This started off with such an innocent thought: I haven’t had cornbread in a while…
From there my mind wandered to the mound of fresh corn in my fridge.
Well I should definitely add some of that.
But I can’t JUST add corn. What else…
Crispy bacon? Sure.
Use the rendered bacon fat in place of butter? YES.
Ok. Slow down. This might be getting a little too intense.
Perhaps I need to lighten it up a bit.  Ah! Basil!
No joke. That was my thought process.
At any given time, there’s a good chance I’m hashing out some sort of internal food debate. It’s just how I work.
And any time bacon is involved, well, you just win.
Basil and corn? Probably one of the best summer food combos in existence.
Put it all together in a cornbread muffin and it almost feels like a meal in cup form!
Sweet corn, salty bacon, peppery basil – it has it all.
And muffins are just cute, so why not?
Bacon Basil Cornbread Muffins
Adapted from The Neely’s Honey Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 strips thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup reserved bacon fat, or melted butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1/3 cup chopped basil
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners. Brown the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring often. Transfer the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Reserve the fat in the pan (you should have about 1/4 cup – if you don’t have enough, you can make up the difference with melted butter).
- In a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, 1 cup flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, bacon fat/butter and honey. In a third bowl, combine the fresh corn, chopped basil, and browned bacon with 3 tablespoons flour.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stirring just until it starts to come together. Add the corn, bacon and basil, stirring to combine. Divide the mixture evenly between the muffin liners in the pan. Bake for 15-17 minutes, until golden brown.
Yields
12 muffins
