened to you! Good thing I read through before messaging you, haha!
This would make a most excellent breakfast muffin! I love buying those little sausage balls so this is a great excuse to use them. 🙂
Thanks Dionne for your kind words and concern. All is well here. And any excuse to buy sausage is a good one to me.
P.S.- I am going to try lighting a candle. Nothing else works for me and I cry like a baby every single time.
Just have the candle close by. It seems to work good for me.
Those are some great looking muffins that have to be delicious! I like your blog and adore magnolias too!
Thank you Pam and I'm so glad you visited and enjoyed my blog. Come back often!
Love how you stuck in the sausages. I like the flavors they add to dishes.
Thanks and I agree with you on how much sausage can add great flavor to a dish.
Renee, your muffins look sensational and well worth every tear you shed!
Thanks Renee!
Onions always make me cry too, but they are so worth it. Right? I love these muffins!
Yes, onions are so worth the tears. They bring such great flavor to a dish.
Wow! These muffins look so delicious, Renee! Vidalias are coming into season and I bet they would be delicious in this recipe. Great post and beautiful photos!
Thanks Bill and I actually used a Vidalia onion in the muffins.
This sounds like the perfect breakfast for someone on the go!
It sure is. Thanks Christy.
Girl - while I am just getting around to pinning these, but I made them yesterday for breakfast for the family and they LOVED 'em! YUM!!
Oh fantastic Kelli! I'm so glad you family enjoyed them. Thanks for pinning too.
Put a basket of these muffins in front of me and I would be very happy. They look amazing.
Thanks Felice and I'm sending you a basket virtually right now.
Looks perfect our early morning fishing trips. Great taste, easy to pack, and only requires one hand to eat.
Oh yes, great for fishing trips. They travel well.