Jalapeno Cornbread

This cornbread recipe is certified “super easy” by our inhouse Chef. It is so good, that our taste testers sneakily went back for more, myself included. The ingredients for this recipe are straightforward, and it can be made even by the most inexperienced chef. If you have everything else but for some reason don’t have buttermilk, you can make it by combining a cup of milk with a tablespoon of lemon juice and letting it sit for about ten minutes. You’ll end up with something that is just a little thinner than buttermilk, but it will get the job done the same way.

The recipe we used called for ¼ cup of oil, butter, or bacon grease. We used vegetable oil, but a bacon lover might enjoy the smoky, meaty flavor bacon grease would give to the cornbread. The jalapenos can be either mixed directly into the batter or can be sprinkled on top after the batter has been added to the pan. Personally, I prefer mixing them into the batter for a bite of jalapeno every time, but that’s just me.

Jeff used our Demerara Sugar, since he likes to avoid using processed and refined white sugars. Demerara sugar has a very light caramel like flavor, which arguably enhances the flavors of the jalapeno cornbread. This does not affect the turnout or texture of the bread, and using white sugar is just fine if that is all you have on hand. The cornmeal in the recipe is of much more dire importance, since it will negatively affect the cornbread if the wrong sort is used. The cornmeal must be stone ground, it cannot be the kind of cornmeal used to make tortillas.

Cornbread cooks beautifully in a cast iron pan, but a 9x5 loaf pan will get the job done, too. You can mix some molasses into a soft butter for a molasses spread that would taste lovely on this cornbread, or you could use honey butter which is basically the same idea. Regular butter is good too, for those of you who just want something savory.

This cornbread is best served warm, and if you do cook it in a cast iron skillet, you can serve it straight from that for some continued warmth. Cast iron tends to keep its heat for a while, so you may be able to get warm seconds. This cornbread would be wonderful to eat alongside our Vegetarian Bean Chili recipe, so what are you waiting for?