The movement I started in my last post continues. I am still occupying winter. So far my success has been limited – the temperature dropped yesterday from a balmy 68 to a more seasonable (but still not seasonable enough) 55 degrees, and the mercury is set to plummet all the way down to 52 today. Bundle up, people! You may even need long sleeves!
It occurs to me that I made a bit of a blunder in my attempted tribute to winter – I didn’t include the cornbread. What’s chili without cornbread? A bunch of stewed beans in a bowl, that’s what (okay, it’s still really, really good). But something’s missing without dense, slightly sweet cornbread – let’s be honest, cornbread is practically a utensil for chili. How else do you make sure you don’t miss one single delicious drop? A spoon just doesn’t cut it.
This cornbread has considerably more going for it than your standard Jiffy mix. Along with a slight smoky heat from minced chipotle pepper, it contains a virtual smorgasbord of chili toppings – with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and scallions, you may not even need to top your chili.* In general, I use cornbread as a base for chili – plop it in the bowl, spoon chili on top, and enjoy. But this warrants at least a few bites on its own before turning it into a makeshift chili scooper/dishcloth. And if you’re willing to separate cornbread from its best friend chili, it also makes a great quick savory breakfast or snack.
*LIES. Always top your chili.
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 tsp kosher or sea salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1½ cups grated cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup minced green onions
- ⅓ cup corn kernels (frozen or canned)
- 1 chipotle in adobo sauce, seeds removed, minced
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine eggs, butter, and sour cream. Whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar and stir with a fork to combine. Add cheddar, green onions, corn, and minced chipotle to the dry ingredients and stir. Pour in the egg mixture and stir gently until just combined - do not overmix. It's okay if the mixture is a little lumpy.
- Divide batter evenly between prepared liners, filling each about ¾ full. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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