Cornbread Muffins
These cornbread muffins are tender and fluffy, with just enough sturdy body to stand up to butter, honey or jam. Serve them with chili or soup, or your favorite Southern-inspired meal.
The classic cornbread muffin is a slight change of pace from the classic cornbread. It has a slightly sturdier body than my traditional cornbread, but still is crumbly with a soft and buttery interior and just a hint of sweetness. Theyโre a great addition to serve along with chili, soup or salad. Itโs also perfect next to barbecue ribs or really any Southern or Southwest-inspired meal.
Of course, I like to serve the muffins with my favorite meal, but my husband loves to eat them all on their own. A slab of butter, a drizzle of honey, or schmear of jam is all he needs for a great breakfast! Thereโs honestly no right or wrong way to eat these muffins.
Should I Add Sugar To Cornbread?
Classic Southern cornbread tends to be more crumbly with less flour and more cornmeal in the batter as well as less sweet. The addition of sugar in southern cornbread, if used at all, is usually measured in teaspoons not tablespoons. But Northern cornbread often has more sugar and a firmer, more solid texture.
This cornbread muffin recipe is more Northern style, with the addition of 2 tablespoons of sugar. You can add up to 4 tablespoons of sugar if you like a sweet cornbread, though I find any more than that you start bordering on cake and actual muffin territory.
I also like to serve my cornbread muffins with butter, jam, or honey. Because of that, I want a firmer and more sturdy cornbread that can hold together. If you donโt like a sweet cornbread, feel free to reduce the sugar down to 2 teaspoon (or omit it completely).
Do I Need To Use Buttermilk?
Buttermilk is a classic ingredient for cornbread. It lends a signature slight tang to the cornbread that you canโt get with any other ingredient. The acidity of the buttermilk also interacts with the baking soda to help give lift to the cornbread, so it isnโt overly dense.
But if you donโt have buttermilk you can make a substitute by mixing 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of milk. Stir together and add to the batter like the buttermilk.
Buttermilk Substitute: 1 Tbsp. vinegar or lemon juice stirred into 1 cup milk.
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Cornbread Muffins
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cooling Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
DESCRIPTION
These cornbread muffins are tender and fluffy, with just enough sturdy body to stand up to butter, honey, or jam. Serve them with chili or soup, or your favorite Southern-inspired meal.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups flour (210 g)
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal (175 g)
- 2 Tbsp. white sugar
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ยฐF and spray a standard 12 cup muffin tin with cooking oil.
- Place the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large sized bowl. Using a balloon whisk, stir the ingredients together until they are uniform in color and well blended.
- Place the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs in a medium sized bowl. Using a balloon whisk, stir the ingredients together until they are well blended.
- Make a โwellโ in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a large spatula, gently fold and stir the ingredients together until they just form a batter. Do not overmix.
- Spoon and divide the batter into the muffin cups. The cups will be about 3/4 full. Bake in the oven for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops are just starting to turn a little brown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffins comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before running a thin knife around the edge of the muffins and removing them to a wire cooling rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Christine is the founder of TheCookful and also of her blog COOKtheSTORY. Her passion is explaining the WHY behind cooking โ Why should you cook things a certain way; Will they turn out if you do it differently; What are the pros and cons of the method? Learn more about Christine, her cookbooks, and her podcast.