This Sweet Cornbread Muffins recipe is a copycat of Famous Dave’s cornbread muffins that so many of us love.
Ben and I have an affection for barbecue. One of our favorites—considering taste, price and sweet tea—is Famous Dave’s. Although it’s a chain, we enjoy the food. Now that we’ve moved to the desert region of California, the closest Famous Dave’s is about 45 minutes “down the hill.”
Beyond the barbecue, we especially miss the cornbread muffins that come with each meal. A helpful tip from a friend: when you’re seated, ask if they can bring a muffin right away. They’ll usually hand one over, and then you’ll still get another with your meal. Extra cornbread is always welcome.
When we lost easy access to Famous Dave’s, I started hunting for a home recipe. I found one circulating on several forums and tried it, but it was gritty—although the flavor was close. I realized the recipe called for stone-ground cornmeal, which can be coarse; my husband even said, “this is hurting my teeth!”
Since the taste was right, I remade the recipe using regular yellow cornmeal instead of stone-ground and added half a can of whole kernel corn (next time I’ll use a full can). The result was much better—moist, tender, and no unpleasant grittiness.
The key to keeping these muffins moist is not to overbake them. If it’s just the two of you (or two and a half, as in our house), you can freeze any leftovers in a freezer bag and microwave them for 20–30 seconds per muffin when you’re ready to enjoy one.
They pair wonderfully with pulled pork or other barbecue favorites.
Recipe Card
Print Recipe
Sweet Cornbread Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 9oz package yellow cake mix
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs beaten
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1 Tablespoon miracle whip light
- 14 ounce can whole kernel corn well drained
Instructions
-
Whisk together cornmeal, cake mix, baking powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl and set aside. In another bowl combine milk, buttermilk, oil, eggs, brown sugar and honey; mix well. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and stir gently until there are no lumps, taking care not to overmix. Fold in the Miracle Whip and the drained canned corn.
-
Cover and let the batter rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or overnight.
-
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Scoop batter into the liners, filling each about two-thirds full.
-
Bake 15–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are golden brown. Do not overbake to preserve moisture.