Cornbread Muffins and Whipped Honey Butter

Cornbread Muffins and Whipped Honey Butter. When  I was little, the only thing I was allowed to order off the menu was grilled cheese and a glass of water. This was how my parents were able to take our family out to eat but still keep things within the budget. It might sound like I suffered but I did love grilled cheese. You know, as long as it wasn’t made with real cheese.

But one oh happy day we happened upon a restaurant that didn’t have grilled cheese. O’Brien Manor’s menu was adorned with options like hot turkey sandwiches and cornbread muffins and sour cream coffee cake. How could I ever choose? Luckily we returned often so I didn’t need to worry too much. Sometimes I went for the sour cream coffee cake and sometimes the cornbread muffin. Warm. With loads of honey butter, thank you.

Cornbread Muffins and Whipped Honey Butter

Makes about 12 regular-sized muffins or 6 large muffins.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Cornbread Muffins

Makes 6 large muffins or 12 regular sized muffins.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

• 1 1/4 cup buttermilk (or put about a teaspoon of vinegar in regular milk)
• 1/8 cup sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt

Whisk dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, sour cream, eggs, and butter together until the eggs are well beaten. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together just until combined.

Spray muffin pan with non-stick baking spray or line with a muffin liners. Fill each with an ice cream scoop full of batter (or 2 ice cream scoops each if making six large muffins).

Bake for about 30 minutes or until they spring back when lightly touched or until a fork poked in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pan and serve warm or cool on a towel or a rack. Serve with homemade honey butter.

If using this recipe for cornbread stuffing, don’t add the vanilla and bake the day before you need it and allow to set out covered by a clean paper towel.

Jalapeño Cornbread variation: Stir one stemmed, seeded, and  fine-diced jalapeño into the batter.

Vanilla Cornbread variation: Or, for a dessert-like cornbread, add a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Don’t add the vanilla if using your cornbread for stuffing.

Honey Butter

• 1 stick high-quality unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Using the whip attachment, whip all ingredients together with a mixer until fluffy. That is all.

Better than a fake grilled cheese. Better than almost anything, really.

Thank you, O’Brien Manor (AKA O’Brien Turkey House) for the amazing memories. I miss you.