Cracklin Jalapeno Candy Corn Bread
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Baked Goods
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
45 minutes
This long titled corn bread with Jalapeno Candy aka Cowboy Candy was inspired by a customer who came up to me and asked me if I had ever tried my product in a cornbread. "Well no", I said and here we are. Challenge accepted.
This Cornbread ends up being sweet, savory, spicy, salty and oh so amazing. I cooked it and drove around to all my friends houses dropping off cornbread because I was so excited.
Jay Gleaton
Ingredients
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2 Strips (100 g or 3.7 oz), Thick Cut Smoked Bacon (Benton’s if you can get it)
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2 Cups Cornmeal
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1 Cup All Purpose Flour
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2 Tsp Baking Powder
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½ Tsp Baking Soda
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1 Cup Jalapeno Candy (not drained)
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1.5 Cups Buttermilk
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2 Eggs
To Cook
Dry
Wet
Directions
FIRST THINGS FIRST! Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Also, pull out a stick of butter and set it on a plate on the counter to come to room temperature.
Mix all your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix all your wet ingredients in another separate bowl. Set aside
Slice your bacon into small squares. Set an 8 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat and throw in the bacon - no need to preheat the pan. Once the bacon is crispy remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel. Leave the pan, including all the bacon grease on medium heat.
Working quickly, add the dry and wet ingredients together plus the bacon pieces and stir to create your batter. It should be thick and gloopy with no dry or crumbly areas. You’ll need a rubber spatula to get the batter out of the bowl.
Pour the batter into the hot bacon grease. The rubber spatula lets you scoop out your bowl cleanly. If needed, spread the batter out a bit in the pan to make it even. It should be sizzling, that is not a problem, that is a feature.
Carefully, using mitts or towels to protect your hands, place that hot, batter-filled cast iron in the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove from the oven and run a slim knife around the outside edge. With a good seasoned cast iron and the heat you just put on it, there should be no sticking. Carefully turn the bread out onto a cutting board or a plate to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting it open and digging in. Pro-Tip if you invert a plate or board over the pan and then flip them together you reduce the risk of flying bread.
Recipe Note
Remember that stick of butter I had you put on the counter?
Add even more jalapeno candy and some of that perfect softened butter to serve and really take this treat over the top!
Pair with some black eyed peas, butter peas, collard greens, coleslaw, and blackened snapper for a literal southern feast!