This blog post has been a long time in the making. In the span of 3 months I made about 10 batches of cornbread to test out all my recipes, luckily my daughter is a big fan and will always help me eat it up!

Cornbread is such a versatile bread and it compliments all kinds of meals. It’s great for the classic holiday dinners such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it also works as a great side dish for all kinds of family style meals throughout the year. And it’s quick and easy enough to whip up for a weekday dinner.

My five twists on the classic cornbread recipe includes both sweet and savory options, and lots of yummy cheese!

My Classic Cornbread Recipe

This recipe is for an 8x8 pan and serves about 9 people. You can also put the batter into muffin tins for corn muffins. I use the traditional corn meal and not the Jiffy mix, it has a heartier texture. Although you can these variations with the Jiffy packets as well.

Ingredients:

1 cup corn meal
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 egg (my blue eggs are called heirloom eggs and they’re extra fancy)
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Instructions for making cornbread:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large bowl combine the corn meal, flour, sugar and baking powder.
Add milk, egg and oil. Beat for about one minute until the mixture is smooth.
Grease your 8x8 pan or muffin tin.
Bake for about 20 minutes, checking frequently. Made sure your knife comes out clean when inserted.

*You may have to get a bigger pan if you are adding a lot of extra ingredients from the cornbread variations.

Maple Cornbread

I made a batch of maple glazed cornbread for my daughter’s daycare and it was a big hit!

Instructions are simple - cook the cornbread as usual and add the glaze after you remove the pan from the oven. It’s best to drizzle the maple syrup while it’s still hot so it melts into the bread.

Tips for this method:

Make sure dough is very throughly cooked because it can get soggy with syrup.
Skip or reduce the added sugar in the batter - you don't want your cornbread to be too sweet.
Measure about a half cup maple syrup for an 8 x 8 pan.

Gennifer Rose - 5 New Twists to the Classic Cornbread Recipe - Wooden Honey Dipper Closeup

3 Cheese Cornbread

Pretty much everything is better with cheese, right? For this version of cornbread all you need to do is add the below ingredients to your mixture:

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Blend until the shredded cheese is completely mixed in and bake as usual.

Sour Cream

When using sour cream to cook cornbread, the bread texture is more moist and sponge-like. It holds together better than the original recipe which tends to crumble easily. It has a very subtle tangy flavor from the sour cream, which can most likely be countered with additional sugar if you don’t care for it.

I substituted sour cream for milk. My mixture was a touch thick and dry so I added another large spoonful of sour cream to the batter mix after I completely mixed it through once already.

When I removed the pan from the oven, the top layer of the cornbread was a touch crispy and lumpy, but it tastes great!

Gennifer Rose - 5 New Twists to the Classic Cornbread Recipe - Blue Heirloom Egg Cracked Open

Jalapeno & Cheese Cornbread

Add some Tex-Mex spice to this classic comfort food. After mixing up your batter, add the below ingredients:

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Or you can also do one packet of cream cheese (or both). Let the cream cheese get to room temperature and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. You don’t want the cream cheese to clump together in the batter.
1/2 cup diced jalapeños (or more if you prefer extra spicy).

Bake mixture as usual.

Cream Cheese & Corn Kernels Cornbread

This version of cornbread makes it into a hybrid of bread and a corn casserole. Follow the below steps:

Make up your batter as usual.
Add one can of whole corn kernels. Make sure that all the water is drained out of the can.
Add one cup shredded Mozzarella cheese.
Add one entire package of cream cheese. Let the cream cheese get to room temperature and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. You don’t want the cream cheese to clump together in the batter.
Mix the batter well so that all your ingredients are evenly distributed. Add it to your greased pan and put in the oven.
Optional - If you’d like your cornbread to be extra moist, you can also add a can of creamed corn. This will make it have more of a casserole consistency.