Vegan Cornbread Muffins

Tonight Shana is cooking dinner! Just like I'm doing crockpot meals once a week, she's cooking dinner one night a week now. It has been fun to NOT cook dinner one night a week, but, in all honesty, I wouldn't like it if she cooked all the time. I just enjoy cooking too much for that. Anyway, Shana is not a very experienced cook, so she's opting to make dishes from my blog because she knows what they are supposed to taste like and because I'm here while she's cooking in case questions arise. It's actually been quite helpful for me to have a novice cook attempt recipes, as she's pointed out areas where I don't provide enough information (e.g., how much heat does one use for a simmer?), as well as the occasional typo.

We'd been talking about having the best vegan chili for about a week, so the cooler temperatures of today (perfect for the autumnal equinox) made this a perfect choice for dinner. Since Shana was cooking the main part of dinner, I thought I'd take the time to make the classic chili accompaniment of cornbread. Most cornbread recipes call for at least one of the following non-vegan ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, or butter. However, none of those ingredients are necessary to make a moist and delicious cornbread! You can make a delicious cornbread without animal by-products and no one will ever know!

Vegan Cornbread Muffins
This recipe is the "Skillet Corn Bread" from Veganomicon (p. 223)
Ingredients
2 c. plain soymilk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 c. cornmeal
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 c. oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.
1. Combine the soymilk and vinegar in a small bowl or measuring cup and stir to encourage curdling.
2. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients and mix together well.
3. Add the curdled soymilk and the oil, stir well to combine. Small lumps are okay, but break up larger lumps before cooking.
4. Fill lined muffin tins about 3/4 full of batter, then bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the pan to let cool.
5. Adorn with vegan butter and agave nectar!

Helpful Hints

• The combination of the soymilk and vinegar essentially makes buttermilk. I have found that nothing will curdle the prepared powdered soymilk, so I go out and buy a carton for this recipe. Speaking of the milk, it does NOT need to be unsweetened. Plain (unflavored) is the way to go. 
• I prefer making muffins, as Shana doesn't really like corn bread. In addition, since they freeze so well, I've got ready-made breakfasts or snacks for a while. However, you can also make this in a 8 x 8 baking dish. If you do this, spray the inside of the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes. 
• You can also make mini-muffins if you like. These should bake for 18-22 minutes. 
• If you've never had agave nectar, it's an amber-colored sweetener that can be used in place of honey. (No, I do not eat honey, even though some vegans do.) It is slightly less viscous than honey, but other than that, it works exactly the same! It has it's own lovely sweet taste. Most major grocery stores will carry agave nectar, either in the baking aisle or right near the honey. 

The post "Vegan Cornbread Muffins" originally appeared on Maggie's LesVegan Kitchen.