Southern-Style Honey Butter Cornbread Poppers
These Southern-Style Honey Butter Cornbread Poppers are bite-sized, ultra-moist, and drenched in a warm honey butter glaze.
- Buttermilk and sour cream create an incredibly tender, cake-like crumb.
- Mini muffin tins maximize the crispy edge-to-soft-center ratio.
- A warm honey butter glaze seeps deep into the warm poppers immediately after baking.
My first attempt at making cornbread for my family ended with me scraping a black, charred disc out of a cast-iron skillet while my knuckles throbbed from scrubbing.
I cried.
Traditional cornbread is notoriously finicky because cornmeal lacks gluten-forming proteins, meaning it easily crumbles into dry sand if the moisture ratio is off.
Most recipes try to fix this by drowning the batter in vegetable oil, which only leaves you with a greasy, heavy crumb that sits like a brick in your stomach.
But after testing dozens of batches in my trusty mini muffin tin, I discovered that using buttermilk and a touch of sour cream creates a tender, cake-like crumb that holds its shape perfectly. The secret is the acidity, which weakens the flour's gluten structure just enough to keep things incredibly soft. Then, we drench them in a warm glaze.
They are absolutely perfect.
If you love sweet and savory corn dishes, you might also enjoy our Honey Butter Skillet Corn. For another bite-sized treat that uses a similar baking method, check out our Ooey Gooey Banana Bars. This recipe is a bite-sized twist on The Ultimate Irresistible Honey Butter Cornbread Poppers that everyone raves about.
Southern-Style Honey Butter Cornbread Poppers
Ingredients
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted (for the glaze)
- 3 tbsp honey (for the glaze)
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C) and generously grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yellow cornmeal, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt until fully combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk the buttermilk, sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and honey until the mixture is completely smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and gently fold them together with a rubber spatula just until no dry flour pockets remain; do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared mini muffin cups, filling each one nearly to the top.
- Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a popper comes out clean.
- While the poppers are baking, whisk together the remaining 3 tablespoons of melted butter and 3 tablespoons of honey in a small bowl to create the glaze.
- Brush the warm honey butter glaze generously over the hot cornbread poppers immediately after removing them from the oven, allowing it to soak in before serving.
Notes
- We highly recommend using Diamond Crystal kosher salt; if you only have fine table salt, cut the measurement in half to 1/2 teaspoon.
- Buttermilk's lactic acid reacts with the baking soda to produce carbon dioxide bubbles, which gives these poppers their signature light, airy lift.
- Keep a close eye on the oven during the last two minutes of baking; because of the high sugar and honey content, the bottoms can go from beautifully golden to scorched incredibly fast.
- As these sit in an airtight container, the honey butter glaze will continue to sink into the crumb, making them even more moist on day two.
- Make sure your eggs and buttermilk are at room temperature so they don't instantly re-solidify your melted butter into awkward little clumps.
Serving Suggestions
Serve these warm right out of the oven for the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth experience, or pair them with your favorite cozy mains.
- Alongside a steaming bowl of smoky beef chili.
- Stacked next to slow-cooked pulled pork shoulder.
- Drizzled with extra hot honey for a sweet and spicy kick.
- Served as a sweet side for crispy southern fried chicken.
Storage and Reheating
Store any leftover poppers in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. If you stack them, they will stick together as the glaze settles.
Don't freeze them glazed.
If you want to freeze a batch, bake them and freeze them plain, then warm them up and apply the fresh glaze right before serving. They will keep in the freezer for up to two months.
To reheat, pop them onto a baking sheet and warm them in a 350°F oven for about five minutes. Avoid the microwave unless you want a sad, soggy sponge.
Ingredient Substitutes
If you find yourself missing an ingredient, here are the easiest swaps that won't ruin your batch.
- Buttermilk: Swap with 1 cup of whole milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar; let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle.
- Sour Cream: Greek yogurt works beautifully here as a direct 1:1 replacement to maintain that essential acidity.
- Honey: Pure maple syrup can be used in the batter and glaze, though it will impart a distinct maple flavor.
These little bites have officially replaced regular cornbread at my dinner table, and I suspect they will do the same for yours. Let me know how they turn out!
Susan Rosalind
I've been developing recipes for about 12 years, and this one went through the same routine as everything else here: I made it, changed something, made it again, then had someone else cook it from just the written steps to see where it tripped them up. That's the part I care about most – not just that a recipe works for me, but that it works on a Tuesday night in your kitchen too.
More About Susan →