Goldilocks Cornbread

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This is a recipe that I frankensteined when I was a teenager. Growing up in Tennessee, sweet tea and cornbread is served with almost every meal. The cornbread I grew up with was hearty, crumbly, and cut into wedges. Perfect for slicing in half, slathering with butter, and topping with some pinto beans to soak up all the deliciousness. But naturally, having the sweet tooth that I do, I wanted something that was a cross between Southern cornbread and the sweeter Northern cornbread. Northern cornbread is sweet, soft, and cut into squares. This is a wonderful marriage of the two, which is why I call it my Goldilocks cornbread. Like the nursery rhyme, it is “just right”. Every single time someone in my family makes this cornbread, someone asks for the recipe.

Any southerner knows that one of the secrets to a great cornbread is heating oil or butter in a cast iron, and then adding your cornbread batter to the hot skillet. That’s what gives you that yummy crunchy crust. And my family takes it up a notch by using good-quality salted butter. It gives the crust a salty crunch that is absolutely addictive.

To make this a jalapeño cornbread, remove the seeds and ribs from 1 jalapeño, dice it, and add it to the batter. 

What makes this recipe enchanting:

• It's very beginner friendly!

• It's a cross between Northern cornbread and Southern cornbread; a little sweet, a little savory.

• Goes with everything from stewed beans to stews and soups.

More southern comfort food recipes:

• Mom's Southern Milk Gravy for Biscuits

• The Best Buttermilk Biscuits with Cinnamon Honey Butter

• Rosemary Cheddar Cheese Drop Biscuits

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Video with step-by-step instructions:

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Goldilocks Cornbread:

• 3 tablespoons salted butter + 1 tablespoon canola oil, or ¼ canola oil

• 2 8-oz. packages corn muffin mix (I use Jiffy) 

• 1 cup (83 grams) shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup (118 ml) buttermilk

• ½ cup (113 grams) sour cream

• 1 14-oz. can creamed corn

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Pour mixes and cheese in a big bowl. Whisk the remaining ingredients together with a fork in a small bowl. Use a spatula to create a little well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Pour the corn mixture into the well. Use the spatula to fold the mixture together until just combined.

3. Add the canola oil and butter to a large 12-inch cast iron skillet, and place in the oven to get warm. This is what gives traditional cornbread that classic crisp crust. Watch carefully until the butter is hot but not burning.

4. Take out the warmed skillet (do not turn the oven off). Pour cornbread mixture into the skillet and put back into the 425 degree oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes. After the cornbread is done, remove the skillet from the oven, cut the cornbread into wedges.