Fall and Winter typically call for large pots of chili and soups. Large pots of chili and soups call for a great cornbread.
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| Chipotle Cheddar Cornbread |
The challenge with most of the cornbread mixes is that tend to produce a dry finished product. After you’ve spent all this hard work on a great pot of chili, do you really want to serve a crumbly bread that one has to lather up with butter and honey to be flavorful? Let’s look at an alternative that’s about as easy as the $2 Jiffy cornbread box.
Cast Iron Cornbread
Who doesn’t want a nice crispy exterior? Using either cupcake tins or a cake pan is fairly common, but they just don’t give cornbread that crispy outer crust. Here’s where your trusty cast iron pan comes in. Start by preheating it with your oven so that it’s super hot when you pour in the batter.
How to Make Moist Cornbread
After looking at many other self-described moist cornbread recipes, I noticed a common theme of creamed corn. This brings in some moisture, and more delicious corny flavor. You can use either a small can of creamed corn here…or make your own. The last time I made this recipe I realized I forgot to buy the creamed corn, but also discovered it’s pretty easy to make on your own.
In a small saucepan, start with a basic roux by melting 1 tablespoon of butter and slowly whisking in 1 tablespoon of flour. Let this cook over medium-low heat for about 1 minute and then slowly whisk in 1 cup of whole milk. Bring the milk to a simmer for about 3 minutes. Once it has thickened, add it 1 cup of corn kernels. Be sure to season as you go. That’s it….a super easy creamed corn recipe.
Adding in More Flavor
The last piece of the puzzle I wanted to solve was flavor. I love a good corn flavor, but there are some complementary flavors that will really amp up this recipe. Cheddar is a good start, but chipotle peppers really finish it nicely. I prefer buying them dried (Whole Foods bulk section) and reconstituting them with hot water. If you can’t find them dried, canned chipotle peppers work just as well.
10 minsCook time:
1 minute
Total time:
11 minutes
Yield: 1 cup
- 2 cups
Cornmeal - 1 teaspoon
Salt - 2 teaspoons
Baking Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Baking Soda - 2
eggs - 1 cup
Buttermilk (or whole milk, or even almond milk) - 2 tablespoons
honey - 1 small can
Creamed Corn (or the homemade version from above) - 1/2 cup
corn kernels - 1/3 cup
cheddar cheese - 1
chopped chipotle (or jalapeno) pepper
- Preheat your oven (with the cast iron pan inside) to 425 degrees
- Combine the first four dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk together
- In a separate bowl, lightly beat the 2 eggs and whisk in the buttermilk, honey and creamed corn. Finally, whisk in the corn, cheddar and pepper
- Lightly grease the hot pan with butter and pour in the batter. Cook for 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when it doesn’t jiggle in the middle
I'm glad to see a recipe using regular corn meal. I never have self-rising, and am never sure of the proportions for baking soda, etc.
Thanks for posting this to tasty kitchen!
SO delicious, very recently have been enjoying the bread making experience & Corn bread was on my to do list, thanks for the recipe should definitely try it.
Mmmm, this sounds like an awesome cornbread!! Thanks for stopping in from GYB. Following on FB as well!
I have a confession……I love the jiffy corn bread. Gasp!!! I know. However, I have no excuses. As a fellow chili lover I need to step up my game in the whole corn bread department. This recipe sounds awesome and super moist! Thanks!
No shame at all! It's easy…and consistent…but just needed a little boost. This would never have occurred to me until one day when I was going to make cornbread and didn't have a Jiffy box. But I had all the rest of the ingredients on hand…
Thanks again for poping in to GYB.
THis looks really good. I have never managed to get corn bread to taste really nice. Thanks for the tips.
sounds delicious!
I know it's nowhere near winter or fall, but this cornbread still looks tasty! 🙂