Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

 Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread

    This recipe is based off of a cornbread recipe in Betty Crocker's The Big Book of Bread, published in 2013.  I have tried a number of recipes in this cookbook and have enjoyed all of them, including this Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread. This recipe would have been perfectly fine plain (as in the cookbook); without jalapeno and/or cheese, but I wanted to "jazz" it up a little. I used fresh jalapeno from my garden, which was nice because I have all these pepper plants and trying to think of things to use them in. I used finely shredded Monterrey-Jack cheese, but you could use whatever shredded cheese you like. Finally, I used a 9-inch cast iron skillet for baking. I'd read recently about pre-heating the cast iron, before filling with batter. It's supposed to give it a crispier crust. It did and I liked it. You don't have to do that, but you should give it a try!

Ingredients:

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1 egg

1 1/4 cup yellow, white or blue cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup shredded cheese

2-3 diced jalapenos

Directions:

    Heat your oven to 400 degrees. If you are using cast iron, go ahead and put it in the oven after greasing the bottom and side of the pan, to pre-heat. If you are not using cast iron, grease the bottom and side of a 9-inch round or square pan. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate large bowl, beat together milk, butter and egg with a whisk. Stir in the dry mixture all at once until moistened. You'll see some lumps. Stir in cheese and jalapeno. Take your heated skillet out of the oven and pour the batter into your skillet or other pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and a drizzle of honey.

Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread