As I grew up in North Carolina and Virginia, the aroma of freshly baked cornbread often filled our home. It’s one of the smells that says love to me because my mother and grandmother baked love into every bite of cornbread created in their kitchens. I think of it as quintessentially Southern cuisine whether baked in pans or muffin tins, or as skillet-fried lacy-edged patties, or deep-fried hushpuppies. It pairs particularly well with chili, and with pork dishes—from pulled pork BBQ to pork roast— especially with a side of baked apples. Mama also prepared some form of cornbread whenever she cooked seafood— saltwater fish such as flounder and rock fish, blue crabs, and shrimp. My personal favorite cornbread pairing is with that chicken and vegetable wonder known as Brunswick Stew!
Something that adds a delicious crowning touch to cornbread is Honey Butter. Oh my—warm cornbread generously spread with homemade Honey Butter. Yum!
Following are easy recipes to bake your own “Love-Muffins” and to prepare Honey Butter. (Thanks to The Pioneer Woman website for this recipe.)
Cornmeal Muffins with Honey Butter
INGREDIENTS—
For the Cornmeal muffins:
– Cooking spray, for the muffin tin
– 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 cup medium/fine-ground yellow/white cornmeal
-2 Tbsp. sugar
-1 Tbsp. baking powder
– 1/4 tsp. salt
– 1 1/2 cups buttermilk*, at room temperature
-6 Tbsp. salted butter, melted
-2 Tbsp. honey
-2 large eggs, at room temperature
For the Honey Butter:
-8 Tbsp. (1 stick) salted butter, room temperature
-3 Tbsp. honey
DIRECTIONS—
For the Cornmeal Muffins: 1- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking spray
2- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3- In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, honey, and eggs until well combined.
4-Pour the buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture, whisking until just combined. Careful not to over mix.
5- Fill each prepared muffin cup until almost full (about ⅓ cup batter in each).
6- Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 17 to 22 minutes.
7- Let cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes before removing the muffins to a wire rack.
Serve the Muffins warm with the **Honey Butter.
*You can use store-bought buttermilk, or make your own by pouring 1 ½ tablespoons of white vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice into a 2-cup glass measuring cup, then adding enough plain milk to reach the 1 ½ cup mark. Stir and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes as it thickens.
For the **Honey Butter:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the room-temperature butter and the honey until well combined.
(The Honey Butter can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month. Tightly wrapped, it will keep in the freezer for 3 months. Let the honey butter come to room temperature before serving.)
Thanks for stopping by. Y’all come back now. (And bring me some muffins!)
Kathryn