I can’t imagine a bowl of chili without cornbread. Somethings just go together and should never be parted! This doesn’t mean you can’t dress up your cornbread and add a variety of flavors to the mix. Variety is the spice of life after all. Cornmeal has so many different applications so don’t limit the flow of your creative juices to basic cornbread. Go wild with cornmeal and express yourself!
Native Americans were using ground corn (maize) for food thousands of years before European explorers arrived in the New World. European settlers, especially those who resided in the southern English colonies, learned the original recipes and processes for corn dishes from the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek. Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was very cheap and could be made in many different forms—high-rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried as unleavened pone, corn fritters, hoecakes.
Northern and Southern cornbread are different because they generally use different types of corn meal and varying degrees of sugar and eggs. Southern cornbread has traditionally been made with little or no sugar and smaller amounts flour or no flour, with northern cornbread being sweeter and more cake-like. Southern cornbread traditionally used white cornmeal and buttermilk. In Texas, the Mexican influence spawned a hearty cornbread made with fresh or creamed corn kernels and jalapeno peppers and with shredded cheese.
Texas style cornbread is the inspiration for our little muffins and they are perfect with a huge bowl of chili. My mouth is watering just thinking about the butter melting all over these muffins! Let’s saddle up and ride into cornbread territory.
Sweet Corn Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners. Round up your ingredients for the muffins. Traditionally cornbread is leavened with baking powder.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the milk, honey, eggs, and butter. Lightly whisk together until the honey is incorporated.
Always ~ Wet into Dry ingredients for “quick breads”. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don’t over mix!
Fold in jalapeno, corn kernels and cheese and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cups about 2/3 full.
Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If not clean, then bake for about 2 more minutes.
I like to slather my muffins in butter and dip chunks of the muffin into my chili for the perfect bite!
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 stick butter, (1/4 cup) melted
- 1/4 cup honey
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
- 3 Tablespoons chopped pickled jalapeno
- 2/3 cup frozen sweet corn kernels, thawed if frozen
- 1cup shredded cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
- Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, combine the milk, honey, eggs, and butter. Lightly whisk together until honey is incorporated.
- Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don’t over mix!
- Fold in jalapeno, corn kernels and cheese and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.
- Pour the batter into the prepared cups about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20 to 23 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If not clean, then bake for about 2 more minutes.
These are so addicting! Personally I like them with butter, but you could eat them plain with anything. They are spicy with the Jalapenos, but the corn kernels are sweet and balance everything nicely. Love ’em!
David ~ You are so right! Glad you enjoyed them!