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. They’re a great addition to serve along with chili, soup or salad. It’s 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! There’s 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 don’t 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 can’t 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 isn’t overly dense.
But if you don’t 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
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.
- 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
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 400°F 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 “well” 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.
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