Honey Cornbread Muffins
Honey Cornbread Muffins are slightly sweet, with a moist cake-like crumb from buttermilk and butter. This is our family’s favorite cornbread muffin recipe!
Cornbread was not a way of life for our family when I was growing up. The times when it would occasionally show up at a gathering, I would always try it. But I’d never return for seconds.
Then, as an adult, I discovered moist, sweet cornbread at a barbecue restaurant. I was in love.
For those who know me well, it’s no secret how much I adore tender, fall-off-the-bone barbecue ribs. And the ribs at that restaurant were excellent. But I found myself wanting to return for the cornbread!
This recipe for Honey Cornbread Muffins is the result of a later-in-life discovery of how I was meant to enjoy cornbread forevermore. It has turned into the only cornbread muffin recipe my family wants to see on the table. I hope you like it, too!
I remember well when I was testing this recipe in our kitchen. Tessa was just barely three years old, my cheery little helper. We washed the muffin tins many times and went through a good amount of corn meal.
And when the cornbread muffins were “perfect”, we passed around a basket for the rest of the family to critique. Hatti, eight years old at the time, told me to, “Never make cornbread muffins any other way. Ever.”
How to make honey cornbread muffins
These muffins are some of the easiest you’ll ever make. I can whip these up and pull them out of the oven, in just 3o minutes of time.
This cornbread muffin recipe incorporates equal parts all-purpose flour and yellow corn meal. Because, even though I like the flavor and texture of corn meal a whole lot, too much can just be…too much.
The muffins get their rich flavor and moist crumb from buttermilk and butter. If you haven’t liked cornbread in the past, because all you’ve had was dry and crumbly and bland…I beg you to give this cornbread recipe a try. This slightly sweetened version is sure to win you over.
What to eat with cornbread muffins?
We make these cornbread muffins most often when there’s a pot of chili waiting for us. This summer chicken chili is wonderful, incorporating fresh zucchini, yellow squash, sweet corn, and herbs. And this slow cooker chili has been a longtime family favorite.
Cornbread muffins are also great companions to most anything coming off the grill. Think beer can chicken, chipotle orange salmon, or chili lime pork tenderloin.
And anything slathered in barbecue sauce is a sure win. Try these country style barbecue pork ribs in an Instant Pot. This honey barbecue sausage meatloaf. Or this grilled barbecue chicken salad.
And, hey! These muffins freeze well. I recommend making an extra batch to pull out as a quick side for a future meal.
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Honey Cornbread Muffins
This recipe is quick and easy. The cornbread muffins are slightly sweet, with a wonderfully moist cake-like crumb from buttermilk and butter in the batter.
Ingredients
- 1 c. yellow corn meal
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 c. buttermilk
- 1/2 c. butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 c. honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Spray a standard muffin pan lightly with cooking spray, or line your pan with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, mix the corn meal, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, eggs, and honey. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
- Divide the cornbread mixture into your prepared pan. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden. Remove pan from oven and let muffins rest in pan for 5 minutes before placing on a rack to cool.
Notes
from a farmgirl's dabbles
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 211
This post was previously published in 2010. Photographs and some of the text were updated in 2018.
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I made these and substituted whole wheat flour. Also had to bake for 20 minutes. They turned out wonderfully and delicious with just the right amount of sweetness. Can’t wait to make these again!
Loved these. They a nice dense and not crumbly muffin. The sweetness is perfect. I had to bake mine for 20 minutes instead of the recommended 15. Will make these again.
I am so glad you liked this recipe, Pam. Thanks for coming back to let me know!
I have been looking for a cornbread recipe I really like for a while now, trying things with milk vs buttermilk, butter vs lard, cornmeal and flour vs all cornmeal, and so on. It has been surprisingly difficult to find a recipe that ticks all my boxes. It probably sounds like I’m going to say “This is finally the one!” Sad to say, this recipe still wasn’t the one, but it was pretty close! I think it was just a little too saccharine for me. I think that paired with the flour reminded me too much of a cake, and the corn flavor wasn’t coming through much.
I might try this again with a higher cornmeal ratio (or all cornmeal), half the sugar, and possibly lard instead of butter. Maybe a tiny bit more salt, too (I used salted butter and measured a tad less salt to compensate, so I may have put less than intended).
By the way, this recipe works fine in a 10″ iron skillet instead of muffins. It’s also the first time I’ve managed to turn the bread out onto a plate in one perfect piece!
P.S. if you’re worried about the lack of baking powder: Baking powder is just baking soda + an acid to activate the soda. Buttermilk is already acidic, so you don’t need the additional acid from baking powder.
Max – to get more corn flavor and less sugar, you can put a small can of whole kernel corn in the food processor, cut honey in half and fold in corn. It might give you more of what your looking for. Also, if your cornbread is sticking to your iron skillet, the skillet isn’t seasoned enough…..brush with canola oil and throw in oven on 300 for 20inutes. Brush again and heat oven to 400 for 10 minutes.
These are sooo good! This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Hi Luann – thank you so much, so happy you like the muffins! :)
These are the best corn muffins ever!
I have made them many times, and they’re always perfect.
The amount of sweetness, to me, is just right.
We had them tonight with crockpot ham and bean soup; it was a satisfying meal on a rainy fall night in Ohio.
Thanks for a superb recipe!
So glad to hear this, Mavis – thank you!
Best ever! Will never use another recipe!
Wonderful! Thank you!
Made these today. All I have to say is WOW! They are delicious. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Yay! Thanks for coming back to let me know, Mary. :)
Excellent, delicious muffins. Only variation, I used canned coconut milk instead of buttermilk. Definitely a keeper of a recipe. Thanks
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing about your variation!
Hi Brenda! Do you have a favorite brand and type of yellow corn meal? Do you prefer degerminated or stone-ground/whole grain? Would these be better with fine ground or coarser cornmeal? Looking forward to your suggestions before I make them! Thanks!
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Just made them. I used 1 1/2 cup corn meal and 1/2 cup flour. Haven’t tried them yet. Still hot.
Then why did you post?
I swapped some of the gradients to make a more healthy muffin: i used medium ground corn meal, self rising- Unbleached white flour, 1/4 c honey, ,baking soda,salt, ,whole milk , Olive oil instead of butter, two ripe bananas, two eggs, walnuts.
The muffins were moist and delicious.
If you want a sweeter muffin, you can add the sugar or more honey.
This is my breakfast.
They’re great for breakfast!!
I have been making cornbread for 30 + years and today I wanted to find a sweeter, moister recipe to go with chili. I think I’ve found my keeper! I was sceptical at first when i saw baking soda instead of powder and the recipe was thinner than i usually get. No worries, they are great!
Excellent recipe. Also made recipe with bacon drippings.
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I just made these to go with a Tx brisket chili I made. These are amazing!! They are the perfect balance with spicy food.
How I love to hear this. Thanks for coming back to let me know!
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Would these freeze well?
They do!!
In my early years as a wife, I once made sweet cornbread for my elderly Southern uncle who immediately told me “this ain’t cornbread, cornbread ain’t sweet!” Talk about life changing! My parents were small town Southerners and as we moved to bigger cities, some of the culture was lost. I spent a very long time looking for the perfect unsweet recipe and finally found it at Birmingham’s Highland Restaurant and Grill. It is a perfect cornbread – best with a stone ground cornmeal. Give it a chance for those who prefer a savory fare. I will say the addition of butter and sorghum molasses makes a lovely touch for those who do need a bit of sweet. My mom used to crumble left over cold cornbread in a glass of milk for breakfast. A guilty pleasure for me now but I must revisist. Here is a link to the recipe.
http://thelocalpalate.com/recipes/highlands-cornbread/
Hello Marialice – thank you for your lovely comment. I’ve been told that a number of times, that “real” cornbread isn’t sweet. But this is really how I like it! I’d love to try the version you spoke of, though!
These do sound like the perfect muffin!
Kept looking for a pic showing the inside of the muffins?
Considering how I always put honey on my cornbread anyways….this recipe is perfection!!! :)
I would love to make these but just bought a pack of Martha White’s buttermilk cornbread mix. Would I be able to make this same recipe using this mix and just adding the sugar and honey, and the butter?? I’m not sure what to do! Thanks!
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These came out very moist and tasty!
Wonderful to hear. Thanks, Rachel!
I love cornbread but could not find a recipe that I liked – it needed to be moist and slightly sweet. Since trying your recipe I have no need to try other recipes….. This one is just perfect. The only thing I did differntly was to bake it in a cast iron pan.
I’m so glad you liked this recipe. It’s one of my family’s favorites!
I made these last night with the 6-Hour Slow Cooker Chili recipe also from your blog. First time making the cornbread muffins, usually just make the chili (It really IS the best chili recipe we’ve ever had). These muffins are delicious! They have the perfect texture, flavor, and sweetness to accompany any chili. My picky husband is 2 for 2 for liking recipes I make from your website. Thanks for these delicious recipes and I look forward to finding more tasty treats on here!
That’s awesome to hear, Kendall. Thanks for letting me know. Those two recipes are some of our favorites! Happy New Year!
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I must say, I made these muffins and they truely are the VERY BEST I’ve ever made or eaten for that matter, Farmgirl THANK YOU for an absolute KEEPER!!!!!
I’m so glad you liked them! Thanks for letting me know. :)
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I made these last week and they were great. I added some blueberries into the batter for the last 4 muffins since I ended up making 16 muffins with the batter and they were good as a quick breakfast. Here’s my blog post
http://curiouscountrycook.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-weekend-cornbread-muffins.html
Just wanted to say I made these for a first date a while ago, and they were a huge help in getting a follow-up! Thanks for the help =)
Good to know! ;) So glad you liked them, and that my recipe is being used for so much good!!
I stumbled upon this last night via a recipe of yours on tasty kitchen.com. Made them tonight and Im happy to say I have finally found a homemade cornbread/muffin recipe that is perfectly moist, sweet but not too sweet and delicious. Thanks so much for sharing, this will be my go-to recipe from now on!
(I also plan on making your apple cake, looks amazing!)
Thank you so much for your comment, I really appreciate it. I’m so glad you liked these muffins. They are always a hit around here! I’d love to hear what you think of the apple cake, too. :)
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Made your honey corn muffins tonight. YUM!!! I could eat them all!!
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Yep – they were really yummy! I had to have one more after the meal was over just to make sure :)
Glad you liked them, too, Sarah! Wish I could have been there with everyone!
Yay! My mom’s cornbread blessing has been received! :-)
I haven’t had the chance to bake these myself, but Patsy baked them at the lake and I was happy to sample them when she offered one to me. Yummy!
Glad you perfected the recipe.
They look delish!