Honey Butter Cornbread Muffins
Whisk cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt, then stir in buttermilk, eggs, melted butter, and honey just until combined. Bake 12 muffins at 400°F for 14 to 16 minutes, then cool 5 minutes and serve warm with extra honey and butter.
There is a useful middle ground between savory skillet cornbread and a cupcake wearing a fake mustache, and these honey butter cornbread muffins live right there. Equal parts yellow cornmeal and flour keep the crumb tender instead of gritty, buttermilk brings tang, and honey sweetens the batter without erasing the corn flavor. They bake at 400°F, which gives the tops enough heat to turn properly golden in about 15 minutes.
The batter deserves less attention than your instincts may suggest. Whisk the wet and dry ingredients separately, combine them, and stop when everything is just moistened. A few lumps are fine. Stir until perfectly smooth and you start developing enough gluten to make a muffin that could survive being mailed without a box. Let them cool in the pan for five minutes, then serve them warm with softened butter and another drizzle of honey. The edges have a little structure, the centers stay tender, and the sweet-salty finish makes them just as comfortable beside chili as they are sitting on a breakfast plate next to eggs. Twelve muffins also sounds like plenty until somebody discovers the warm one with butter melting into the split top.
