Although cornbread can be a fairly hearty food, I find that I often bake it during the summertime. It is easy to make a batch of cornbread – so you don’t need to spend a long time in the kitchen, or have the oven on for hours – and it can be served with just about anything.
I like cornbread a little bit on the sweet and tender side of the spectrum, mostly because I think adding a little bit of honey, sugar, maple syrup or other sweetener to cornbread can highlight the sweetness of the cornmeal. These Honey Cornbread Muffins are just right for me. They’re not particularly sweet when you compare them to blueberry or other fruit muffins, but there is a noticeable hint of honey in every bite. They’re very moist and tender, with a fluffy crumb that has a hint of coarseness from the cornmeal in the batter. The muffins offer a great balance for rich or spicy dishes, like a batch of bbq ribs or some homemade chili. A coarse or medium ground cornmeal is going to be ideal for this recipe, and while I usually use yellow cornmeal, using blue cornmeal can add some great color to a batch.
I typically make these muffins plain – excluding the optional corn kernels that are listed in the recipe – because I find them to be the most versatile that way. I can slather the muffins with butter and jam in the morning, and dunk leftover muffins into a savory soup at night. Fresh, sweet corn will add some extra corn flavor to your muffins and they also add a nice texture, but as sweet as the corn is, I find that adding corn (I usually slice it fresh off the cob in the summer) makes these a bit more savory.
Honey Cornbread Muffins
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup honey
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup fresh corn kernels (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12 -cup muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornbread, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a medium bowl, whisk together butter, honey, eggs and buttermilk until smooth. Pour in to dry ingredients and stir just until batter is well combined an no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Divide evenly into prepared muffin cups.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. Muffins can be served warm or at room temperature.
Makes 12.
Dani @ Fitness Food And Style
July 30, 2012These are great and remind me so much of my Mums corn bread making in Serbia. Thanks for sharing and inspiring me to cook these in muffin form xxDani
Jen @ Savory Simple
July 30, 2012I like my cornbread on the sweet side as well! These are right up my alley.
CulinarilyCourtney
July 30, 2012I recently made sweet cornbread muffins and also added corn kernels. There is just something about adding little bursts of sweetness that take the muffins over the top!
Elaine
July 31, 2012These look delicious! I’ve been searching for a great cornbread recipe. Ones I’ve tried in the past are too salty, dry, or bland. I love slightly sweet cornbread, so here’s to hoping these are just what I’m looking for. Thanks for sharing!
Amy
July 31, 2012As soon as I saw this recipe I immediately thought of Dinosaur Barbeque….their honey cornbread is quite delicious and this recipe looks like it would be very similar. 🙂 Thanks Nicole!
Jas
February 6, 2014These are amazing!! I just whipped up a batch and bit into my first one – topped it with butter – and it is perfect! I love my cornbread sweet, but I experimented a bit, and made half the batch sweet, and the other half savory. I added the following to the savory mix: grated parmesan cheese, crumbled feta, black pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper, and dried basil. I also left the muffins in the oven for 2 min on broil once they had cooked through – I like them with a slightly more crispy top.
I will definitely be making these again!