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    Home » Breakfast

    Bakery Style Corn Muffins

    Published: Apr 8, 2019 · Modified: Mar 26, 2023 by Natalie · This post may contain affiliate links · 23 Comments

    JUMP TO RECIPE PRINT RECIPE PIN RECIPE

    Bakery style, high domed, moist and sweet corn muffins made using the muffin method. Simple and quick to prepare, and they maintain their moist crumb for days.

    Corn muffins on a cooling rack.

    What’s a bakery style corn muffin? It’s a sweet, high domed corn muffin with a soft tender texture. There has to be a good amount of cornmeal in them without the texture being grainy or crumbly. You can describe these as fluffy, cake-like, and delicious.

    Have you ever gone to a bakery or cafe, and tried a corn muffin? How about those ginormous muffins at Costco? Now try to duplicate that at home. Remember, you're making a muffin and not a cupcake so please, no creaming of butter and alternating flour and milk into the batter because that's making a cupcake and not a muffin. You need to follow the rules, dry in one bowl, wet in another, mix, bake, and eat. What I just described is the muffin method.

    Corn muffins have been my nemesis. I have spent years trying to perfect them. They're the official state muffin of Massachusetts, which added some pressure since I'm a born and raised Bay Stater.

    Goals:

    1. A corn muffin that isn’t flat and has a high dome preferably with cracks on top
    2. Has a decent amount of cornmeal in it
    3. Sweet and tasty
    4. Moist and delicate crumb
    5. Won’t turn into hockey pucks after a few hours or next day

    Well my beautiful friends, I’ve done it. These corn muffins:

    • Aren’t flat
    • Have a good amount of corn with a little extra corn ingredient 
    • Are sweet and moist (remember, sugar is considered a wet ingredient thereby adding moisture)
    • Maintain their moist crumb until next day or two or three!

    How, Natalie, how?!

    Well, we’re going to bake these in a 400 degrees oven to give a boost to the leavenings. There’s no need to lower the temperature either. It’s a constant temperature from start to finish.

    I use a good amount of flour and cornmeal and I use stone ground cornmeal instead of coarse cornmeal.

    One and a quarter cups of sugar adds flavor and moisture. You can use 1 cup if you like, but I felt the extra ¼ cup was perfect. Remember, I’m a Northerner.

    Sour cream is added for richness and moisture.

    Oil is used rather than butter to keep it moist. I’ve actually put a muffin aside and after 3 days it was still moist.

    Finally, cornstarch is used to make a tender crumb and it’s a corn ingredient - so there.

    This batter is thick and it may seem like you have too much batter for the pan, but it’s just enough for each cup and will mound slightly above the rim of the pan. I use a muffin tin that has ½ cup capacity.

    Mixing ingredients for corn muffins in a bowl.

    I place the muffin tin on a baking sheet for 2 reasons:

    1. The first time I made these, I wasn’t absolutely sure they wouldn’t overflow. They didn't.
    2. Using a baking sheet makes for easy removal of the pan from the oven. I've indented too many muffin tops with the thumb of my oven mitt to count.
    Corn muffin batter in a muffin tin lined with parchment paper liners.

    Baked corn muffins in a muffin tin lined with parchment paper liners.

    As you can see, these rose beautifully. You can use parchment paper liners or just grease the muffin tin.

    Tools you'll need to make these delicious corn muffins:

    Bowl

    Spatula

    Scoop

    Muffin pan

    Cooling Rack

    Closeup of a corn muffins on a cooling rack.Want more breakfast treats? Try:

    • Maple Scones
    • Strawberry Cream Scones
    • Cranberry Orange Scones
    • Best Blueberry Muffins
    • German Pancakes
    • Perfect Homemade Pancakes

    Life is too short for mediocre food.

    Have you seen these?

    • CHOCOLATE GANACHE PEANUT BUTTER BARS
    • SIMPLE DELICIOUS STRAWBERRY RHUBARB CRISP
    • QUICK SIMPLE SAUTEED BROCCOLI WITH GARLIC
    • SIMPLE PERUVIAN CUCUMBER SALAD WITH LIME
    Corn muffins on a cooling rack.

    Bakery Style Corn Muffins

    PRINT PIN
    Bakery style, high domed, moist and sweet corn muffins made using the muffin method. Simple and quick to prepare, and they maintain their moist crumb for days. Recipe can easily be halved.
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Corn Muffins, Muffins
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 22 minutes
    Total Time: 32 minutes
    Servings: 12 Muffins
    Author: Natalie Gregory

    Equipment Used

    Muffin Pan
    Scoop Size 12
    Baking Sheet
    Large Bowl
    Cooling Rack

    Ingredients

    • 2 ¼ cups flour
    • 1 ¼ cup sugar*
    • 1 cup cornmeal
    • ¼ cup cornstarch
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • ¾ teaspoon fine salt
    • ⅔ cup neutral oil
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 cup milk whole or 2%
    • 1 cup sour cream full fat
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Preheat oven 400°.
    • Grease or line tins with cupcake liners. You can also spray the liners for easy release.
    • Whisk together dry ingredients together in large bowl.
    • In medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sour cream, and oil.
    • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Don’t overmix.
    • Scoop or ladle batter into muffin tins and fill each cup to the very top. This batter is thick and it may seem like you have too much batter for the pan, but it’s just enough and will mound slightly above the rim of the pan. I use a muffin tin that has ½ cup capacity per cup.
    • I like to place the muffin tin on top of a baking sheet for easy removal after baking. I have indented too many muffin tops with my oven mitts.  It's also a precaution to prevent any spillage - although that has never happened to me.
    • Place muffins in oven and bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. You could rotate the muffin tin halfway through baking to ensure even cooking. Honestly, most of the time I skip this step because I don’t mind them being slightly off. I’m going to eat them, not look at them. If you are using the parchment paper liners, you may have to cook them a few minutes more because they allow the muffins to bake upwards instead of outwards like they would if using cupcake or no liners. I cook them closer to 25 minutes, but please check after 22 minutes since all ovens vary.
    • Let muffins cool in muffin tin on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove muffins from tin and continue to cool.

    Notes

    Note: Although I prefer the extra sweetness from the sugar in the recipe, I have made these with 1 cup of sugar and they taste fine. I do find that extra ¼ cup is the closest to the bakery style muffins and boxed versions which was my goal.
    Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Natalie Gandelsman

      March 23, 2023 at 11:15 am

      Can I substitute full fat yogurt for the sour cream?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        March 23, 2023 at 2:23 pm

        I don't see a problem with it. 🙂 Let me know how they turn out.

        Reply
    2. Kim

      March 20, 2023 at 9:18 pm

      Can u add blueberries to the recipe ??

      Reply
      • Natalie

        March 21, 2023 at 7:44 am

        Yes, you can. In fact, I was going to post a recipe for that soon. If adding blueberries, you will have leftover batter since the blueberries will add volume. I use a muffin tin that has 1/2 cup capacity. You can use leftovers in another muffin tin or use a small loaf pan or just bake in batches. I haven't done that so I don't know if the batter sitting will affect the rise since this does have baking soda in it. Let me know how it comes out! 🙂

        Reply
    3. Ed209

      February 18, 2023 at 11:12 am

      I use to buy Costco muffins until Costco stopped selling these muffins for a short time. When I asked for the recipe, the Costco bakers refused to share, so enter the internet. I found your recipe and I will never buy Costco muffins again ( unless I want my wife to do a number on me). I have made these muffins numerous times (I am presently gathering the ingredients to make a another batch). Your recipe is my one and only go-to muffin recipe. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        February 18, 2023 at 11:43 am

        Thank you so much for commenting! I'm so happy you liked them. It took me years to get the recipe right and I think they're the best too. 🙂

        Reply
    4. Antonette

      October 30, 2022 at 11:26 am

      These corn muffins are exactly as described. I wasn’t sure all of the batter would fit, but it did. I was concerned they wouldn’t crown, but they did. Being from the northeast also, this recipe checked most of the boxes. I’m in the south now and corn muffins are very different here. I was missing just a little “corn grit” (texture). Maybe what I’m finding down here as corn meal is different than up north. Delicious nonetheless. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into this recipe.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        October 30, 2022 at 8:47 pm

        Thank you for visiting and your comment! 🙂 So happy you liked them.

        Reply
    5. Susie

      October 20, 2022 at 12:42 pm

      I've tried countless cornbread muffin recipes and I am happy to say my search is over! Thank you so much for sharing.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        October 20, 2022 at 4:43 pm

        You're very welcome!

        Reply
    6. Rosemary

      October 06, 2022 at 6:57 pm

      These are hands down the best corn muffins! I have made plenty and this recipe will be the only one I make from now on!
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        October 12, 2022 at 4:19 pm

        Thank you for the comment! I am proud of this recipe and so happy you gave it a try. Thanks for visiting. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Tracy

      September 14, 2022 at 5:47 pm

      Omg. These are amazing…!!! The *only* cornbread muffins I ever liked are from a local bbq chain called Armadillo Willy’s (NorCal), and this is almost the exact same muffin! I’m trying to type and cram a warm muffin in my mouth at the same time bc I’m so excited and happy and these are SO GOOD. It’s a taste of home. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ When we moved to the south, I learned that cornbread here is a very different beast. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe!

      Reply
      • Natalie

        September 15, 2022 at 12:56 pm

        You are very welcome! Thanks for visiting and commenting. You made my day. I really appreciate it. Check out my blueberry muffins too. 🙂

        Reply
    8. Karen

      February 06, 2021 at 8:56 pm

      I’ve been looking for a bakery style corn muffin for a long time - the search is over! Delicious 🙂

      Reply
      • Natalie

        February 07, 2021 at 10:34 am

        Yes! Thank you for letting me know. I have worked on that recipe for years and it's my favorite muffin. I'm so happy you like it. 🙂

        Reply
    9. Sandra Myers

      January 21, 2021 at 9:51 am

      I hope these taste as good as they came out. For the flour, I used a mix of regular and corn flour, in add to the corn meal and corn starch. We need to be careful about sugar, so I used a Truvia stevia blend. Everything else remained the same. I look forward to these, as does my husband,

      Reply
      • Martha

        September 15, 2022 at 6:57 am

        I just made these, doubled the recipe, and now I have to make another double batch!! Delicious! Thank you so much, the best corn muffins I've ever made (and I've made plenty lol).

        Reply
        • Natalie

          September 15, 2022 at 12:54 pm

          I'm so happy you enjoyed them! It took me a long time to perfect this recipe and everyone loves them. Thank you for visiting and commenting. You may want to try my blueberry muffins too as they are excellent. 🙂

    10. Sarah

      November 13, 2020 at 6:37 pm

      These were delicious! We are a big family so I tripled the recipe!

      Do you have a recipe that have a stronger corn flavor (more corn meal)?

      Reply
      • Natalie

        November 14, 2020 at 8:53 am

        I'm so happy you liked them. When developing this recipe, I tried different amounts of cornmeal but found by adding more, the muffins lose their soft texture and became more dense and crumbly. I've even tried blending corn with the wet ingredients but they weren't as good as these. I do have a cornbread recipe you could also try which would have more corn flavor. Enjoy.

        Reply
    11. Marie

      December 23, 2019 at 9:04 pm

      Just made these for our Christmas dinner and they are just the recipe I was looking for. I do love my corn bits, so I dumped a generous helping in. You do not want to halve this recipe.

      Reply
      • Natalie

        December 24, 2019 at 7:43 am

        I'm glad you enjoyed them. You may also like my cornbread recipe and it's easy to make. Merry Christmas!

        Reply

    Leave a Comment Cancel reply

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    Natalie

    I'm Natalie a.k.a The Genetic Chef. Here you will find from scratch family recipes coupled with humor, helpful tips, and product recommendations.

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