Sun-dried Tomato & Olive Muffins

A couple of years ago when we were travelling around New Zealand, we stopped at a cafe at Auckland's Botanical Gardens. I tried these amazing savory muffins and decided that 1 day I will get down to making these at home. I don't remember all the ingredients in that muffin but I do remember that it had onions, green peppers, Kalamata olives, zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes. I am still yet to attempt this recipe!  For now, I made the simple version.

Today I had a craving to eat sun-dried tomatoes but not in a sandwich. So I looked up a muffin recipe and found one on the Betty Crocker website. I made a few variations to suit my taste and based on the ingredients I had. The came out oh-so-divine with a lovely balance of saltiness from the olives and the supreme taste of sun-dried tomatoes. I will experiment to make this is a loaf pan next time. It has the same consistency of soft bread and would definitely make a great accompaniment to a sunday big breakfast!

WARNING : if you don't like sun-dried tomatoes, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!

Ingredients

1 cup milk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large egg
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (you can use parmesan or even crumbed soft feta)
1 tsp mixed italian dried herbs
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp mexican chili powder (you can use cracked black pepper as an option)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, drained & chopped
1/4 cup pimento stuffed olives or Kalamata olives

Method

1. Heat oven to 400F / 205C and line 12 cup muffin tray.
2. Beat milk, oil and egg together until mixed up. Mix in flour, cheese, herbs, baking powder, salt and chili powder. You can beat on low speed or mix it using a wooden spoon. 
3. Fold in sun-dried tomatoes and olives. Divide equally into 12 muffin cups.
4. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes until golden brown. 
5. Turn onto wire rack to cool. Serve warm. Can be warmed in the microwave for 10 seconds. 
6. Can be served with cream cheese or honey.