Surprise-Inside Kix Corn Muffins

What will your bite into these yummy corn muffins bring? A roasted tomato? Or maybe a hot dog, or gooey cheese. Better yet, a broccoli tree? Hide your kids’ favorites in these Kix corn muffins and let them guess what’s inside.

To make Surprise-Inside Kix Corn Muffins, you will need:

1 to 1 1/2 cups Kix cereal
1 cup stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter
1 cup milk
Surprise add-ins (grape tomatoes, cheese sticks, broccoli florets, hot dogs, zucchini slices, etc.)

Preheat oven to 400° F. Place the Kix cereal in a zip-top bag, place on a cutting board or dish towel and use a mallet, hammer or rolling pin to crush the Kix. You will need about 3/4 cup total. Set aside. Prepare your surprise add-ins and set aside. For example, slice hotdogs in half, and again crosswise. Slice cheese sticks in half. Slice zucchini into thin rounds. Choose large, grape tomatoes and add whole. Add a broccoli floret whole.

In a bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder, and set aside. In a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a flat beater, or in a bowl with a whisk or electric hand mixer, blend together the egg, melted butter and milk. Stir in the dry mixture. Stir in 1/2 cup of crushed Kix cereal.

Grease the cups of a muffin tin well. Spoon a spoonful of batter to cover the bottom of a cup. Place your surprise add-in. Cover the add-in with batter, almost filling the muffin cup. Sprinkle with a pinch of crushed Kix. Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes until the tops are lightly browned and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Makes 10 muffins.

Meaghan Mountford, author of Sugarlicious: 50 Cute and Clever Treats for Every Occasion, has been creating crafty sweets for 15 years. She is especially fond of decorating cookies, marshmallows and putting sweets on sticks. See more on her blog, the decorated cookie.