Sweet Cornbread Recipe

Sweet Cornbread recipe – soft, tender moist quick bread recipe that’s sweet just like I like it. Reminds me of Marie Calendar’s cornbread. If you need a sweet cornbread to pair with chilis or soups, this is the recipe you need.

EASY CORNBREAD RECIPE

I’ve been searching for the perfect cornbread.

I was at a church function and our friends said his mom was famous for her cornbread so of course I had to try it. It tasted like cake. I like cake.

Turns out it was actually made WITH a cake mix – go figure. So yes, I like my cornbread on the sweeter side but not quite that sweet. Almost. Next recipe.

I’ve tried recipe after recipe and almost settled on one.

Until I happened to be at my friend’s house and her mom was telling me how hers was the best cornbread recipe was and that it was sweet like Marie Calendar’s.

It was kind of like when I was trying on wedding dresses. I found a lot that I liked but didn’t LOVE. They were all just missing that little something.

Then I tried on the dress meant for me.

The dress was discontinued (or as I like to look at it – one of a kind), inexpensive, modest, and the perfect mixture of satin and detail.

I knew there wasn’t any reason to look any further. I just knew.

So then I as I left my friend’s house I knew I had one more recipe to try. My husband looked at me like I was a little crazy when I went into the kitchen at 10pm to make cornbread…yet again.

But I had to know. The result? I said YES to the cornbread. YES!!! This was definitely not Jiffy cornbread. 

Soft, tender, flat top with crispy edges – no weird bubbling (don’t ask), sweet and moist with the perfect crumb.

Hope you love it like I do! You can even freeze this if you want to make it ahead of time. Trust me, this is the best homemade cornbread. You don’t have to make it in a cast iron skillet. You can just use a baking dish.

INGREDIENTS

• BUTTER – We use softened butter not melted butter here. Some people use vegetable oil but I love the flavor of butter better.
• WHITE SUGAR – This is on the sweet side so if you’re looking for a Southern cornbread this is it. You could use brown sugar if that’s all you have.
• EGGS – Helps make this light and fluffy.
• SALT
• BUTTERMILK – Buttermilk cornbread has a little tang and is so moist.
• CORNMEAL – We use yellow cornmeal here and a fine grained one.
• ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR
• BAKING POWDER – Helps make it fluffy.
• BAKING SODA

HOW TO MAKE CORNBREAD

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 casserole dish.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and salt and mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until thoroughly combined. Next, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and baking soda to the wet ingredients. Mix to incorporate.

3. Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake until golden. The cooking time will be different for every oven. START checking it for doneness at 25 minutes and bake longer until a golden-brown color if needed (up to 35 minutes)

4. Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of honey.

BUTTERMILK SUBSTITUTE

If you don’t have buttermilk you can add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to each cup of milk and let it sit for a couple of minutes.

CAN I MAKE THESE INTO MUFFINS?

Yes. Just grease a muffin tin and fill the cups 3/4 of the way full. Bake the corn muffins for 12-15 minutes or until the center is set.

CAN I ADD CORN TO THIS CORNBREAD?

In my opinion, cornbread should be made in its purest form without corn. When you add corn it turns into a spoon bread, corn pudding, or Corn Souffle.

CHILI RECIPES:

This is the perfect cornbread for your chili.

• Easy White Chicken Chili
• Buffalo Chicken Chili
• Healthy Spicy Beef and Black Bean Chili
• Pizza Chili
• Slow Cooker Chicken Quinoa Chili
• Green Enchilada Pork Chili
• Mom’s White Chicken Chili

The Best Sweet Cornbread

4.65 from 76 votes

The Best Sweet Cornbread - soft, tender moist cornbread recipe that's sweet just like I like it.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, , softened
• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups buttermilk, (see Note for easy substitution)
• 1 1/4 cups fine cornmeal, (found by the flour)
• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 baking dish.
• In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and salt and mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until thoroughly combined. Next, add the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix to incorporate.
• Pour into prepared baking dish. Bake until golden. This will be different for every oven. START checking it for doneness at 25 minutes and bake longer until golden if needed (up to 35 minutes)
• Serve warm with butter and honey.

Notes

Buttermilk Substitution: If you don't have buttermilk you can add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to each cup of milk and let it sit for a couple of minutes.

This can easily be halved and baked in a 9x9 pan.

Source: my friend Rachel's mom, Kim Smith who got it from her church cookbook. Original author is listed as Cheri McClean.

Cuisine: American

Course: Breads

Author: Christy Denney