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Easy Homemade Cornbread Muffins

Light and fluffy with a touch of honey makes these delicious cornbread muffins in hot demand in our house. We love to eat these muffins with turkey chili, and they are also a staple at our Thanksgiving family dinner! Leftovers are great for breakfast or as an after school snack.

Homemade Cornbread Muffin hero shot.

It takes less than 10 minutes to prep these muffins (25 minutes from start to finish). We use applesauce in this recipe as it a great fat replacer in most baked goods and allows us to lessen the amount of butter, while getting the added benefit of keeping these muffins moist!

Why This Recipe Works?

  • The perfect side dish for turkey chili and at your Thanksgiving dinner.
  • A simple recipe with a few basic ingredients.
  • Takes less than 10 minutes of prep time.
  • Kids friendly.
  • Make ahead recipe that can be stored in the refrigerator or frozen.
  • Much healthier than using a box mix such as Jiffy cornbread.
  • The best Homemade Cornbread Muffins ever!!
second hero shot of cornbread muffins.

Main Ingredients

This recipe uses super easy ingredients that can be purchased from a local grocery store if they are not already in your kitchen. Read the Recipe Card for the measurements.

  • Corn meal – We use old fashioned stone ground yellow corn meal. This adds a light, crumbly texture and great flavor.
  • Flour – We use all purpose flour. You can also use whole wheat flour, bread flour, or pastry flour for this recipe.
  • Corn Added for texture and a bit of sweetness. We use frozen corn to keep things very easy. You can use fresh corn if you choose but would need to sautè them for a few minutes to soften them up.
  • Applesauce Used as a great fat-replacer in many baked goods. We like to use applesauce to reduce butter and oil in our muffins as it adds fiber and reduces calories. Also, because of its water content, applesauce will help keep your baked goods moist and fresh longer..
  • Eggs We use 2 large eggs. Eggs are typically a baking essential and act as a glue that holds the muffin together. If you need an egg substitute you can use carbonated water.
  • Milk – We use whole milk, but you can use reduced fat as well. Milk moistens the batter and adds protein, color and flavor to these muffins.
  • Butter We only use 2 tablespoons of butter in this recipe to reduce the fat. Butter helps to moisten these muffins and adds flavor.
  • Honey – Adds a little sweetness while helping to retain moisture.
  • Vanilla – We love vanilla! It adds a delicate fruity, sweet and warm flavor with that amazing aroma!
ingredients for cornbread muffins.

How to make Easy Homemade Cornbread Muffins:

Step 1: Prep It

  • Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray such as Pam and set aside. You can use muffin liners here, just be sure to spray the liners thoroughly as well. However, by adding the muffin mixture directly into the pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray, once cooled, the muffins come out easily and with a nice golden crust.

Step 2: Dry Mix

  • Add corn meal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt to a large bowl and mix to combine.
dry mix for muffins.

Step 3: Wet Mix

  • In another bowl, add eggs and beat to break up the yolks. It’s easier to scramble the eggs without all of the other ingredients in the way.
wet mix for muffins.
  • Once you’ve beaten the eggs; add milk, butter, vanilla, honey, corn and applesauce to the eggs and whisk to combine. You may be wondering why applesauce? In an effort to make these muffins healthier, we reduced the butter and substituted with applesauce. A 1/2 cup of applesauce is a good balance in maintaining a moist crumb while reducing some of the fat.
whisk the wet ingredients.

Step 4: Combine It

  • Add the wet mix to the dry ingredients. Then, stir gently to combine, careful not to over-mix. Not to worry if there are still a few lumps.
combine the dry and wet ingredients.

Step 5: Scoop It

  • Evenly divide the mixture into the prepared muffin pan and filling each cup 3/4 full. An ice cream scoop (#16, 1/4 cup size) works well because it divides the muffin mixture equally and that allows for uniformity when baking. You can also use a 1/4 cup measuring utensil or just spoon it in.
scoop the muffin portions.

Step 6: Bake It

  • Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, rotating the muffin pan halfway through. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
bake the muffins.

Cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

enjoy with some butter!

These are best enjoyed warm as is, with a pat of butter or a touch of jam! These go great with our Three Bean Turkey Chili.

Easy Homemade Cornbread Muffins

Easy Homemade Cornbread Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Light and fluffy with a touch of honey makes these delicious cornbread muffins in hot demand in our house. We love to eat these muffins with turkey chili, and they are also a staple at our Thanksgiving family dinner!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk (can use 1%)
  • 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons honey
  • 1/2 cup apple sauce
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn, defrosted

Instructions

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray such as Pam and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, add cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt and mix to combine. In another bowl, add eggs and beat to break up the yolks. Next, add milk, butter, vanilla, corn, applesauce, and honey to the eggs and whisk to combine.
  3. Add the wet mix to the dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine, careful not to over-mix. Not to worry if there are still a few lumps.
  4. Evenly divide the mixture into the prepared muffin pan, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes, rotating the muffin pan halfway through. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  5. Cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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