Neely's Honey Cornbread Muffins

I often fixate on a dish or recipe and search high-and-low until I find what I'm looking for. When hubby and I were first dating, I was on the hunt for the "perfect" buttermilk biscuit. Over the course of an entire year, I baked hundreds of biscuits using over a dozen recipes until I found "the one". I often laugh at this memory, as my then-boyfriend-now-husband was so polite and eager to try every one, and believe me, there were some really horrible hockey pucks made during that time.

Ah, the things we do when we are in love! :-)

The same could be said for cornbread. I've been on the hunt for years for the "perfect recipe". In my mind and preference, cornbread should be cakey, moist, and slightly sweet. I know this is a regional thing, as in many parts of the south and southwest, cornbread is dry, crumbly, and a little salty. Sweeter, cakey cornbread is more of a northeast thing. If I ever want to start a debate on my beloved Cooking Forum, all I have to do is ask which type of cornbread is better and why. :-)

Turns out, people are very territorial about their cornbread!

As far as recipes go, I thought I found "the one" a year-or-two ago and settled on it, but something about it wasn't quite right. I think it had too much baking soda in it and although the cornbread was great coming out of the oven, it lost its appeal as a leftover.

So, that's another thing: Cornbread should taste just as good a day or two later as it did when it was fresh.

And then, this week I found "the one". Moist, cakey, a little sweet, and just as perfect for breakfast a day or two later than right out of the oven. I've had this recipe for years, just waiting to be noticed. Now I can throw all those other recipes away!

Honey Cornbread Muffins
Recipe Source: Pat and Gina Neely

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

2 large eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

1/4 cup honey

Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Note: Although this recipe calls for it, do not use muffin tin liners. Some people say these muffins have a tendency to stick to the paper. These can be baked in a pan or in larger muffin tin (just oil the tins first) 

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.