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Tender and delicately moist Honey Butter Cornbread is like nothing you’ve had before. With a buttery sticky sweet glaze, it’s almost sweet enough to be a dessert. It’s super soft and full of corn flavor making it the perfect pairing for chili and soups.
Of course this compliments all your favorite Thanksgiving and holiday side dishes like the Best Mashed Potatoes, Tini’s Macaroni and Cheese, Holiday Cranberry Sauce, Southern Sweet Potato Casserole, and Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin.
If you’re a corn LOVER like I am, you have to also check out my Loaded Corn Casserole, my Jiffy Cheesy Corn Casserole, Crock Pot Creamed Corn and my Southern Cornbread Dressing.
Why You’ll Love Honey Butter Cornbread
I don’t know about you, but there is no place for dry, sandy and crumbly cornbread in my kitchen (and any restaurant that serves such cornbread should be fined!).
There is nothing worse than cornbread being bland and dry cornbread and most of the versions I come across have yet to impress me. Which is why I set out to create the most incredibly tender, moist cornbread you’ve ever had.
This honey butter cornbread will blow you away. This is the type of dish you bring to a party and it creates a huge buzz! People don’t know cornbread to be THIS delicious, soft, or buttery. It has a texture similar to rum cake with a coarser crumb that’s super buttery and full of honey flavor.
Although it is sweet, it’s also savory from the butter, cornmeal and cream-style corn that is baked into the cornbread. So it still pairs beautifully with soups, stews (chili of course) and as an accompaniment to your Thanksgiving and holiday table. My favorite is paired with my Zuppa Toscana Soup, but it’s also delicious nestled up next to Cranberry Sauce, Mashed Potatoes, and my juiciest Cajun Bone-In Chicken.
Key Ingredients
Cream-style corn is the magical ingredient that imparts plenty of moisture into the cornbread.
Dry Ingredients – we’ll be using all-purpose flour, yellow ground cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
Sugar – a combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar (white sugar). The brown sugar adds a molasses flavor that pairs beautifully with the corn flavor.
Dairy – eggs, whole milk and sour cream. Instead of just using milk, sour cream makes baked goods richer and more moist.
Butter – no oil is used in this cornbread. It’s butter all the way. If you want to really amp up the flavor, use Kerrygold (or an equivalent butter 🙂
Honey – how could this be Honey Butter Cornbread without the honey? We’ll be using a quality honey (or even better a raw honey) for optimal honey flavor, not the cheap kind that has sugar syrups.
How to Make Honey Butter Cornbread
In just a few easy steps you can enjoy this tender buttery soft cornbread on your table to pair with all your favorite side dishes!
- Step 1: In the largest bowl you have, add in all the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, both sugars, baking powder and salt.
- Step 2: In another large bowl add the milk, melted butter, sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup honey. Whisk until smooth.
- Step 3: Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Be sure to whisk until no pockets of cornmeal remain, being careful not to over-mix.
- Step 4: Pour the cornbread into a 9×13 buttered baking dish. Bake in an oven at 375 for 35-40 minutes (basting with honey butter around 20 minutes in).
- Step 5: Make the honey butter by combining 1 stick of partially melted butter with a 1/3 cup honey it in a bowl and whisking until creamy and smooth.
- Step 6: At the 20 minute mark, pour over half the honey butter glaze, spreading it evenly edge to edge with a basting brush.
- Step 7: Once the cornbread is cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove from the oven. Use a wooden skewer or fork to poke holes all over the surface of the cornbread (like a poke cake).
- Step 8: Pour the remaining honey butter over the surface of the cornbread, working it into the holes and cracks on top so it seeps down. Serve warm, optionally with extra honey butter on the side.
Variations and Modifications
Here are a few ideas to keep in mind when making this delicious honey butter cornbread:
Make Muffins Instead – rather than baking this cornbread in a 9×13 pan, you can bake them in a muffin pan. Follow the same instructions with basting and poking the holes as instructed. Muffins work great if you are sharing these with guests.
Swapping out the cream style corn? Well, this is actually a necessary ingredient to add all the delicious moisture and corn flavor into the cornbread. If you don’t like having chunks of corn, use a food processor or blender to make it creamy and blended smooth before adding it to your ingredients.
Browned Butter – instead of adding melted butter into the wet ingredients, brown it first in a pan. This adds another dimension of nutty flavor that is incredible!
Make it Spicy – We all know that sweet and spicy are a perfect pairing so why not add jalapeños to this honey butter cornbread? I’d recommend using 1 – 1.5 cups of diced seeded jalapeños.
Make it Cheesy – I don’t recommend adding cheese to this version. I don’t think it’s very complimentary to the honey butter. I’d shy away from this, but if it sounds delicious to you – go for it!
Adding Rum – this is an unusual ingredient but absolutely delicious and this is a common ingredient in Caribbean cornbread. Try adding 2 tablespoons of rum into the wet ingredients. You can also add 1-2 teaspoons into your honey butter for extra rum flavor.
Looking for More Side Dish Recipes?
- Southern Baked Mac and Cheese
- Crock Pot Creamed Corn
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Southern Cornbread Dressing
- Scalloped Potatoes Au Gratin
- Creamed Spinach Bake
- Corn Casserole
- Cranberry Sauce
- Jiffy Corn Casserole
I hope you enjoy this easy recipe for Honey Butter Cornbread. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Honey Butter Cornbread
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups yellow ground cornmeal
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1 – 14.75 oz can cream-style corn
- 1.5 cups whole milk room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 2/3 cup butter, melted and cooled about 11 tablespoons
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup honey
Honey Butter
- 1 stick salted butter, partially melted 8 tablespoons
- 1/3 cup quality honey** I used local raw honey
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9×13 baking dish.
- In the largest bowl you have, add in all the dry ingredients: flour, cornmeal, both sugars, baking powder and salt. Whisk until evenly combined.
- In another large bowl add the milk, melted butter, sour cream, eggs, cream-style corn, vanilla extract, and 1/4 cup honey. Whisk until smooth.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Be sure to whisk until no pockets of cornmeal remain, being careful not to over-mix.
- Pour the cornbread into a 9×13 buttered baking dish. Bake in an oven at 375 for 35-40 minutes (basting with honey butter around 20 minutes in).
- Make the honey butter by combining 1 stick of partially melted butter with 1/3 cup honey it in a bowl and whisking until you yield a creamy honey butter texture.
- At the 20 minute mark, pour over half the honey butter glaze, spreading it evenly edge to edge with a basting brush.
- Once the cornbread is cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, remove from the oven. Use a wooden skewer or fork to poke holes all over the surface of the cornbread (like a poke cake).
- Pour the remaining honey butter over the surface of the cornbread, working it into the holes and cracks on top so it seeps down. Serve warm, optionally with extra honey butter on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are some photos for your Pinterest boards:
This cornbread was such a big hit ! My husband who swore he doesn’t like corn bread even enjoyed it ! So yummy
Hey Sadie – I am so thrilled to hear that. It was the same here!! My husband HATES all things corn and cornbread. I begged him for 10 minutes to take a bite and he was shocked he liked it. He said he liked it so much he would actually eat it with chili or soup.
This was amazing! Perfect with chili!
It was delicious with our chili. It could have passed for a dessert too!!!
Literally the best cornbread you will ever make!
absolutely cannot wait to make this for thanksgiving 😍