Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 F or 325 F convection. Spray or butter inside of muffin cups or use liners. For cornbread “cake”, line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment or foil.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a medium size bowl, mix together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cayenne (optional).
3. Combine wet ingredients. In another bowl, beat eggs lightly, then add sour cream and (optional) melted butter and whisk until smooth. Stir in red peppers, if using. Pour wet ingredients over dry and stir gently with a spatula until thoroughly mixed. Batter will be stiff.
4. Fill muffin cups using an ice cream scoop or spoon. For cornbread “cake”, pour batter into pan and smooth top.
5. Bake mini muffins 10 -15 minutes, regular muffins 20 – 25 minutes and cake 25 -30 minutes. Start checking minis after 10 minutes and regular and cake after 20 minutes. Cornbread is done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool 5 -10 minutes before carefully removing muffins or cake from pan.
6. Serving Suggestions
7. Dinner: Serve grilled meats, chicken, fish or vegetables with cornbread instead of rice or potatoes
8. Brunch: Serve with butter and spicy jelly or chutney.
9. Picnic: Serve with pimento cheese, egg, tuna, chicken, fruit and vegetable salads.
10. Vegetarian/Vegan/ Gluten Free: Serve with hot and cold vegetable entrees like squash casserole or tomato and mozzarella salad. Serve with combination proteins like red beans and rice, lentils, quinoa or any kind of bean or legume combination.