Fried Apple Corn Muffins for a Sweet Southern Baby Shower!

A dear friend and fellow food blogger, Nikki of Seeded at the Table (previously known as Pennies on a Platter) is about to bring a new baby boy into the world. Many bloggers have gathered together for a virtual baby shower to celebrate such a blessing to their family! Not too long ago, Nikki and her family moved to Mississippi a few months ago, so it seems only fitting to welcome their little bundle of joy in true Southern Style with a southern food theme. A special thanks goes to  Jessica (of Sunny Side Up) and Kelsey (of Apple a Day) who coordinated this great virtual baby shower and to all the participating bloggers that made it such a fun event to participate in.

Please check out both Jessica's and Kelsey's sites for the round up of the Southern spread we created in honor of our glowing mother to be, Nikki!

The first time I met Nikki was at a holiday party of a mutual friend and former food blogger, Emily. When Emily and I met for the first time, she mentioned how I really need to meet her long time friend, Nikki. At the time, Nikki lived in the western Chicago suburbs and we finally met in person at a holiday party Emily hosted at her parents' house in the northern Chicago suburbs several years ago. After meeting Nikki, I knew we could easily be friends. We share many of the same beliefs and values, she has a passion for food, family and faith, and she has a personality that is just so positive you can't help but enjoy being around her. The last time I saw Nikki in person was in San Francisco at the FoodBuzz Festival in 2011. We had a great time together with fellow food bloggers and hopefully we'll have a chance to see each other again when she comes to the Chicagoland area to visit friends and family. Despite not seeing each other very often, I love that technology allows us to keep in touch almost daily... through social media and of course, our own blogs. I'm thrilled for Nikki and her family as they welcome another blessing into their lives. Congratulations Nikki! :)

For the virtual Southern Shower, I made these Fried Apple Corn Muffins. Before you scrunch up your nose at the idea of apples and corn together, let's think about this. Fried apples are a common side to southern meals like bbq ribs. The sweetness of fried apples plays off the saltiness of many dishes they are served with. Now corn muffins or cornbread is also a popular side to southern meals. Depending on the recipe, cornbread has a slight sweetness too. So you have sweet apples and a slightly sweet cornbread... why wouldn't they work well together?

This recipe was fantastic and I wondered to myself why I hadn't thought about combining the two together before. I have to thank the lovely folks of Glory Foods for the recipe and for also providing me with some of their products to try the recipe out for myself. It was so simple to assemble, prepare and bake using their cornbread mix and prepare fried apples. Now if you're so inclined to make them from scratch, by all means do so! But I could use some shortcuts in the kitchen every now and then when I have a toddler to run around after. 

Speaking of which, this recipe was so easy that Joel was able to make it! He loved stirring the ingredients together in a big bowl and helping me line a muffin tin with muffin cups. So if you have kids who love to be in the kitchen {like Nikki's son, Judah}, this would be a great recipe to try. 

Another special thanks goes to Glory Foods. for the recipe and ingredients to make these delicious muffins. It was perfectly fitting to feature them in our Southern Baby Shower since they have a wonderful line of Southern food products available. 

Fried Apple Corn Muffins
recipe from Glory Foods

1 (15-ounce) can Glory Foods® Sweet Traditions Fried Apples, drained
1 (7.5-ounce) box of Glory Foods® corn muffin mix
1 egg
1/4 cup 2% milk
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons light brown sugar mixed with 2 tablespoons of white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, egg, milk, and baking powder.

Chop Glory Foods® Sweet Traditions Fried Apples into small chunks and add to the bowl; mix all the ingredients until fully incorporated - the batter will be slightly lumpy. 

Place the mixture into muffin tins. Once they are filled properly, sprinkle sugar mixture over tops of unbaked muffins.

Baked 15 to 20 minutes. Sugar will crust over tops.