I should really start this post with a disclaimer.
If you’re from the south, you are probably going to hate this cornbread. In fact, it is not really cornbread in the traditional sense at all. It’s more like corn cake. Actually, it’s exactly like corn cake.
I am not from the south, and am therefore not bound by tradition to make cornbread the old fashioned way. The cornbread of my youth? It’s made from a cake mix. If you don’t want to think of it as cornbread, I don’t mind. This version is sweet, and still crumbly, and despite it’s very tenuous relationship to real cornbread, it still tastes fantastic with chili.
Of course, mom never put jalapenos in her version, but me? I likey the spicy. Having that little kick of heat and the creamy cheesiness just takes this corn-whatever-you-call-it to the next level.
I will share this one piece of advice: be careful who you share your corn-cake-bread with. It could get you in trouble.
A couple years ago, I sent a pan full of this cornbread with my boys to the Boy Scout overnight camping trip, enough for them to share. In the days that followed, I received multiple compliments from the scouts, and the cornbread was specifically requested for the next several camping trips.
Granted, teenage boys will eat anything. But still.
Last piece of advice: be sure to bake this thoroughly. In a 9×9 pan, it will be quite brown on top before it’s done in the middle. If you are concerned about this, you can make a thinner layer in a 9×13 pan, and reduce the baking time to 25-30 minutes.
Then cut, eat, and brush the crumbs off your shirt!
