Simple, Quick, & Delicious: Cornbread with Whipped Cinnamon-Honey Butter

What goes great with mac and cheese?  Cornbread muffins with whipped honey butter.  If you are looking for the ultimate comfort food combination, this is definitely it!  Instead of making a dessert for this week's post, we thought these muffins when paired with cinnamon flecked, honey infused butter would not only compliment the meal, they could stand alone as a dessert-like treat. Making these muffins is really simple and the prep is quick; but most importantly, they are delicious.  Now what could be better than that?!

Caitlin: Homemade cornbread is a weakness of mine - I can eat an entire batch in one sitting with some butter and honey. And if there's any leftover, it's great with morning coffee. This recipe is incredibly easy and delicious - the only differences I made were to add fresh corn to the batter and then I baked it in a cake tin instead of a muffin pan - that way, you can put it directly on the table and people can cut it and serve themselves while it's still hot. It's the perfect addition to mac and cheese, but I also love cornbread with slow cooked pork or rotisserie chicken. And of course Barbeque - those southerners are definitely onto something!

Caitlin's Version

Monica:  This recipe was a first for me - cornbread from scratch.  It was not only easy, the batter had a wonderfully light texture before I baked it, so I knew it would be good.  The muffins are crumbly, but not too crumbly.  When served warm, the sweet butter mixture melts beautifully on the muffin. I enjoyed these muffins with my mac and cheese and their subtle sweetness was the perfect complement. You can also use the leftover butter for your pancakes or waffles...that is, if there is any left!

Monica's Version

Ingredient List

For the Muffins (makes 12)

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk or 2%

2 large eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup honey
*if adding fresh corn - use the kernels from one ear

For the Butter:

1/4 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until mixed. If adding fresh corn, stir it in with the batter.

Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden.
If baking in a cake tin, grease it before adding the batter. Then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

As the muffins are baking, make the butter mixture.

Combine the butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt with an electric mixer. Serve at room temperature with the muffins.

butter with a little extra honey drizzled on top

Variations

If you prefer to leave the cinnamon out of the butter mixture, it tastes equally delicious with just the honey.

Add fresh corn to the batter for added texture and taste.

A Recipe to Remember? 

Definitely, it is the perfect treat to eat with this meal. The leftovers are also great for a quick breakfast treat.