This tender, moist and almost cake like Brown Butter Honey Cornbread recipe will be the best bread to grace your supper table. Filled with flavors like nutty rich brown butter and sweet honey, it is sure to impress all who try it! If you love this, you will also love this Jiffy Cornbread and Corn Pone.
Serve with this Hoppin John or even Collard Greens for a lovely southern meal! Looking for another cornbread recipe, definitely check out this Corn Spoonbread, Southern Cornbread Recipe, Corn Muffins or Hot Water Cornbread!
Irresistible Brown Butter Honey Cornbread!
Brown Butter Honey Cornbread is here Honey Child! Cornbread has been a staple in my household for as long as I can remember. With a corporate working mom, I grew up on Jiffy being the quick bread of choice for weeknight dinners. I would enjoy a homemade batch whenever we visited my big mama in Mississippi or whenever my auntie was making cornbread dressing.
Whether your preference is Southern style cornbread (savory with no sugar added, thank you very much) or Northern style (a nice sweet cake like kick is mighty fine indeed), there is no denying that cornbread is quite the comfort food.
What Is Honey Cornbread?
I set out to create a brown butter honey cornbread recipe that would kick the traditional kind up a notch. I started with adding brown butter to the mix, which is a big fixation for me nowadays if you haven’t quite noticed yet. It just adds so much depth of flavor! Then I threw in some honey to sweeten the deal.
By creating a more cake-like texture with the addition of flour, this brown butter cornbread with honey had me singing with delight after adding a pat of butter. I loved how it melted down the sides as I took a nice warm slice from my cast iron skillet to partake in.
Ingredients for Brown Butter Honey Cornbread Recipe
The key ingredients that truly make this recipe fantastic are the following:
- Cornmeal
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Sugar
- Buttermilk
- Honey
- Butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla
A combination of both yellow cornmeal and flour makes this cornbread the perfect texture. Too much cornmeal can give a really gritty taste. Flour helps balance this recipe making it perfect.
The use of one leavening, baking powder, gives this cornbread the perfect lift.
There is a nice amount of sugar in this recipe since we want it to be sweet. However we also add the honey which makes the honey stand out most.
Eggs are used for steady structure here, and the egg yolks also add richness. Buttermilk adds delicious moistness and rich tangy flavor. Vanilla extract is a lovely flavor and almost makes this cornbread almost taste cake like, and I love it!
Finally, the butter is essential! And we brown it. It adds a nutty flavor and takes the flavor over the top!
How To Make Honey Cornbread
Cornbread is a very easy batter to mix and bake. It doesn’t require a lot of elements, and this recipe is more of a dump and stir recipe.
The real element that requires more time is the browning of butter.
How to Brown Butter: In a small saucepan, add butter and melt over medium heat. Once melted, a white foam will begin to appear over the top of the butter. You’ll know your butter is ready when it becomes amber brown and wonderfully fragrant then you will allow to cool.
There is no need to over mix the cornbread. Once it combines, it is ready to bake up.
Tip for Adding Honey: I love to spray my measuring cup with non stick spray before adding honey because it slides out quite easily into the mixture.
How to Make Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk in your house, make your own! Add a teaspoon of lemon to milk or even coconut milk and allow it to sour then add to this recipe.
How to Bake Crisp Edges of Cornbread: In my family, we use bacon grease but you can use lard or even shortening and add to a cast iron skillet. We add it to a hot oven and allow it to get hot before pouring in our cornbread mixture. It creates two amazing different textures.
What To Serve Brown Butter Honey Cornbread Recipe With
This winter, try making a skillet of this brown butter honey cornbread or if you want some great fall cornbread, make this Brown Butter Pumpkin Cornbread. Here are some amazing recipes to pair it with:
Brown Butter Honey Cornbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup corn meal
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk I used coconut milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice to sour it
- ½-⅓ cup honey This comes down to preference- add less or more depending on how sweet you like your cornbread!
- ½ stick salted butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- Shortening
- Cast Iron Skillet
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
- In a saute' pan, melt butter over medium heat and wait until butter begins to brown. Be careful not to burn. Remove from heat and cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all-purpose flour, corn meal, baking powder and sugar until well mixed. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together buttermilk, honey, cooled browned butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and oil.
- Slowly add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix together until well combined.
- Coat cast iron skillet with shortening until fully covered. Place cast iron skillet in preheated oven for 4-5 minutes.
- Remove cast iron skillet from oven and add cornbread mixture to skillet. Place back in oven for 22-25 minutes until cornbread is done. Remove from oven and serve. Happy Baking!
Video
Notes
- Tip for Adding Honey. Spray the measuring cup with a coating of non-stick spray before adding the honey. This makes it slide out quite easily into the mixture and means less cleanup and no scraping!
- How to Make Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk in your house, make your own! Add a teaspoon of lemon to milk or even coconut milk and allow it to sour then add to this recipe.
- How to Bake Crisp Edges of Cornbread. It's all about heating the skillet with oil first! In my family, we use bacon grease but you can use lard or even shortening and add to a cast iron skillet. Then place it in the hot oven and allow it to get hot before pouring in our cornbread mixture. The cornbread mixture will cook right away when it hits the heated pan and hot oil. It creates two amazing different textures.
- Watch the Butter While It Browns. This step can go from golden to burnt in just minutes so keep an eye on it while it's cooking. Don't wander off or try to focus on other tasks as you may forget about it.
- The Grain of Cornmeal Matters. Cornmeal comes in different grains from coarse to fine. Any will work for this honey cornbread recipe but it will definitely affect the texture of your cornbread. Coarse cornmeal will create a crunchier, gritty style of bread with lots of texture whereas fine cornmeal makes a more cake-like texture.
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This is an amazing recipe. The brown butter and honey added delicious complexity without dominating the pure cornbread flavor. Thank you!
Sweet and delicious
I’m not sure when you rolled this recipe out, Jocelyn, but I’ve used it for years. I have used Vermont maple syrup in place of the honey and it works fine. Just depends on what I have. Thank you again for sharing this and giving me a keeper to share for years!
Best Cornbread I’ve Had In A Very Long Time…. Great And Very Easy Recipe To Follow….