I made this recently for a community group dinner. My friend Jenny was preparing rice and beans so I thought cornbread might be a good side dish to bring. I was looking for a foolproof recipe so I turned to the experts at America's Test Kitchens.
My friends were all very complimentary about the corn bread but I really couldn't tell if they are being really nice or whether they really liked it. I personally thought it was a bit lacking in flavor. I wish there was more spice or saltiness to this. This spurred a renewed interest in cornbread for me and I tried a couple more recipes which I will share in the next posts. My apologies in advance for the cornbread overload.
This recipe resulted in a denser, more crumbly cornbread, which would be a good side to something hearty like chili or rice and beans. Next time I make this, I'd like to try to add some more jalapenos and more cheese and see if that helps.
Spicy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
America's Test Kitchens
Ingredients
1 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 ⅓ sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
⅜ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
¾ cup frozen kernels thawed
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 medium jalapeno chili, chopped fine (cored and seeded)
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with non stick spray (or unsalted butter). Whisk flour, ¾ cup cheddar cheese, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, chopped jalapeno, cayenne pepper and salt in medium bowl until combined. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, process brown sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain) about 5 seconds longer.
Using a spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well.
Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with spatula.
Top with the remaining shredded cheese.
Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25-35 minutes.
Cool on wire rack for ten minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until just warm. Cut into pieces and serve.
Delicious! We just made this and used jarred jalapenos instead and yummy! Thank you for posting
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