Hot Honey Cornbread

$7.38 recipe / $0.92 serving

published Oct 8, 2022

4.19 from 11 votes

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Life’s too short for dry, crumbly cornbread. That’s why you need this recipe for succulent Hot Honey Cornbread. I know succulent is a word not usually used to describe a product that often feels like you’re gobbling handfuls of sawdust. However, this recipe has a triple threat of ingredients that add moisture and mouth feel: honey, butter, and sour cream. Beth and I worked our way through most of a loaf in an afternoon, so I speak from experience when I say it’s hard not to eat it all in one sitting.

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What Kind Of Cornbread Is This?

Cornbread can go one of two ways- crumbly or cake-like. This recipe is for the latter. Sour cream and butter add moisture to the batter. As does the melted hot honey butter that’s drizzled over the finished cornbread. The results are a cake-like sweetened cornbread with small bursts of heat from red pepper flakes.

Follow these simple rules for a Hot Honey Cornbread you’re proud to serve to the VIPs in your life:

Dry goes into wet, always. Dry ingredients weigh less than wet ingredients. Dumping wet ingredients into dry results in clumping and a heavier batter.
Learn to fold. Folding creates an airy batter. First, use a large rubber spatula to cut down through the center of the bowl until it hits the bottom. Next, scoop from the bottom and bring back up to the top, folding the wet over the dry. Then rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat.
Don’t over-mix. Overmixing develops gluten. Count out your strokes if you have to, and try to keep them under twenty.
Don’t overbake. Cornbread continues to cook once it’s out of the oven. Pull the cornbread as soon as the internal temperature reaches 190°. Or insert a toothpick into the center. When you no longer see batter on it and instead see a thin veil of moisture, it is ready to go. If the sides of the cornbread pull from the pan or your toothpick comes out dry, it’s overdone.

Overhead shot of hot honey cornbread in a cast iron skillet with a wedge being taken out.

Store HOT HONEY Cornbread

Wrap leftovers tightly with aluminum, plastic, or beeswax. Then place in an air-tight container and leave at room temperature in a dark place (like a cabinet or a bread box) for up to 3 days. You can also refrigerate leftovers (wrapped and in an air-tight container) for up to 5 days. To freeze, wrap the cornbread in a single layer as layers stick together. First, use plastic and then aluminum. Finally, place the double-wrapped cornbread in an air-tight container. It will stay fresh for up to 3 months.

What To Serve With Cornbread

Hot Honey Cornbread

4.19 from 11 votes

This is the cornbread recipe you need to make! Hot honey, butter, and sour cream create a succulent cake-like crumb with just a touch of spicy sweetness.

Author: Monti Carlo

Side shot of hot honey butter being drizzled on cornbread slice.

Servings 8 slices

Prep 15

Cook 25

Total 40

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Ingredients

12 Tbsp butter, divided ($1.78)
1 cup honey ($2.99)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes ($0.09)
2 eggs ($0.36)
1 1/4 cup sour cream ($1.49)
1 cup cornmeal ($0.37)
1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.13)
1 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
2 tsp baking powder ($0.12)

Instructions

Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, add 4 tablespoons of butter, honey, and red pepper flakes. Microwave in 30-second spurts until the butter has melted and comes to a soft simmer. Mix.
In a separate bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, salt, and baking powder.
In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the remaining butter. Add all but two tablespoons of the melted butter to a large bowl. Leave the remaining two tablespoons of butter in the cast iron pan. Add the sour cream to the butter in the bowl and mix. Add the eggs to the butter and sour cream and mix.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold them together until a batter forms.*
Swirl the cast iron skillet to cover the bottom and sides with butter, and then add the batter.
Bake the cornbread until a thermometer registers 190°F or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a touch of moisture, about 25 to 30 minutes. Top with the hot honey butter.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Equipment

Cast Iron Skillet

Notes

* Use a large rubber spatula to fold. First, cut through the center of the bowl with the edge of the spatula. When the spatula hits the bottom of the bowl, twist it to the right to scoop the wet ingredients, and bring the spatula back up to the top of the bowl, where the wet will mix with the dry. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn. Repeat.

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 500kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 6gFat: 26gSodium: 708mgFiber: 2g

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Side shot of hot honey butter being drizzled on cornbread.

How to Make HOT HONEY CORNBREAD – Step by Step Photos

Overhead shot of a spoon mixing hot honey butter in a small white bowl. — Set a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat to 400°F. In a microwave-safe bowl, add 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup of honey, and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Microwave in 30-second spurts until the butter has melted and comes to a soft simmer. Mix

Overhead shot of dry ingredients. — In a separate bowl, mix the 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 cup of flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and the 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Overhead shot of wet ingredients. — In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter. Add the melted butter to a large bowl, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the cast iron pan. Add the sour cream to the butter in the bowl and mix. Add the eggs to the bowl and incorporate thoroughly.

Overhead shot of wet and dry ingredients being combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Use a large rubber spatula to cut through the center of the dry ingredients, scoop up the wet ingredients, then bring them to the top and fold the wet over the dry. Rotate the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat.

Overhead shot of cornbread batter in a cast iron skillet.

Swirl the cast iron skillet to cover the bottom and sides with the remaining two tablespoons of melted butter, and then add the batter. Use the spatula to smooth the surface of the batter.

Overhead shot of hot honey butter being drizzled onto baked cornbread in a cast iron skillet.

Bake the cornbread until a thermometer registers 190°F or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a touch of moisture, about 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, warm it in the microwave in 20-second increments.

Overhead shot of cornbread in a cast iron skillet. — Finally, spread the hot honey butter over the top of the cornbread to glaze the entire loaf. Serve family style in the skillet. Or slice it and serve in individual portions.

Overhead shot of cornbread in a cast iron skillet with a wedge taken out.

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Overhead view of cornbread in the baking dish with a slice missing.

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Posted in: Bread Recipes, Breakfast Baked Goods, Breakfast Recipes, Comfort Food Recipes, Cost Per Recipe, Cost Per Serving, Fall Recipes, No Yeast Bread Recipes, Recipes, Recipes under $10, Side Dish Recipes, Soy Free Recipes, Under $1 per serving, Vegetarian Recipes

Monti CarloMonti Carlo is a Puerto Rican food TV personality, food writer, and special events chef. Catch our Senior Food Editor doing her best not to talk with her mouth full on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Netflix, Food Network, Cooking Channel, and PBS. Her first full-length cookbook, Spanglish, will be published in Spring '25 by Simon and Schuster's Simon Element.More About Monti

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