Corn Cups

Vegan Corn Cups
Originally uploaded by Marni Molina

I've been making this recipe for years now and am not really sure where I picked it up. This is the first time I've made it vegan and I'm happy to report these little babies handled the transition quite easily.

Corn Cups
Makes 32 corn cups

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) vegan margarine (I use Earth Balance), at room temperature
  
• 3 ounces vegan cream cheese (I use Tofutti), at room temperature (if you don't have a scale, it's about 6 tablespoons)
  
• 1 cup unbleached flour
  
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
  
• Pinch of salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
   
2. Cream the margarine and cream cheese together with a mixer.
   
3. Combine the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl, stirring to combine.
   
4. Begin adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients slowly while mixing. When fully incorporated, knead the dough a bit with your hand inside the bowl.
   
5. Divide the dough into 1-inch balls and press them into small muffin tins. Use your thumbs and fingers to form the corn dough into a cup inside the mold. Try to make them even and make sure the dough comes up to the top of each mold.
   
6. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Fill with whatever strikes your fancy.

These make fantastic hors d'œuvre. Today, I went with a Mexican theme and filled them with salsa, refried beans, Spanish rice, guacamole, and leftover Caramelized Corn with Shallots from yesterday.  Try adding a bit of curry to the dough and fill them with hummus.  Or add some pumpkin pie spice to the dough and fill them with whipped sweet potatoes.  You can get really creative with these!

Delish! Happy 4th of July!

Suggested musical accompaniment: Franco Un-American by NOFX