Nothing defines Southern cooking more than a side of cornbread served with some hot soup or chili. It's cheap, filling, and can be altered in numerous ways to change the flavor profile, but fills out a meal like no other side dish. Although it is now mostly associated with Southern cuisine, Native Americans all over the country used to make similar cornmeal-based "breads" that we all have come to love and desire. Today's recipe, Sweet Jalapeno Cornbread, is a classic version made from scratch with minimal effort and time. It may be economically cheap, but this cornbread lacks nothing in terms of flavor, texture, and deliciousness! While this particular recipe version pairs particularly well with chili, you can enjoy it with just about any meal so get ready to learn to make it from scratch...Let's Get Cooking!
Prep work for this Sweet Jalapeno Cornbread is pretty straightforward. Finely dice the jalapeno peppers and shred the cheese if you didn't purchase it pre-shredded. Otherwise, place the unsalted butter in small bowl or glass and melt in the microwave in short intervals. Oh, and be sure to pull your eggs out of the refrigerator to warm up to room temperature before moving on. Otherwise, we can dive right in and get started making this delicious cornbread!
Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk until they are thoroughly mixed. This will include the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Once combined, set aside and pull out a large mixing bowl for the wet ingredients.
In a separate large mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients to include the melted butter, buttermilk, and room temperature eggs. Be sure scramble the eggs before adding them just to make life easier. Once the wet ingredients are combined, slowly add the dry ingredients mixture as you continue to whisk/stir. It is a little awkward to do this simultaneously so try adding a cup or so of the dry mixture at a time and whisking until smooth before adding the next bit repeating this process until everything is mixed smooth.
At this point, you have the base cornbread batter to which you can add and change any way you wish. For this recipe, we are just going to add in our shredded cheese and diced jalapenos and mix well until evenly dispersed and spread throughout. It should become fairly thick and somewhat difficult to stir once all the cheese is added, but still thin enough to pour. Another great ingredient you can add at this point is a can of sweet corn, if you want additional sweetness and texture in your final cornbread. Once your cornbread batter is fully mixed, set it aside for 10 minutes to hang out while the baking powder reacts and begins to help leaven the final product.
While the cornbread batter is resting for 10 minutes, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, use the remaining bit of butter, regular or unsalted, to rub and grease a 9x9 baking pan. Be sure to get in all the corners and up the sides to prevent any batter from sticking and burning.
Once the batter has rested 10 minutes and the oven is preheated, pour the cornbread batter into the buttered baking dish and evenly spread it out. It should be fairly thick, but still thin enough to tap and wiggle the baking pan to let it naturally level out.
Place the cornbread into the oven and bake for 33 to 38 minutes, until slightly browned on top and you can insert a toothpick in the center that comes out clean. Obviously, elevation, weather, ovens, and all sorts of variables will affect the cooking time to be sure to check it after 30 minutes or so. If the top is browning too quickly and the middle is still uncooked, loosely cover the pan with some aluminum foil to prevent the top from burning.
Once your cornbread is fully cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool a few minutes before slicing and serving. Otherwise, give yourself a pat on the back because you just pulled off scratch made cornbread the whole family will love in just under an hour! What do you think about this Sweet Jalapeno Cornbread? Will it be joining your next batch of chili, or soup? Be sure to give this recipe a try and tag me on social media @GrubbOnGrub and let me know what, if any, changes you made and how it turned out! I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a huge fan of baking due to the more precise measurements and science involved, and especially the words "scratch made," but this one is simple, easy, and delicious so don't be afraid to experiment and change things up next time you're in the kitchen....Just Keep Cooking!
SWEET JALAPENO CORNBREAD
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