Maple Corn Muffins, a Family Tradition on Thanksgiving

According to historical accounts, corn was a very important crop that was served at the first Thanksgiving. It isn’t the corn we know—it was called flint corn and turned into a kind of mush. On Thanksgiving tables all across America today, we celebrate the day with the usual turkey and cranberry sauce and often with some type of corn dish. You might find a corn salad, a corn pudding, or cornbread on your holiday menu. This is a way to give homage to the first Thanksgiving, remembering those who came before us.
In my house, there are certain recipes that cannot be excluded on my Thanksgiving menu, including this recipe for maple corn muffins. These sweet little corn nuggets are a big hit served with orange-honey butter.
Combining flour with cornmeal lightens the batter, and the sweet maple and brown sugar flavors bring out the inherent creamy sweetness of the corn.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the brown sugar into the eggs until well blended. Add the melted butter, milk, and syrup, and mix until combined.
Pour the liquid mixture over the dry ingredients and fold them together with a rubber spatula until the dry ingredients are completely blended. Add the corn kernels and mix to combine.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups two-thirds of the way up. Bake for 20 minutes for mini-muffins or 25 to 30 minutes for regular muffins or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for 15 minutes. Serve them immediately with orange-honey butter if desired.