Crusty Onion and Cheese Muffins

Australian Women's Weekly - Muffins, Scones and Breads

I'm not the biggest fan of savoury muffins, however, my husband and mom are so this is what I made for lunch yesterday. These savoury muffins are delicious and dense and will easily feed six people for lunch. I suggest serving them with Simonsberg Spring Onion and Chives flavoured cream cheese.

Oh, yes... I couldn't get chives, which the recipe calls for at Pick n Pay yesterday, so I ended up using fresh coriander (dania to us South African's). I also used about three tablespoons of fresh dania instead of the one tablespoon of fresh chives.

Anyways, here's the recipe >>

Ingredients:

For the crust:
1/4 cup plain four (I use Snowflake Cake Flour)
20g butter
1 teaspoon water, approximately

For the onion filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (I used olive oil because I prefer it)
1 large onion halved and sliced

For the muffins:
1 3/4 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour, extra
1 cup grated zesty cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dania (or 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil, extra

Method:

• Grease a six hole muffin pan
• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F)

For the crust:

• Place plain flour into a bowl, rub in butter
• Mix in just enough water to bind the ingredients
• Press dough into a ball, cover and freeze until firm (approx. 1 hr)

For the onion filling:

• Fry the onion in either vegetable or olive oil until soft, translucent and lightly browned 
• Set aside and allow to cool

For the muffins:

• Sift self-raising flour and extra flour into a large bowl
• Stir in half the onion, half the cheese and all the dania
• Stir in the egg, buttermilk and extra vegetable oil
• Spoon mixture into a prepared pan
• Coarsely grate the frozen dough into a small bowl
• Quickly mix in remaining cheese and onion
• Sprinkle over muffins
• Bake for 25 minutes
• If your muffins are not brown on the top, turn the grill on and (watching all the time) allow them to brown ontop - This will give them a nice crunchy texture ontop
• Allow to cool and enjoy!