Jalapeno Cornbread

Cornbread is something I've really come to enjoy, especially Honey Cornbread Muffins. But today, it is all about Jalapeno Cornbread. Cornbread is something that I've found difficult to get just right. With different recipes out there with more cornmeal than flour, less cornmeal than flour and equal parts cornmeal and flour, which do you choose?

With this recipe that I found on All Recipes, it seemed pretty good in terms of ratings but sometimes you can't really trust the ratings unless you make it yourself. As I began, I measured out all my ingredients only to find I only had 3/4 cup of cornmeal left! Instead of halving the recipe, I decided to just increase the flour  to 1 1/4 cups.

This cornbread looked perfect when it came out of the oven; an evenly baked, golden crusted cornbread got my hopes up. It had just enough texture from the cornmeal which I think would have been overkill if I followed the recipe exactly. However, this cornbread was not spicy at all and was BLAND! I would have increased the amount of jalapenos to 4 or left in the seeds because I was not able to taste them. I would have increased the salt just a bit as well. So much for that 4.5 star rating. So what's my choice on the proportions for cornbread? A little less cornmeal than flour or even equal amounts cornmeal and flour. This gives it the right amount of texture without feeling like your eating sand, in my opinion.

Jalapeno Corn Bread

Recipe from Archie Timmons

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup olive oil
3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped

Directions
In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk and oil. Add to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Stir in jalapenos. Pour into a greased 9-in. square baking pan.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cut into squares or wedges. Serve warm.

-Aaron John