Classic Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe w. Bacon Honey Butter

Classic Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe. Cornbread is one of my favorite things to bake for a dinner side dish when corn is not in season. It has so much corn flavor, and leaves so much room for toppings. This cornbread is buttery, crispy on the bottom and packed with flavor. And while I absolutely love to share my recipe box with you: the classic, tried and true recipes I use for my family, I love to add something fun & different. The bacon honey butter is amazing. Even if you make boxed cornbread, the bacon honey butter is a must-do!

Classic and Easy to Bake

Cornbread is truly very simple to whip up. For this recipe, you don’t want to forget to preheat the baking pan inside the oven. The hot hot baking pan is my favorite part of this recipe. There are tons of classic, simple, tried and true recipes out there but they don’t always explain the method. I am method obsessed and it often sets apart my recipes. So for the crispiest bottom: hot baking pan and 1tbs of melted butter.

Tis classic recipe has all of the traditional ingredients (they are simple and typically don’t even vary much from the boxed kind). I love to make it at home because it takes 10 minutes to put together and you can throw it in the oven while the rest of the meal finishes up.

Baking Powder & Baking Soda

Okay so back to the method: if you google classic cornbread recipes, you will see that most of them are the same. Basically every 1000+ rated cornbread recipe agrees on 1 cup cornmeal & 1 cup flour. Where the recipes differ, is with leavening agents (the baking powder & soda combo). I tried many many cornbread recipes and I have decided that 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder + 1/2 tsp baking soda per every 1 cup buttermilk is my favorite combo. This makes a light, fluffy cornbread that is not overly crumbly or cornmealy, but it has a hint of cakey moistness that I adore.

This recipe reheats well in the toaster oven, oven adn microwave. It holds up perfectly. I absolutely love it as a snack or with my eggs for breakfast. There is oh so much I want to do with the leftovers (cornbread croutons anyone?)

The Bacon Honey Butter

The bacon butter needed her own moment. It is exactly what it says: soften butter mixed with crispy bacon and drizzled with honey until the most perfect and beautiful combination forms. I love to serve it softened over my cornbread. But seriously I also had it on pancakes & a bagel and it was divine.

Serve It With

Simple & Easy Classic Chili

Best Ever BBQ Wings

Let me know your thoughts when you make this classic buttermilk cornbread recipe. Buttermilk is one of my favorite things to use in any baked goods – the flavor is unmatched! Or you can show me what you created on my Instagram @quartersoulcrisis

Classic Buttermilk Cornbread Recipe w. Bacon Honey Butter

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Servings 16 pieces

Equipment

• 9 inch cast iron skillet
• 9 inch square or cake pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Buttermilk Cornbread

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup brown sugar packed
• 2 tbs honey
• 1 large egg
• 1 c buttermilk
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1 tbs unsalted butter cold

Bacon Honey Butter*

• 4 tbs unsalted butter softened
• 1-2 strips bacon
• 1 tbs honey (or less)

Instructions

 

• Preheat Oven to 375° with baking pan inside: Add your 9 inch baking pan to the oven while it preheats. Getting it nice and hot = crispy bottom.
• Make Cornbread Batter: In a large mixing bowl add dry ingredients – flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.

  In another large bowl whisk together all ingredients except the egg: buttermilk, honey, brown sugar, melted butter. Finally add egg and whisk until combined. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and whisk until everything is combined, using a rubber spatula to fold and get the last dry bits. The batter will be thick and airy.
• Bake Corn Bread: Carefully remove the hot skillet or baking pan from the oven. Add the 1 tbs of cold butter. Using a knife or spatula, rub the butter around the pan until it melts and coats the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter in and quickly spread evenly around by using a small spatula or back of a spoon. Carefully place the pan back in the oven & bake 18-22 minutes until edges look golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Let cool 5-10 minutes before carefully removing from the baking pan. Let cool 10 more minutes before slicing. Serve with bacon honey butter (or jam or whatever you like!).
• To make the Honey Butter*: Cook bacon strips until crisp and let drain on a paper towel. Crumble the bacon into very small crumbs. In a small bowl, mix softened butter, bacon bits & a drizzle of honey. Mix and taste – add more or less depending on what you like. Sometimes I like it extra sweet so I use the whole 1tbs of honey & sometimes only a drizzle.

Home Cook’s Notes

Home Cook’s Notes: 

* You can substitute whole milk & juice of a lemon or 3tbs white vinegar for the buttermilk. You can also substitute coconut sugar for brown sugar, or use 1/3 cup honey entirely as a replacement for the brown sugar. But cornbread is kind of exact and to get the recipe exactly as is, I would not make any substitutions. 

*I LOVE to make this in a cast iron, flip it out of the pan and serve it crispy side up. It’s so good with a ton of bacon honey butter, but also with regular butter and flaky salt. 

*Bacon Honey Butter: I use only a 1/2 stick of butter because we always have plain butter & honey as options as well. You can easily double the recipe to use the whole stick: use it all week on toast, pancakes and waffles its amazing.