Moist and sweet cornbread muffins topped with homemade honey butter make a tasty and easy side dish!
Cornbread is one of those foods people seem to love or hate, and even people who love it have very specific requirements for their cornbread. Are you a savory or a sweet cornbread person. Dense and gritty or light and fluffy?
Me? I love cornbread. How do I like my cornbread? Like cake. I like my cornbread to be cake.
Okay, not quite, but my ideal cornbread is definitely sweet. Savory cornbreads, I just don’t get you. And I want it to be fluffy and slightly moist, not dry and crumbly. Ick.
Maybe I love wrongly. Maybe I’m just trying to turn cornbread into an excuse to eat dessert with my meal, but I don’t care. I’m an adult and I do what I wanna. (Except for all the things I’m not allowed to do.) So that’s what today’s cornbread muffins are.
They are sweet, but not too sweet, and made with tangy buttermilk, which keeps them moist and soft, while still maintaining that dense, cornbread texture. They are fantastic on their own, but even better when topped with homemade honey butter. If you like your cornbread on the sweet and cakey side like I do, welcome to your new favorite cornbread recipe!
Meals to Serve With Cornbread Muffins
- Country-style Pork Ribs
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Vegan Mexican Stew
- Simple Beef Stew
- Roasted Tri-tip
Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins With Honey Butter
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (120g) yellow cornmeal
- 2/3 cup (132g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
Honey Butter
- 1/2 cup (4oz) butter room temperature
- 3 tablespoons (64g) honey
Instructions
Cornbread Muffins
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line muffin pan with liners or grease well with cooking spray.
- Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add egg, buttermilk, and vegetable oil. Mix until combined.
- Spoon batter into muffin cups, filling them just under 2/3's of the way full.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Honey Butter
- In a medium bowl, whisk together butter and honey until well-combined.
- Store leftovers by spooning the butter onto a sheet of parchment paper and rolling into a log. Secure with tape and place in the freezer for 15 minutes before transferring to the refrigerator. Slice off pieces as needed.
Nutritional Information Muffins
Nutritional Information Honey Butter
Recipe Adapted From: AllRecipes
Small-batch Instructions: For the oil, 1/2 of 1/3 cup is equal to 2 tablespoons and 2 teaspoons. Instead of halving the egg, this recipe is fine if you just use an entire egg yolk. No other prep or cooking changes are needed.
Freezer Notes: In testing, I found frozen muffins a little dry, but not horribly so, and much improved when heated for 10-15 seconds in the microwave. If freezing, wrap individually in foil and freeze together in an airtight container for up to one month. To defrost, unwrap and allow to come to room temperature on a wire rack (so the bottom doesn’t become soggy) for about half an hour.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Julie L Miller says
Just made these! They are so light and lovely… and the top edges on mine got nice and crispy. Made the honey butter too. Just delivered one to my husband who is on a zoom call in his home office. He got a huge smile on his face. WOW are they good. This is my new go-to corn muffin recipe. THANK YOU! 🙂
Tracy says
So glad to hear it, Julie!!
Jennifer says
These are everything I have ever wanted from a cornmeal muffin! And a great way to use my sour milk!
Tracy says
Yay! Just what I want to hear! 😉
Yen says
I don’t have buttermilk, can i use plain yogurt instead?
Tracy says
Yes, but you’ll probably want to thin it out a bit with milk. Here’s a good article that explains the best ratios: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2019/01/28/how-to-substitute-for-buttermilk Hope you enjoy them!
Jill Hensley says
Im going to try these tonight with chili. Will a few fresh blueberries work in this batter?
Jill
Tracy says
I haven’t tried it, so I can’t say for sure, but I don’t see why not. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out!
Anita Shannon says
That’s the same way we mixed our honey and butter when I was growing up. And it is excellent on a hot biscuit as well.
Tracy says
Mmmmmm. Honey butter on a hot biscuit sounds amazing right about now! LOL.
Shiela says
Thank you so much for this recipe ! My son, who is a picky eater, keeps raving about it and told me it is so much better than the mixes in the store and that I am only allowed to make corn muffins using this recipe for now on
Tracy says
Lol! I’m so happy your son approves of the recipe! 🙂
Simnta says
These turned out great! Thank you so much for creating the recipe and sharing this with us bakers out on the interwebs! 🙂
Tracy says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much for letting me know! 🙂
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
I was drooling over the title alone and boy oh boy I would love 3 or all of these.
Tracy says
Ha, thanks, Bintu! I definitely had to distribute these amongst friends and family so I wouldn’t eat them all. 😉
Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma) says
These look delightful! I am a huge cornbread fan! I can’t wait to try these!
Tracy says
Thank you, Cindy!
Megan Marlowe says
I love cornbread and honey butter! Mmm… these muffins looks delicious. Can’t wait to whip up a batch and pair them with a hearty bowl of chili!
Tracy says
Mmmm. Chili and cornbread is one of my favs! Thanks, Megan. 🙂
karyn says
Hi Tracy.. I really like the idea of this recipe 😉 I’ve never had cornbread before.. I’m really intrigued by a cornbread muffin and Honey Butter that sounds so yummy… lovely recipe
Tracy says
Thanks so much, Karyn. I really love it, but it is definitely a different texture, especially if you are trying it for the first time as an adult!
Meghan | Fox and Briar says
Yes, I am totally in the same camp as you with the cornbread. Give me sweet and moist cornbread not the dry stuff. Also honey butter is a must. Love this recipe. I really don’t have a go to cornbread recipe so I’m pinning this!
Tracy says
Yeeeees! You get it, Meghan! 😉 Thanks for pinning!
Derek @ Dad With A Pan says
Honey butter is my favorite, next to whatever that butter is you can get a lucilles. This looks great!
Tracy says
Thanks, Derek. I don’t know what this Lucilles butter is, but I’m very intrigued, if you say it’s better than honey butter!