Soft & buttery, melt-in-your-mouth Honey Jalapeno Cornbread Drop Biscuits are the real deal – and absolutely perfect with every meal!
Flaky layers of flavor make Honey Jalapeno Cornbread Drop Biscuits the BEST bread recipe ever! There’s no rise time, so these cornbread biscuits are as quick as they are easy to make! Yes, they have all the staples—flour, cornmeal, eggs, sour cream, butter, and buttermilk—but what makes them absolutely irresistible is the sweet and spicy addition of honey and jalapeno!
A Scrumptious Southern Comfort Combination!
When biscuits and cornbread come together, it’s the epitome of Southern Fusion! I mean, this recipe isn’t exactly a biscuit, muffin, or classic cast iron skillet cornbread. But it IS an almost effortless drop dough that’s a perfect blend of soft, buttery biscuits and sweet, crumbly cornbread—with a swirl of honey and a sprinkle of jalapeno!
Cornbread drop biscuits are surprisingly easy to make with your food processor, and the results are spectacular! Enjoy them for breakfast with scrambled eggs and jelly or dinner with a warm bowl of chili…and I dare you not to pop one into your mouth when they’re fresh and hot out of the oven! AHHHHmazing!
Other Easy Drop Biscuit Recipes
- Drop Biscuits will have you asking yourself why you ever made biscuits from a tube.
- Bacon and Beer Bread Drop Biscuits – bacon and beer in a biscuit? Yes, please!
Ingredients
Dry Dough: Cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt get these cornbread biscuits off to a great start!
Wet Dough: Turn the dry ingredients into bread dough by adding buttermilk, sour cream, and egg and cutting in cold, cubed, unsalted butter.
Honey & Jalapeno: Regular honey (although you can use a “hot honey” if you prefer) and a few chopped jalapenos give these delicious corn muffins their distinctive flavor!
How to Make Honey Jalapeno Cornbread Biscuits
STEP ONE: Start by whisking together the following ingredients in a large bowl – Cornmeal, honey, sour cream, buttermilk, egg, sugar, and jalapenos (without or with the seeds so you control the spiciness).
STEP TWO: In your food processor, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pulse a few times to mix, then add the cubes of very cold butter and pulse about ten times (give or take, you want to combine this, not blend it, so do NOT overmix. Less is better.)
STEP THREE: Add the flour/butter mixture into the large bowl with the cornmeal mixture and stir. Chill the dough for at least 20 minutes.
STEP FOUR: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking pan with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the fridge and drop 1/4 cup portions onto the parchment. Use a spoon or cookie scoop to make them evenly sized. (If you have leftover dough, keep it chilled until ready to bake the next batch.)
STEP FIVE: Bake until the biscuits are lightly golden – about 10 minutes. They will be slightly crisp at the edges and soft and tender in the middle. Immediately remove them from the pan to a cooling rack. Serve with soft butter – you won’t be able to resist eating one!
Tips for Success
- Buttermilk is the only way to go with these cornbread biscuits. Any substitute will cause them to spread out flatter.
- If you don’t have a food processor, just put the dough in a bowl and use a couple of forks or a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter. It’s easy!
- Add more jalapeno seeds to the dough if you want to give these biscuits an extra kick of spice.
- Add a half-cup of sharp cheddar cheese to the dough for a savory variation.
Can I Make Cornbread Drop Biscuits Ahead of Time?
ABSOLUTELY! You can do this in two ways: 1) Make the dough, cover it tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before scooping it into balls and baking, or 2) Make the full recipe, allow the drop biscuits to completely cool, then store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week! (Gently warm these in the oven or microwave before serving.)
Can I Make These into Muffins Instead of Biscuits?
You can easily adapt this Cornbread Drop Biscuit recipe into muffins if you want. With one important alteration, melt the butter and stir it into the dough (rather than cutting in cold butter with a food processor). This makes the dough a bit creamy rather than crumbly, so add it to a greased muffin tin. Then bake a few minutes longer, using a toothpick to make sure they’re done!
Other Heavenly Jalapeno Recipes
- Bacon Jalapeno Deviled Eggs
- Jalapeno Popper Crescent Rolls
- Shrimp and Pesto Jalapeno Bites
- Roasted Corn and Jalapeno Dip
- Jalapeno Crab Dip
- Chicken Jalapeno Popper Pinwheels
*This post originally posted on 05/18/2015.
Equipment
- Food Processor (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 cup fine cornmeal
- ½ cup buttermilk (see note)
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1-2 jalapenos seeded and chopped (see note)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter cut into small cubes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, sour cream, buttermilk, honey, egg, sugar, and jalapenos.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to your food processor. Cover and pulse 3-4 times to combine. (see note) Scatter the butter pieces over the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbles, about 8-12 pulses.
- Pour the butter-flour mixture into the bowl with the cornmeal mixture. Stir until just combined – don't overmix! (It's better to undermix than overmix.) Chill the dough for 20 minutes (or up to 2 hours).
- Using a cookie scoop, drop the biscuit dough onto the prepared baking sheet in 1/4 cup portions. Leave 2 inches between the biscuits. (Return the rest of the dough to the fridge for the next batch.)
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, until biscuits are lightly golden. Repeat with the rest of the biscuit dough.
- Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Do not use any buttermilk substitutes, or the biscuits will spread when baking.
- If you want the biscuits spicier, you can leave in the jalapeno seeds.
- If you don’t have a food processor, stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Then cut in the cold butter using a fork or a pastry cutter.
fns says
While waiting for the first batch to cook, I stuck a scoop of dough onto our waffle iron and holy smokes does this recipe make a wonderful cornbread waffle.
The biscuits themselves were tasty, with the honey getting a nice carmelized texture in the oven, but they fell a little flat. The dropped ones spread quite a bit, and the ones that I scooped also fell some in the oven, but the waffles were pure perfection – great rise, great crust, nice, soft, light interior.
The jalapeño didn’t add much heat, so definitely add in the seeds if you’re looking to get more than just a bell pepper texture in there.
Ruth Ann Ryan says
By no buttermilk substitutes, does that refer to making your own by souring milk with vinegar? Or does that refer to one of the fake type milks that seem to be appearing on the grocery shelves?
Can’t rate this recipe yet, am afraid to try it and not be using the correct buttermilk.
Julie @Real Housemoms says
Hi Ruth Ann! No buttermilk substitutes refers to soured milk (with vinegar or lemon). This recipe needs real buttermilk to come out just right. 🙂