Product Review: Pamela's New Cornbread & Muffin Mix

I was delighted when the folks at Pamela's Products offered to send me a sample of their new Cornbread & Muffin Mix. I am pleased to report that the muffins I made were sweet and delicious!

The mix is wheat-free, gluten-free, non-dairy, sugar-free, and Kosher. I found the flavor to be sweeter than the other cornbread mix I have used in the past, The Gluten-Free Pantry's Yankee Cornbread & Muffin Mix. This comes down to a matter of personal taste, mainly, north vs. south. The Pamela's mix tastes more like "southern" cornbread to me (sweet and "buttery"), while Gluten-Free Pantry's mix is, well, like the label says "Yankee" in taste (less sweet, more cake-like).

For what it's worth, the Prince likes them both--he never met a corn product he didn't like--but I think he had a slight preference for the Pamela's mix. The Professor, raised in the South, preferred Pamela's, hands-down. But I think both are good products, it really is a matter of personal taste bud preference. Kids, being kids, will probably like the sweetness of Pamela's.

One of the reasons I like Pamela's Products are the recipe variations they provide on the package. They also suggest substitutions, for example, I followed their suggestion to replace the 8 TB of butter with 1/3 cup oil (I used safflower). From the many recipes on the package, I chose the "Corn Kernel" recipe:

Pamela's Sweet Old-Fashioned Corn Kernel Cornbread Muffins

1 bag Pamela's Mix
1/2 cup sugar (or 1/3 cup honey or agave)

2 eggs

1 cup water

1 cup fresh corn kernels (or 11 oz. can, drained)

Handful chopped red and green bell peppers (my addition)

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease muffin tins. In bowl, combine mix, sugar (or honey or agave), eggs, and water. Pour into muffin tins, filling 3/4 full. Bake 15-17 minutes.

The directions said this would yield 12 muffins, but I got 18. Other recipes included on the package are for skillet cornbread (you will have to use my friend Thomas' buttermilk trick at The GFCF Experience), cornbread dressing, and many others. I intend to try the Cranberry Orange Corn Muffins next time.

I am also a fan of Pamela's because they donate to Celiac Sprue and Autism support and research organizations, and are members of the American Celiac Disease Alliance. They also have links on their website to NAAR, TACA, and DAN! I was really impressed by their corporate philanthropy.

Pamela's products are available at your local health food store and also on Amazon.com. The cornbread mix is on special there right now (if you can commit to buying in bulk) until May 26. Publix grocery stores are also starting to carry some Pamela's products too, as they are increasing their GF stock.

(Note for those with cross-contamination sensitivity: although the Pamela's facility is 100% dedicated as gluten-free, some of Pamela's other products contain tree nuts, soy, eggs, and milk. We are not sensitive to cross-contamination, but I know others are, so I wanted to mention it. See the Pamela's website, here, for complete allergen information)