These miso-black pepper corn muffins were my way of turning my miso-black pepper corn cookies into a corn muffin type of thing. The corn muffins are the Claim Jumper were a huge childhood hit for my family, and I wanted to find a way to create my own version of those, since Claim Jumper is not longer a thing. For the case of these muffins, the recipe was actually really easy to make. I took my miso corn cookie recipe, and literally just added buttermilk and a bit more flour to them. That was it. The end result were these fluffy, buttery corn muffins that were speckled with black pepper, tasted of brown butter, and had a pleasant corn flavor. For those unfamiliar with my corn cookie recipe, I use Japanese corn flour to make them. Japanese corn flour has a natural tendency to dry out baked goods, which makes for crispy-edged cookies, but the addition of an additional egg and buttermilk really helps with keeping the finished product soft, tender, and moist. I hate that word, but it is a necessary evil when it comes to describing a lot of baked goods. If you like anything cornbread-esque, these muffins are the right fit for you!

Makes 12 corn muffins:
1 stick unsalted butter, browned
1 tsp black pepper
2 eggs
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup Kotoshima brand Japanese corn powder
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk

In a pot, whisk the brown butter, black pepper, eggs, sugar, miso paste, and vanilla until combined. Add in the remaining ingredients and stir until combined into a smooth batter. Pipe the batter into 12 cupcake liners and bake at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before removing from the tins.