Rustic Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter

This Rustic Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter is the perfect side dish for soup, stew and chili season. Buttermilk adds richness to this tender cornbread.

There are just as many opinions on the correct way to make cornbread as there are recipes for cornbread, and folks can feel quite passionately about the subject. The ratio of corn meal to flour, sugar or no sugar, skillet or baking dish; these are items that have and will be debated by cornbread lovers forever.

The recipe I’m sharing with you today has evolved in my home over years of making cornbread for my family. I use a slightly higher ratio of flour to cornmeal which gives the cornbread a slightly more tender and less crumbly texture than many others. Buttermilk adds richness and I do add sugar. Not surprisingly, I found my boys enjoy it more with a little sweetness and slathered with homemade honey butter.

We will start by combining the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

In a separate larger bowl, use an electric hand mixer to cream together the softened butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well incorporated.

Grab a wooden spoon and mix in a little of the flour/cornmeal mixture and then alternate with a bit of buttermilk.

Continue this process until all of the flour/cornmeal mixture and buttermilk have been added.

Baking cornbread in a cast iron skillet gives it a slightly different texture than baking it in a glass dish. It is my preferred method but use what you have. If you are using a cast iron or oven-safe skillet, melt about 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat. If you are using a glass baking dish, coat it with non-stick cooking spray.

Spoon the cornbread batter into your prepared pan or dish of choice and transfer it to a pre-heated 375 degree oven.

In about 20 minutes you’ll have perfectly baked, golden, sweet cornbread

Lodge makes varying sizes of cast iron skillets and they are very affordable. I used a 10″ skillet here which yields a higher cornbread. If you prefer a lower profile bread, use a 12″ skillet. Be aware that the baking time will be a little less if using a larger pan.

In addition to the skillet improving the texture of the cornbread, it makes it look so cool. There’s just something about cornbread in a cast iron skillet.

While the cornbread is baking I highly recommend you whip up this simple and totally delicious honey butter. Honey, softened butter, and a touch of powdered sugar to lighten up the texture. This combination is heavenly on cornbread.

Scrape the honey butter out of the mixing bowl and into a small serving dish and store in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

I don’t need to tell you what to do next, do I?

Enjoy!

Rustic Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter

5 from 6 votes

This Rustic Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter is the perfect side dish for soup, stew and chili season. Buttermilk adds richness to this tender cornbread.

Course: Bread, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: Valerie Brunmeier

Keyword: cornbread with honey butter, sweet cornbread

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Prep Time:5 minutes minutes

Cook Time:25 minutes minutes

Total Time:30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

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Ingredients

For the Cornbread:

• 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ⅔ cup white sugar
• ⅓ cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, omit if using this recipe for cornbread stuffing
• 2 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups buttermilk

For the Honey Butter:

• ½ cup butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
• Place sugar, softened butter, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix with a hand mixer until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, and continue mixing until well incorporated.
• Stir in flour mixture and buttermilk, alternately, with a spoon until just combined.
• Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in an 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. When butter has melted, remove the pan from heat and swirl the butter around to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Pour cornbread batter into pan and place in preheated oven.
• Alternately, if using a baking dish, coat the bottom of the dish with softened butter or non-stick cooking spray and pour cornbread batter into dish.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Baking time will depend on size of pan so watch closely towards end of baking time.
• Slice and serve with honey butter.

For Honey Butter

• Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, combine softened butter, honey, and powdered sugar. Beat until light and fluffy. Transfer honey butter to a small serving dish and refrigerate until ready to use.

Notes

For Cornbread Muffins:

 

Coat a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray. Divide the mixture between 12 muffin cups, filling them about 3/4 full. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.

Nutrition

Calories: 463 kcal · Carbohydrates: 60 g · Protein: 8 g · Fat: 22 g · Saturated Fat: 13 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 93 mg · Sodium: 518 mg · Potassium: 326 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 24 g · Vitamin A: 668 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 126 mg · Iron: 2 mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.

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