This recipe was included in the same Southern Living (May 2009) as the Rustic Vidalia Onion Tart. These muffins are  equally delicious, and they are a great addition to a light lunch or dinner. I enjoyed the muffins with a salad made of mixed greens, sliced apple, dried cranberries, blue cheese crumbles, and homemade vinaigrette.

Try them. You won’t be disappointed. Here’s the recipe:

• ¾ cup chopped pecans
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped (1½ cups to 1¾ cups)
• 2½ cups all-purpose baking mix (I used Bisquick.)
• 1½ cups (6 oz. ) shredded Cheddar cheese
• ¾ cup milk
• 2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pecans in a single layer in a shallow pan 6-8 minutes or until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring once halfway through.

Meanwhile, melt 3 tbsp. butter in a medium-size nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; add Vidalia onion, and saute 6-8 minutes or until onion is tender and begins to caramelize. (I let the onions cool before I added them to the mixture.)

Remove pecans from oven; increase oven temperature to 425 degrees.

Combine baking mix and cheese in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together milk and eggs; add to cheese mixture, stirring just until moistened. Stir in onion and pecans. Spoon into a lightly greased muffin pan, filling almost completely full. (I used paper muffin liners and sprayed each liner with a little canola oil.)

Bake at 425 degrees for 14-16 minutes or until golden. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 2 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack. Let cool 6-8 minutes. Serve warm with butter.

Variation:

Omit pecans. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss one peeled and chopped Granny Smith apple with tsp. sugar in a small bowl. Prepare recipe as directed, stirring apple into batter with onion. Bake 14 minutes.