Cornbread with Honey Butter
A homemade cornbread recipe topped with sweet honey butter.
Prep
0
min
Cook
25
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
📝 Ingredients
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 stick butter
- 2 sticks melted salted butter
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
🫙Pantry Staples(6)
- 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 or 1 1/2 cup sugar
- Vanilla bean gel or extract
📦Other(2)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
506
Protein
6g
Carbs
66g
Fat
26g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 2
Mix yellow cornmeal, baking powder, all-purpose flour, sugar, melted salted butter, whole milk, eggs, honey, and vanilla bean gel or extract.
- 3
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
- 4
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- 5
For the honey butter, mix 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup of honey.
- 6
Top the baked cornbread with honey butter.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Temper your eggs by slowly whisking them into a small portion of the dry mixture first, then combine with remaining batter—this prevents coagulation and keeps cornbread tender rather than rubbery, since eggs set proteins at 140°F.techniqueProtein sets at 140°F
- ✓Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and extend baking to 30-35 minutes instead of 350°F for 25 minutes—cornmeal's low gluten content means faster browning, so higher initial heat creates a dry, cakey crumb as moisture escapes before the center sets.timing325°F for 30-35 minutes vs 350°F for 25 minutes
- ✓Use a 1:1 butter-to-honey ratio by weight (8 oz butter to 8 oz honey, not volume) for honey butter because honey's 17% water content thins it—this prevents the topping from separating or sliding off warm cornbread.ingredient1:1 weight ratio; honey contains ~17% water
- ✓Let the baked cornbread rest 8-10 minutes before applying honey butter so residual heat (around 155°F) softens the topping into the crumb without melting it into puddles, maximizing absorption.timing8-10 minutes at ~155°F residual heat
- ✓Sift your cornmeal and flour together first, then fold in melted butter gently—cornmeal particles absorb water quickly and compact easily, so sifting aerates the dry mixture and prevents tunneling (large irregular air pockets).technique
Share this recipe
Prep
0
min
Cook
25
min
Serves
4
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Cornbread with Honey Butter
A homemade cornbread recipe topped with sweet honey butter.
📝 Ingredients
🥛Dairy & Eggs(3)
- 1 stick butter
- 2 sticks melted salted butter
- 1 1/4 cup whole milk
🫙Pantry Staples(6)
- 1 1/2 cup All purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Honey
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1 or 1 1/2 cup sugar
- Vanilla bean gel or extract
📦Other(2)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
506
Protein
6g
Carbs
66g
Fat
26g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- 2
Mix yellow cornmeal, baking powder, all-purpose flour, sugar, melted salted butter, whole milk, eggs, honey, and vanilla bean gel or extract.
- 3
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
- 4
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- 5
For the honey butter, mix 1 stick of butter with 1/2 cup of honey.
- 6
Top the baked cornbread with honey butter.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Temper your eggs by slowly whisking them into a small portion of the dry mixture first, then combine with remaining batter—this prevents coagulation and keeps cornbread tender rather than rubbery, since eggs set proteins at 140°F.techniqueProtein sets at 140°F
- ✓Reduce oven temperature to 325°F and extend baking to 30-35 minutes instead of 350°F for 25 minutes—cornmeal's low gluten content means faster browning, so higher initial heat creates a dry, cakey crumb as moisture escapes before the center sets.timing325°F for 30-35 minutes vs 350°F for 25 minutes
- ✓Use a 1:1 butter-to-honey ratio by weight (8 oz butter to 8 oz honey, not volume) for honey butter because honey's 17% water content thins it—this prevents the topping from separating or sliding off warm cornbread.ingredient1:1 weight ratio; honey contains ~17% water
- ✓Let the baked cornbread rest 8-10 minutes before applying honey butter so residual heat (around 155°F) softens the topping into the crumb without melting it into puddles, maximizing absorption.timing8-10 minutes at ~155°F residual heat
- ✓Sift your cornmeal and flour together first, then fold in melted butter gently—cornmeal particles absorb water quickly and compact easily, so sifting aerates the dry mixture and prevents tunneling (large irregular air pockets).technique