Harvest Thyme Corn Fritters

by | Appetizers Tapas, Side Dishes

Harvest thyme corn fritters are a beautiful showcase of Autumn’s corn, whisked into a savory fritter batter of thyme and smoked paprika, lightly sautéed to a crispy perfection. 

Thanksgiving Thyme Corn Fritters
Thanksgiving Thyme Corn Fritters

Corn Harvest

While corn is grown in just about every state in America, even if it’s a home gardener wanting their own sweet crop of corn, much of the corn is grown for animal feed and less for consumption by us corn loving humans. 

freshly shucked corn
Freshly Shucked Corn

Corn In My Kitchen

It just so happens that I live in Maryland where a great deal of corn is grown, for a rather small state. 

roasted corn on the cob
Roasted Corn On The Cob

I grew up roasting corn on the grill in the summer. What corn didn’t get eaten, the smokey kernel got shucked and added to Fresh Corn Summer Salads and other delicious dishes. 

corn & black bean salad
Corn & Black Bean Salad

What corn didn’t get roasted on the grill, right in their husks, was husked and dropped in boiling water for about ten minutes to both cook the corn and bring out its sweet juicy, sugary flavor. Sweet corn makes the absolute best Corn Ice Cream, by the way!

corn ice cream
Corn Ice Cream

Cornbread

Corn bread is made in so many different ways, depending on where you are from. As for me, I like it baked into a quick bread and not fried. 

Many of my corn bread recipes are baked in a muffin shape so they are easy to pack in kids lunches or a great to-go bread in a picnic. 

Corn muffins, both sweet, or savory with a little heat, such as my Jalapeño Corn Muffins or my scary Halloween Pepper Bacon Cornbread Skeletons are made from freshly shucked corn in the summer yet easily made from frozen corn in the winter. 

Jalapeno corn muffins
Jalapeno Corn Muffins
Halloween pepper bacon cornbread skeletons
Halloween Pepper Bacon Cornbread Skeletons

Not Enough Thyme

Many of you already know I am a late bloomer in the ‘home gardening’ department. I had other interests growing up and gardening wasn’t one of them. 

Fast forward to single mom years, when I started to take an interest in being that nerdy mom that grew food and cooked everything from scratch, there simply wasn’t enough time to grow, though I did make everything from scratch.

Now, in the ‘seasoned’ years of my life, I have time to grow thyme! I never realized how intense the flavor of freshly picked thyme was until I started growing my own. 

thyme
Thyme In My Greenhouse

Now I am always looking for recipes to put it in, especially since it grows in my greenhouse in winter as well as balcony pots in the summer. 

Thyme in these corn fritters is absolutely a bright herb to add to my savory corn fritters. The use of spring onions in this recipe is a perfect marriage to compliment the thyme. 

Fritters Fritters and More Fritters

While fritters can be made from a variety of veggies, meats or seafood, the corn fritter has become my favorite fritter. Corn fritters are a great side dish for a variety of meals, and adding cheese to them makes them almost better than the main dish!

Fritters, which simply mean to fry, often have a negative reputation for those particularly interested in a healthy lifestyle. Why? Fried! Lots of flour in the batter, dropped into crazy hot oil; often leaving the batter oily in a way that detracts from the flavors inside the fritter. 

Fritters Don’t Have To Be FRIED to be fritters! Sauté them! Just like you would cook a pancake or a crab cake (and heavens no I do not fry our Maryland crab cakes!), I simply sauté them until both sides are golden and the inside is hot. 

thyme corn fritter ingredients
Thyme Corn Fritter Ingredients

Making Thyme Corn Fritters

It was Thanksgiving. I wanted to serve some of the freshly harvested corn I had tucked into my freezer from summertime. 

Since I am not a ‘casserole’ kind of cook (didn’t grow up with them), I wanted something fresh tasting yet warm. I also wanted both corn fritters the kids could eat and a few spicy hot corn fritters for the jalapeño loving adults!

hot or mild corn fritters
Hot or Mild Corn Fritters

An easy to pick-up corn fritter was the answer! The little ones could pick them up and nibble, while the adults could easily fork them. 

The batter came together quickly. Freshly chopped spring onions, the whisk of eggs, a little flour to bind and baking powder to puff them slightly. 

corn fritter batter
Corn Fritter Batter

The batter is dolloped onto a hot pan, just like pancakes, flipped over and kept warm in the oven until ready to serve. 

These fritters can be made in advance and rewarmed in the oven before serving. Since the fritters are not ‘fried’ they do not get soggy when rewarmed!

corn fritters, sautéed not fried
Corn Fritters Sautéed Not Fried

Ingredients Needed

  • Corn
  • Eggs
  • Milk
  • Butter
  • Flour
  • Sugar
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Smoked paprika
  • Thyme
  • Spring onions
  • Grated Cheese
  • Jalapeno
  • Sunflower oil
thyme corn fritters
Thyme Corn Fritters

Equipment Needed

  • Mixing bowls
  • Large cast iron frying pan
  • Slotted spatula
  • Measuring spoons
  • Measuring cup
  • Whisk
  • Baking sheet pan
  • Stovetop or burner
  • Oven

Harvest Thyme Corn Fritters

Recipe by Robin DaumitCourse: Appetizers u0026amp; Tapas, Side DishesCuisine: American
Servings

8

servings

Autumn’s corn harvest, whisked into a savory fritter batter of thyme and smoked paprika, lightly sautéed to a crispy perfection. 

Ingredients

  • Corn – 3 cups

  • Eggs – 2

  • Milk – 1/2 cup

  • Butter – 3 tbsp, melted

  • Flour – 1 cup

  • Sugar – 1 tsp

  • Baking powder – 1 tsp

  • Salt – 1 tsp

  • Smoked paprika – 1/2 tsp

  • Dried or Fresh Thyme – 1/2 tsp

  • Spring onions – 3 stalks, chopped

  • Grated Cheese – 1/2 cup

  • Jalapeño – 1, finely chopped (optional)

  • Sunflower oil – 1/4 cup, or other cooking oil

Directions

  • In a mixing bowl, add the cooked corn, eggs and milk. Blend without breaking the corn kernels. Mix in the melted butter.
  • Over the corn mixture sprinkle the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, paprika and thyme. Gently mix.
  • Add the chopped spring onions, grated cheese and jalapeño if using. Blend.
  • In a medium hot pan, drizzle a little sunflower oil. When it starts to smoke, place heaping tablespoon size dollops of the corn batter. Cook until the underside is firm enough to flip over and takes on a medium gold color. Flip it and cook the other side. Continue until all the fritters are cooked.
  • Keep warm in a low oven. Or the fritters can be made in advance and heated in the oven just before serving.
thyme & cheese corn fritters
Thyme & Cheese Corn Fritters
 

My Muffin Madness

 

In my family, I’ve always been known as the ‘Muffin Queen’. Out of necessity, I created muffins for breakfast, lunch, on the go snacks, sometimes dinner and a sweet yet healthyish treat for dessert!

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