Name: My Dad’s Cornbread Muffins Have a Secret for the Crispiest Crust
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Nonstick cooking spray; 1/4 cup bacon grease, divided; 1 1/4 cups (195g) yellow cornmeal; 1 1/4 cups (150g) all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, plus more as needed; 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted; 3 large eggs; 1/3 cup honey; 1/2 cup sweet corn and/or crumbled cooked bacon, optional; 1 stick (4 ounces) salted butter, softened; 1/4 cup honey

1 Spray a 12-cup muffin tin very lightly with nonstick cooking spray, then add 1 teaspoon of bacon grease to each muffin cup. Once the oven is preheated, place the muffin tin in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes to heat the bacon grease.

2 In a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, and honey. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The batter should be thick but just pourable. If it is very thick, add more buttermilk a tablespoon at a time, until loosened. If you are adding sweet corn or crumbled bacon, gently stir it into the batter.

3 Remove the muffin tin from the oven with the melted, hot bacon fat. Carefully add 1/3 cup of the cornbread batter to each muffin cup, then spoon any additional batter in so it comes almost completely to the top of each cup but does not overflow. You might have extra batter for a few extra muffins—that’s better than trying to make larger muffins that overflow.

4 Bake the muffins until they are browned around the edges and slightly puffed, 20 to 22 minutes. A tester toothpick should come out cleanly from the center.

5 In a small bowl, mix together the softened salted butter and honey until well combined and smooth.

6 Cool the muffins in the tin for a few minutes, then pop them out and transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm with honey butter, if desired. Store any leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the baked muffins for up to 3 months; thaw on the countertop before serving. Love the recipe? Leave us stars and a comment below!