jalapeno cheddar skillet cornbread

Hi, my name is Stephanie, and I’m a recipe collecting addict.

Hi, Stephanie.

It’s true. The recipe book in my cabinet is a serious mammoth, lurking, just waiting to devour more cut-out magazine articles, online printouts and handwritten recipes collected by word of mouth or out of my brain. The biggest section is, of course, the bread section (with, chello, dessert coming in at a close second). But the funny/sad thing is, I have maybe baked 10 percent of the bread recipes hiding in the recipe book monster. OK, it’s just plain sad.

But I’m slowly forcing myself to tackle the bread recipes, one by one, starting with this jalapeno cheddar skillet cornbread. And let me tell you, this was a perfect place to start.

Cornbread is one of those breads that takes minimal effort but has a lot of payoff. Which, methinks, is certainly the best kind. And a cornbread recipe spiced up with zesty jalapenos, sharp cheddar cheese and butter — lots and lots of BUTTAH — is one worth writing home about. Plus, it’s all baked in a cast-iron skillet so the edges get nice and crispy, but the inside is moist and — what was that? BUTTAH-y.

Mmhmm.

Calling me from the dark corners of my recipe book cabinet, this jalapeno cheddar cornbread was just begging to be the inaugural recipe to kick-start my journey through the bread section. It’s going to take some time, to be sure, but after one bite of this delicious — BUTTAH-y (OK, we’re done) — cornbread, I have to say I can’t wait to find out what else I’ve been missing all my life. Or at least since I found it in a magazine.

Jalapeno Cheddar Skillet Cornbread
Adapted from Macheesmo

Yields: About 12 triangles

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups finely stone-ground cornmeal
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
2 jalapenos, one seeded and finely diced, one seeded and sliced

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter the inside of a large cast-iron or ovenproof skillet. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, butter and eggs.
Stir wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Add 1 cup cheese, scallions, corn and the diced jalapeno to the batter and stir to combine. Let rest 10 minutes.
Pour batter into skillet and top with remaining cheese and sliced jalapeno. Bake until edges are a golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool 15 minutes before slicing and serving.