Use fresh corn husks if available. Dried should be soaked 30 minutes until soft.

Fillings: see *Creamed Corn and Cheese and/or *Black Bean and Plantain Tamale Filling

Place the water and butter in a saucepan and heat until the butter melts.

Place the masa harina, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and stir with a fork to mix well. Whisk in the water and butter, beating well as you go, until you have a mixture the consistency of a wet cake batter. Don't worry if it seems too wet at first; it will thicken as you work.

Pour about 2 inches of water into a steamer or other large pot (see Note) and bring to a boil.

Shake the corn husks to dry them a bit. Select 12 husks large enough to roll into a tube 1 to 1-1/2 inches in diameter and lay them out on a counter. (Or select smaller husks and overlap two or three for each wrapper.) Place a full 1/4 cup of the batter in the center of each husk and press it into a rectangle about 4-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches and 1/4 inch thick. If filling the tamales, spread 2 tablespoons of the filling down the center of the batter. Roll up the husks lengthwise to enclose the filling. Fold the pointed ends under to the seam side.

Arrange the tamales, seam side down, in 1 or 2 layers on the steamer rack or a plate. Set the rack or plate in the pot and cover the tamales with a thick layer of husks. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Steam the tamales until cooked through, about 1 hour. The filling will no longer be moist and sticky and will pull away from the husks.

Serve the tamales warm in the husks to be unwrapped as eaten, accompanied by the warm melted butter and cilantro sprigs on the side.

Without filling: Per Serving: 237 cals, 19.7 g fat (72.6% cff)

with a lid, 1 or 2 cans, both ends removed, and a plate or rack that will fit inside the pot. Fill the pot with about 2 inches of water. When ready to cook, set the cans in the pot to hold the plate above the water level Arrange the tamales on the plate, set it on the cans, and cover the pot.