A few months ago, I searched through New York Times Cooking looking for my jalapeño cheddar cornbread. I’d made it dozens of times and wanted to send the link to a friend.
That’s when I realized that I’d never actually published the recipe.
Instead, I’d been riffing on a decade-old brown butter skillet cornbread with maple syrup and whole wheat flour.
Adaptable and forgiving, that brown butter cornbread is the kind of dish that’s easy to make your own. Most of the 500-ish comments are of the “I made this recipe but substituted X for Y” variety — and the changes generally work just fine (except for the cooks who leave out the butter entirely, but that’s on them).
To make my jalapeño cheddar cornbread, I just use the brown butter recipe as a template. Instead of half a cup of maple syrup, I stir in a quarter cup of honey, which is a less sweet and more classic pairing with the spicy chiles. And I usually nix the whole wheat flour, whose nutty flavor is a bit too delicate to come through with all the jalapeños in the batter.
Another change is adding cheddar. Rather than whisk it in, I sprinkle it on in two additions, arranging a layer of cheese in the middle and on top. This helps the cornbread keep a light, fluffy texture and allows the cheese on the surface to get a little brown and crunchy.
As for the jalapeños, I’ve made this cornbread with chopped fresh chiles and jarred, pickled chiles, and both versions have their charms. The fresh jalapeños have a grassy, almost herbal character with a forthright sting. The pickled ones are tangier and more acidic, with a gentler bite. Sometimes I even mix the two for a rounded, complex character. For a milder flavor, you can remove the seeds from the fresh ones and use the lesser amount. You don’t need a lot of jalapeño to get the point across.
By the time I sent my friend the link to my old cornbread and my notes on adapting it, I knew this jalapeño cheddar version deserved its very own recipe. But feel free to change it up — just don’t leave out the butter.
Jalapeño Cheddar Cornbread
This moist and nubby cornbread has a caramelized, rich flavor from browning the butter, a slight sweetness from a touch of honey and a fiery punch from jalapeño — either fresh or pickled. Using fresh chiles adds a bright, almost herbal note, while pickled jalapeños are tangier and more robust. Serve the cornbread warm from the pan and slathered with butter, or toasted until the edges turn golden and crisp.
By Melissa Clark
Yield: 8 to 12 servings
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
INGREDIENTS
12 tablespoons/170 grams unsalted butter
1/4 cup/84 grams honey
2 1/4 cups/590 milliliters buttermilk, at room temperature
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups/180 grams cornmeal, preferably coarse
1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh or pickled jalapeño, seeded if desired for less heat
1 1/2 cups/6 ounces shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack, or a combination
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. In a 10- to 12-inch cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and cook until the foam subsides and butter is golden and smells nutty, 4 to 7 minutes.
3. Transfer butter to a large heatproof bowl (do not wipe out the skillet). Into the bowl, whisk in honey, buttermilk and eggs until smooth. Then whisk in cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Stir in jalapeños.
4. Scrape about half the batter into the skillet and top with half of the cheese. Repeat with remaining batter and top it with the remaining cheese.
5. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes (a 10-inch skillet will take longer than a 12-inch). Cool in skillet for 10 minutes, then slice and serve.
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