Basil, Roasted Red Pepper & Monterey Jack Cheese Cornbread

The title alone is a mouthfull!  But once you bite into one of these delectable cornbread muffins…you will never buy the crummy store bought cornbread mix (or bread) again.

 Cornbread

See? don’t they just scream ‘EAT ME!’
 
So now that I have your undivided attention, here’s the recipe…and they are a perfect match for my Charro Beans recipe, so make sure you save both of these in one of your ‘Favorites’ folder up top of your menu there ^.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1 cup chopped onion
1 3/4 cups cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk *
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded monterey pepperjack cheese
1 1/3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
2 ounces roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped (about 3 large pieces about 3″ x 3″)
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

*If you are unable to find buttermilk in the dairy section of your grocer, you can make your own by combining 1 tbsp Lemon Juice or White Vinegar per 1 cup of Milk, stir well and let sit for 10 minutes, then use in any recipe calling for buttermilk.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375F. 

Saute the onion in a tbsp of Olive Oil until soft and transluscent, remove from heat and let cool. 

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda and sugar, add the chilled butter and using your fingers, work the butter into the flour/cornmeal mix until it resembles coarse, pea-sized lumps.

In another bowl, add buttermilk to eggs, whisk briskly to combine.  Add the milk/egg mixture to the flour/cornmeal mixture and mix just until it starts to come together.

Add cheese, onion, pepper and basil, mix to combine evenly with a spatula.

Depending on how you like your cornbread, these can be made in a variety of bakeware, below are the baking times for different pan sizes.

Regular Muffin Tin: spray with cooking spray and fill 2/3rds, bake for 15-17 minutes.

Mini Muffin Tins: spray with cooking spray and fill 2/3rds, bake for 10-12 minutes.

Small Loaf Pan: spray with cooking spray and fill 2/3rds, bake for 35-45 minutes (or until cake tester inserted comes out clean depending on size of pan).

Remove and cool on wire racks.  These freeze beautifully, just wrap in plastic wrap and place in freezer ziploc baggies…if they make it that far….

2 thoughts on “Basil, Roasted Red Pepper & Monterey Jack Cheese Cornbread

  1. hey debs! i was looking through your recipes for a particular bread. it was a rye bread. i’m pretty sure i saw it here, and pretty sure i saved it. nil on both fronts! ugh. would you be so kind as to repost or email the recipe to me, pretty please…with a caraway seed on top! LOL thanks:)

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