Brown Butter is the Secret to this Moist and Tender Corn Bread

A Northern-style cornbread with a crisp crust, a tender crumb, and a nutty hit of brown butter.

Anyone else grow up on Jiffy cornbread mix? My mom regularly mixed one of those blue and white boxes with an egg and milk and used it to top her tamale pie. I’m not sure if its sweet, moist, cake-y flavor has changed at all over the years (to my taste buds it hasn’t), but the packaging has remained nearly identical. I keep boxes of it in my pantry at all times, either to bake off as a side for chili, or to top the tamale pie I feed my kids. (The version of the dish I make these days is based on Colombian carne desmechada rather then the ground-beef-and-canned-black-bean version my mom used to make from the California Cooks! cookbook she picked up in Palo Alto in the 1970s.)

Jiffy’s corn bread mix makes a decidedly Northern-style cornbread. That is, sweet, soft and tender. The Moist and Tender Brown Butter Cornbread I demonstrate in this video (which I first published on Serious Eats in 2015) straddles the line between sweet, cake-y Northern cornbread and a dryer, more corn-forward Southern style, reinforcing that toasty-edged corn flavor with the nuttiness of brown butter. The result is cornbread that works both as a side for chili or greens, and on its own with a pat of butter (or black pepper honey butter, if you want a little extra).

The butter is browned directly in the cast iron skillet, which preheats the pan while building flavor. Brown butter is just regular butter that’s been cooked until the water has evaporated and the milk solids have toasted. Standard unsalted butter in the U.S. is about 80–82% fat, 16–18% water, and 1–2% milk solids. As it cooks, the water boils off, leaving the milk proteins (mainly casein and whey) to brown in the fat. These milk solids are what give brown butter its flavor—nutty, toasty, and slightly sweet. It’s not just about aroma; it also adds complexity and depth to the finished bread.

The batter uses equal parts cornmeal and flour, with buttermilk, sour cream, and eggs for moisture and structure. Sour cream serves a few purposes: it thickens the batter slightly, adds acidity, and contributes fat, all of which help produce a moist, tender crumb that stays cohesive. I use a medium-grind cornmeal for texture and more pronounced corn flavor. Fine-grind will give a smoother, cake-like result—either works, depending on what you’re after.

As with all baking recipes, I strongly suggest using a scale to make the process faster, easier, and more precise.

The recipe is also highly adaptable. The base is stable enough to support a variety of inclusions—scallions, roasted chiles, small cubes of cheese, bacon, fresh corn kernels, or even spices like smoked paprika or cumin. Just fold them in before baking.

When the batter hits the hot skillet, it should sizzle. That initial sear is what gives you the crust: well-browned, crisp at the edges, and deeply flavorful. Bake until the center is set and the top is golden, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Some more notes on the ingredients and process:

• Brown butter develops flavor through the Maillard reaction as milk proteins toast in the fat. U.S. butter is ~80–82% fat, ~16–18% water, ~1–2% milk solids. Browning evaporates the water and caramelizes the solids.

• Cast iron preheating serves two purposes: it browns the butter and preps the pan for crust formation. One pan, no stove babysitting.

• 1:1 flour to cornmeal gives a balance of tenderness and flavor. Too much flour = muffin. Too much cornmeal = dry and crumbly.

• Sour cream adds tang, fat, and thickness to the batter. It also slows gluten development, keeping the crumb tender.

• Cornmeal grind matters: medium-grind gives texture and depth; fine-grind yields a smoother, more uniform crumb. Both can be great, depending on the texture you prefer.

• Bake until just set. A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs, not batter.

Brown Butter Corn Bread

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

What I like about this recipe:

• A balanced blend of corn meal and wheat flour give this bread great corn flavor without too much canines.

• Sour cream adds extra richness and tang to the batter.

• Brown butter adds nutty depth of flavor.

• Browning the butter in the same skillet the bread is baked in streamlines the process and helps the bread develop a crisp, golden crust.

Yield: Makes one 10-inch round or corn bread, serving about 6

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

This recipe is an updated version of the Moist and Tender Brown Butter Cornbread I originally published on Serious Eats. I’ve tweaked the recipe by using a little more butter, converting everything to units of mass, and swapping out the regular sugar for a combination of brown sugar and honey, which give the bread a little more flavor to balance the sweetness.

Notes: You can use fine or medium grind corn meal for this, deepending on how smooth or gritty you like the texture. You can use 10 ounces (280g) of buttermilk in place of the buttermilk and sour cream, though the bread will be a little dryer without the sour cream.

Ingredients 

1 stick (1/4 pound; 115g) unsalted butter, plus more for serving

5 ounces (140g; about 1 cup) medium- or fine-grind yellow cornmeal (see note)

5 ounces (140g; about 1 cup) all-purpose flour

1 ounce (30g; about 2 tablespoons)  brown sugar

1 teaspoon (about 4g) kosher salt

2 teaspoons (about 5g) baking powder

1/4 teaspoon (about 1 g) baking soda

1 ounce (30g; about 2 tablespoons)  honey

2 large eggs

6 ounces (165g; about 3/4 cup) sour cream (see note)

4 ounces (115g; about 1/2 cup) cultured buttermilk (see note)

Any inclusions, as desired (see suggestions below the recipe)

Black Pepper Honey Butter, for serving (recipe follows)

Directions

1. Adjust an oven rack to center position. Place the butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet and place it in the oven. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cook the butter until it is browned and nutty-smelling, about 15 minutes (you can measure your wet and dry ingredients while waiting). When browned, pour the butter into a heatproof cup or bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon remaining in skillet.

2. Meanwhile, Combine the cornmeal, flour, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk together, making sure to break up any clumps of brown sugar. Add the honey, eggs, sour cream, and buttermilk to a second bowl and whisk together it together, making sure the honey is incorporated. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the browned butter from the bowl. Stir the wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (do not overmix — as soon as there are no dry clumps remaining, you’re good.) If you are adding any inclusions (see the suggestions below), fold them in now.

3. Swirl the hot skillet to coat all surfaces with melted butter. Add a tiny drop of batter to it. It should sizzle immediately. If not, return the skillet to the oven for a few minutes to reheat it. Scrape the batter into the hot skillet, shaking the pan slightly to even out the batter. Transfer to the oven and bake until light golden brown on top and a wooden skewer inserted into cornbread comes out with no crumbs, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Leftover cornbread can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Inclusions to personalize your corn bread:

You can add a wide variety of inclusions to give your cornbread a personal touch. Here are some suggestions:

• ½ cup chopped scallions or herbs

• ½ cup roasted or fresh diced chiles

• ¾ cup cubed cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, feta)

• ½ cup crisped bacon or cooked sausage

• ¼ cup toasted seeds (pepitas, sunflower)

• A handful of fresh corn kernels

• 1 tsp warm spices (smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder)

Black Pepper Honey Butter

This delicious butter spread is one I originally created for the pretzels we serve at Wursthall, the California beer hall I co-founded in San Mateo. It’s excellent on corn bread.

1 stick softened unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

A few big grinds of coarse black pepper

Salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and beat together with a fork until homogenous. Adjust the seasoning with more salt, pepper, or honey to taste. Serve softened at the table.