Sausage, Onion, and Cheese Muffins for #TwelveLoaves

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.

Print

Sausage, Onion, and Cheese Muffins

A recipe for Sausage, Onion, and Cheese Muffins. These are cornbread muffins filled with breakfast sausage crumbles, onions, and cheddar cheese.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Author Renee

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage*
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup plain cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
2. Cook sausage and onion in a skillet over medium heat until sausage is browned. Stir to break up and crumble sausage while cooking. Drain.
3. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
4. Stir together buttermilk and beaten egg.
5. Add cooked sausage and onions, buttermilk/egg mixture, and cheese to the flour mixture.
6. Stir until just moistened.
7. Spoon batter equally into muffin cups.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown.
9. Remove muffins from pan and serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Notes

*Use your preferred sausage heat level (mild, medium, or hot).

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:

1. 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.
2. Please link your post to the linky tool at the bottom of my blog. It must be bread baked to the Twelve Loaves theme.
3. 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.