Texas Candy Cornbread

I have successfully finished my Christmas shopping. It only took two days this year, and I’ve surprisingly finished a lot sooner than I normally do (I’ve been known to start Christmas shopping on December 23rd). All of the presents are wrapped neatly under our tree, so now we can relax….sorta.

While out and about yesterday, I stumbled upon a really neat antique store in the middle of the city. I found a few presents there, and a lot of vintage (40’s, 50’s era) Christmas ornaments that I wanted, but refrained, to buy for myself. This antique store had a lot of unique vendors, but only one little section dedicated to cookbooks (my specialty!). So, I thankfully walked out of there without having spent a dime on myself.

While trying to decide what I would treat myself to for lunch, I found a little pho restaurant tucked away in Moore. Moore is overrun with chain restaurants, so you really have to go searching for the locally-owned ones. Rob & I frequent Alfredo’s Mexican restaurant, and I have eaten at a fantastic Indian buffet a few times as well.

This pho restaurant was phenomenal (or, pho-nomenal?), but I probably shouldn’t have gotten the LARGE bowl of steak & meatball pho. That was a lot of pho. The waitress also recommended coffee jelly in my thai tea, which was the best recommendation she could have ever made. I AM addicted to coffee.

When I made this White Chicken Chili last weekend, I found a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix in my pantry and decided to make cornbread with it. I wanted to spice up the cornbread, though, so I stood at my fridge seeking inspiration. I was down to the very last of my shredded cheddar cheese, so I thought I’d throw that in.

That’s when I spotted it…my coveted jar of candied jalapenos, also known as “Texas Candy“. I only had a few slices left (I put that stuff on EVERYTHING; sandwiches, nachos, burritos…) so I thought I could top my corn muffins with them.

It turned out perfect! The sweet little candied jalapenos were nice to bite into while eating the cornbread. These guys are just a tad bit spicy, but the sweetness really works well with everything. I wish I could have added more cheese, but like I said, I was down to the very last shred.

Texas Candy Cornbread

• Servings: 3-6
• Time: 20 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

A sweet and cheesy cornbread that has a spicy kick.

Ingredients

• 1 (8.5 oz) box Jiffy corn muffin mix
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup sliced candied jalapenos, drained

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, egg, milk and cheddar cheese. Stir until well blended, but batter will still be slightly lump. Let batter rest for 5 minutes at room temperature (this is for a better crown on the muffins).
2. Grease a 6 cup muffin tin and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling cups 2/3 full. Top each with 2 or 3 jalapeno slices.
3. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before popping out of muffin tin.

Step-By-Step Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the corn muffin mix, egg, milk and cheese. Stir until well mixed, but still slightly lumpy. Let rest for 5 minutes at room temperature (for maximum crown effect on the muffins).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 6 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Pour batter into muffin cups, filling cups 2/3 full.

Place 2-3 jalapeno slices on top of batter. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before popping out of the muffin tin.