Next Post
Chicken Souvlaki Bowls with Garlic Fries.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
The very best Browned Butter Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins. Because your Tuesday is truly in NEED of a savory, sweet cornbread muffin. These muffins are extra special, made with cornmeal, buttermilk, fresh jalapeños (if you’d like them), sweet honey, and nutty browned butter. They’re moist, with just the right amount of crumb, so flavorful, and beyond delicious. Bonus? They’re super easy to make! Try eating them warm, right out of the oven with a smear of butter and a drizzle of honey. Promise, they won’t disappoint!
Here’s the deal, I realize that look-wise these muffins are nothing exquisite, but when it comes to taste and texture? These muffins are spot on, and without a doubt one of my staple HBH recipes. What’s a staple HBH recipe? Well, considering I just made that up, I’m not entirely sure. But I’m thinking that a staple HBH recipe would be a recipe that I remake time and time again. Meaning, it will not just sit here on HBH for me to never look at again.
I truly LOVE each and every recipe I share with you all. But seeing as I am constantly testing new recipes, day in and day out, it can be hard to have the time to go back and make the recipes I’ve already tested and shared. Does that make sense?
That said, there are some recipes, recipes like these muffins, that I end up making over and over for family dinners, gatherings, and parties. Recipes like my homemade naan, the beer bread from my cookbook, and my favorite lemon tart. I’d consider these “staple HBH recipes”, and now these muffins will be included on that list.
These muffins can be made from now up until Thanksgiving (because every Thanksgiving table needs a good cornbread). They’re the perfect cornbread muffins, with actual corn flavor, the right amount of “crumb”, and perfectly hinted with sweetness. SO DELICIOUS.
And maybe the most exciting part? These muffins are the easiest to make. If you keep a well-stocked pantry, you should have everything on hand to make these muffins right now.
Now for the game-changer that sets these muffins apart from the rest…deep, dark, and golden brown butter. You’ve probably noticed, but I love browning butter. It adds the most subtly nutty, yet sweet buttery flavor. Anytime I can incorporate browned butter into a recipe, I pretty much always do. It adds another layer of flavor that just makes recipes better.
For these muffins, it pairs perfectly with the sweet corn and honey, making every bite mouth-watering.
{muffins before baking}
{muffins after baking}
The rest of the muffin is pretty straight forward. My goal was to create a cornbread that was moist, with good flavor, and with just the right amount of crumb. Often times cornbread can be overly dry and overly crumbly, but not these muffins. They have the perfect balance.
To keep the muffins moist, I like to use both buttermilk and yogurt. The combination of the two adds a touch of tang and so much moisture.
For serious corn flavor, I use only finely ground cornmeal. I decided to leave the whole kernels of corn out. I tested the recipe both with and without the corn kernels. In the end, everyone who tasted these agreed that the muffins were better minus the corn kernels. We liked that every bite was soft and fluffy, and found the flavor and texture to be much better.
To sweeten the muffins I used honey, which in my opinion is a must. Some recipes call for sugar, some brown sugar, and others maple syrup. But for me, honey is the only way to go. It creates a perfectly sweet muffin that’s only hinted with honey. It’s not overpowering but instead is just right.
The final component to these muffins? Jalapeños.
First, I want to say that if you don’t like spicy, that’s no problem, the jalapeños can easily be left out. But if you love sweet and spicy, then you must include the jalapeños. They’re the perfect sweet, spicy, and savory combination. My favorite combo.
This recipe is so simple…brown some butter, add some wet ingredients, add some dry, bake into muffins and done. If you wanted, you can also bake the batter in a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet and make skillet cornbread. Either way is going to be very good.
They’ll take you less than 15 minutes to prep and less than 15 minutes to bake. So you’re only about 30 minutes away from a warm, buttery cornbread muffin. Meaning, tonight you need to bake cornbread muffins to go along with dinner…or maybe just as an afternoon snack. These are great any time of day, preferably with a smear of butter, and a drizzle of honey too.
And of course, these will be great for upcoming Father’s Day this Sunday. And then 4th of July just a couple short weeks later. These pair great with almost any dish, especially a skillet chicken, baked beans, or even crumble them atop your favorite salad. Endless opportunities for these cornbread muffins.
Make them and enjoy!
If you make these browned butter jalapeño cornbread muffins, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Browned Butter Jalapeño Cornbread Muffins.
Servings: 16 12
Calories Per Serving: 708 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) salted butter, plus additional butter for greasing
- 1/3 cup honey, plus more for serving (real maple syrup may also be used)
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups finely ground cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1-2 jalapeños, seeded, if desired and chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 16 muffin tins lightly with softened butter. 2. Add the butter to a skillet set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown until it smells toasted and is deep golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Stir often. Remove from the heat and transfer the butter to a heat-proof mixing bowl.3. To the bowl, add the honey, buttermilk, and yogurt, whisking to combine. Whisk in the eggs. Now stir in the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until just combined. Fold in the jalapeños, if using. 4. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins. Transfer to the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool slightly in pan. Transfer muffins to a wire rack. Eat warm with additional butter and honey or let cool completely.
Notes
Make-ahead: Muffins can be made up to 2 days ahead. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Any replacement for buttermilk? These look really good but I’m lactose intolerant. Thank you!
Hi Michelle! I would recommend using a thick canned coconut milk. That will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Cast iron compatible? I’d love to make these in my skillet instead of muffins this weekend. Any recommendations to make that work??
Thank you ! ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Corin! I would spread the batter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet and bake for 40-45 minutes. I have not test this cooking time, but that is my best guess. Just keep an eye on it. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan ??
I whipped these up (sans jalapeño) at the last minute to go with your slow cooker turkey & white bean chili (though I used beef instead of turkey) for our dinner tonight. I only tasted the edge of the muffin to make sure it was done and tasted okay, and it was delicious! I didn’t know cornbread was an easy thing to make, but this is so simple and light and has just enough sweet that it’s probably going to make a regular appearance on chili nights now.
Hi Kayla! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Not enough salt, too much butter. Not good.
Hi! I am really sorry to hear that. Is there any questions I could help you with? xTieghan
Circling back to tell you I made this recipe and it was delicious! I was very skeptical when mixing the batter because it was so very thick. (We make our cornbread with a thinner batter—almost as much buttermilk as cornmeal/flour.) In fact, I was so worried that I added an extra spoonful of yogurt! But I think it was not necessary. The cornbread was wonderfully moist, and the flavor was amazing. I added 2 large jalapeños but they were so mild that next time I will add 3. I made it in a 12” cast iron skillet, which I placed in the oven during the preheat with a smidge of bacon fat so that the batter went into a screaming hot pan. (The skillet was very full, so I think a 10” would be too small.) My daughter and I ate all of it over a period of about 4 days. 30seconds in the microwave and a smear of butter, and it was almost as as good as fresh out of the oven. Thanks for this fabulous recipe!
SO happy to hear that Kim! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
Hi!! I’m planning to make these this weekend but my grocery had somewhat limited ingredients. They only had low-fat buttermilk. I also accidentally grabbed non fat yogurt :/ Will this work? Would you recommend adding extra butter/ oil? Also, I could only find medium ground cornmeal. Will this work? Any tips? Thank you!!
HI there! I think these subs should still work just fine. I might serve with a pat of butter to make up for any flavor lost. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I made these for our Father’s Day bbq and they were simple to make and delicious. I was happy I included the jalapeño because it added another layer of flavor without any serious heat. The are great the following day as well.
Thank you so much Jill! xTieghan
Could whole-fat buttermilk be substituted for the greek yogurt? (I’ve got some in the fridge that needs to get used up.) Thanks!
Hey John, I have not tested it so I can’t say for sure, but I do think the buttermilk should work just as well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
They look great! Ready to try them, but don’t have a muffin tin- any advice for making these in a 8×8 pan instead of muffin tin?
Hey Hanna! I would actually recommend a 10 inch cast iron skillet if you have one and baking for 20-25 minutes or until just set in the center. If using an 8×8 inch pan, you will need to bake closer to 30-35 minutes, but I have not tested this so I am not positive on the time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Love cornbread and these are terrific. To Katie, I used finely ground polenta today and it worked perfectly.
Thank you so much David! xTieghan
Hi there
I’m in the uk. Can I use polenta instead of cornflour? Thanks!! Xxx
Hey Katie! A finely ground dry polenta should work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Oh my! Just reading through the recipe makes me sooooo hungry. How can you go wrong with anything that has “brown butter” and “jalapeños?” I may just need to whip some of these up for dinner tonight. And heck, I may need to eat a few in the meantime. Thanks so much for sharing!
Haha thank you Linger! I hope you try these! xTieghan
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I grew up in the South, is and we had cornbread on the table almost daily. My family was in the no-sugar-in-your-cornbread camp (there are 2 camps in the South and whichever one you grew up in is the only right way—it can be a contentious subject), but years ago, I discovered that honey in cornbread is delicious. I use jalepenos sometimes, too. But I have never used butter, and I am very excited to try this with brown butter! I need to make this now!
Yes you do!! I hope you absolutely love this recipe Kim! Let me know how it turns out for you! xTieghan
Hi, Tieghan.
I am sorry to disagree with you, but your cornbread muffins look absolutely tasty — they have a very rustic, wabi sabi beauty that just makes me want to smother them with European butter, a drizzle of good orange blossom honey, and then eat six of them straight away! And I can’t wait to try this recipe with the addition of quality shredded sharp cheddar cheese!
Haha thank you so much Janine! I hope you love these muffins! xTieghan
ooooh yum yum yum, I love cornbread.
I hope you love these Ruth! Thank you! xTieghan