Yankee Cornbread Muffin and Bread Mix

Serve this cornbread to family and friends. The following content will help.

• Your Questions Answered
• Tips for Better Cornbread, Recipe or Mix
• The Versatility of Cornbread: Casseroles and Add-ins
• Texas Chili Cornbread, A Skillet Cornbread with Add-ins
• How to Make Gluten-Friendly Cornbread Even if the Recipe Calls for Flour

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They say this is the best cornbread. Even those who have searched cornbread for years, say this is the best.

What makes it the best?

Those who know cornbread the best, our customers, say it is "light, moist, and delicious" and that it's their favorite. It's not dry. It's not crumbly; it behaves itself at the dinner table.

And it's not just five-star; it's an enthusiastic five-star!

You'll love it. Your guests and family love it.

And you can serve it two ways--either as corn muffins with nice domes or as cut cornbread. Either way, your friends will appreciate it.

Your Questions Answered

• Well, how sweet is it? If you're a Yankee, just barely. If you're a lifelong Southerner, it's sweet.
• Does that mean that half the people won't like it?  No, that means Denise found it too sweet. I don't know where she's from.  Everyone else gave it a five-star rating.
• Is that an "it's okay" five-star or an "I really like it" five-star?  It is a really like it five star.  Sharon's guy from Texas really loved it. And there are hearts and "loves" and "bests" scattered through the reviews.  Chances are, you're going to really love it.
• And I can make it in a muffin tin or a 9x13-inch pan? Yep, whichever you want, even a skillet. It'll make 12 large corn muffins.

If you're a Yankee, you'll probably want jam on it. Here are some rare and hard-to-find jams to consider. If you think cornbread deserves honey, take a look at this choice of honey.  

This is the best Yankee cornbread we've found. It's lighter and more moist and has great taste. With more moisture, it keeps better. You'll get a nice dome on your corn muffins.

Don't miss out on some really good cornbread.

Tips for Better Cornbread--Recipe or Mix

Cornbread is a classic Southern dish and absolutely delicious. From how long the cornbread can last in the refrigerator or freezer to what cornmeal to use, we’ll give you these awesome tips for making the best cornbread.

• Always check your cornmeal for rancidity before baking. Rancid cornmeal will smell stale and musty; good cornmeal will have a sweeter smell.
• When mixing batter for cornbread or muffins, put away your electric mixer. Mixing by hand helps eliminate over mixing. It is desirable to have a few lumps in the batter. They will hydrate during baking and the lumps will help give a craggy appearance to your breads.
• Once moistened, work quickly with the batter. The moisture will activate the leaveners in the batter.
• Cornbread does not keep well. It is best used on the day baked. Store leftovers wrapped in plastic and then aluminum foil and placed in the refrigerator. Cornbread can be frozen for six weeks.
• Use old-process cornmeal instead of degerminated cornmeal when available. Cornmeal with the germ should be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. If you have more old-process cornmeal than you will use in six months, freeze part of it. It will keep in the freezer for over a year.
• If you make cornmeal for stuffing, it can be baked up to three days ahead. Crumble it and keep it an airtight bag. Consider adding sage to cornbread batter.
• Consider substituting whole wheat flour for white flour. With the grainy nature of cornmeal, your kids won’t even know that you slipped whole wheat in on them.
• Consider sugar a variable. A sweeter cornmeal will have 1/4 cup sugar or more for every one cup of flour and one cup of cornmeal. Many southern-style cornbreads have little or no sugar.
• When making corn muffins (or any muffins), partially fill any empty tins with water. The moisture will improve the muffins, the tins will heat more evenly, and cleanup is easier.
• Many of us love crusty cornbread. A dark pan will make crustier cornbread than a light pan. For the crustiest cornbread, use a skillet.

How to Make Gluten-Friendly Cornbread Even if the Recipe Calls for Flour

You can't make this mix gluten-free, but you can make most recipes.  (If your flour is gluten-free.)

Typical recipes call for cornmeal and flour in a one-to-one ratio. Some skillet cornbreads omit the flour and use extra eggs. Typically, it will take three large eggs for every cup of flour. These cornbreads are not only very good, they are good for you.

Merri Ann is gluten-free (bummer, married to a baker), and she loves it when I make gluten-free cornbread.  I have often included add-ins, cheese chunks and crispy fried bacon pieces are favorites.  

The Versatility of Cornbread: Casseroles and Add-ins

Cornbread fits breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It also fits many casseroles and main dishes such as tamale pie, breakfast pizza, and chili cornbread. And there is a never-ending list of add-ins.

• Bacon
• Cheese
• Maple syrup
• Jalapenos
• Sauteed onions
• Bell peppers
• Pimentos
• Chopped ham
• Garlic
• Corn kernels
• Cooked sausage

The following recipe illustrates the use of add-ins.

Texas Chili Corn Bread

This is a great example of add-ins.

We adapted this recipe from Baking in America by Greg Patent. Of course, we're using a mix. For our version, we used chiles instead of jalapenos, red bell pepper instead of pimentos, and garlic powder instead of clove garlic, but feel free to experiment.

We usually bake this in a skillet, make it skillet cornbread. A heavy skillet will make this a crusty cornbread.

1 quality cornbread mix, mixed per package instructions

Add-ins

• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped and diced
• 1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped and diced, cooked with diced bell pepper until tender
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 4-oz can of diced green chiles, drained (less if you prefer a less spicy cornbread)
• 1 cup corn kernels–fresh, frozen, or canned
• 11/2 cups grated cheese, cheddar or jack

Directions

1. Preheat the oven according to package instructions.
2. Set aside 1/2 cup of grated cheese.
3. Mix the batter. Fold in the add-ins.
4. Bake according to package instructions.
5. When the cornbread is done, pull the pan from the oven and immediately sprinkle the reserved cheese over the cornbread. The cornbread will be hot enough that the cheese will melt.

Serve hot with butter.

Ingredients: Cornmeal, sugar, enriched wheat flour (bleached flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid) (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Ferrous Sulfate, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Food Starch Modified, Soybean Oil, Dry Whey, Leavening (Sodium Aluminum Phosphate, Baking Soda), Salt, Vital Wheat Gluten, Propylene Glycol Mono and Diesters of Fatty Acids, Mono & Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Dextrose, Corn Starch, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Dextrose, Corn Starch, Water, Citric Acid, Alpha Tocopherol as Preservative, Ascorbic Acid (Dough Conditioner), Egg, Soy Flour.

Contains Major Food Allergens (Wheat, Milk, Egg, Soy)