Jalapeño Cornbread ... a fond old TX memory!

Since I moved away from Austin, TX over 6 years ago, I've often missed all the lovely food that I enjoyed over the years. Some of the things I've missed are Breakfast Tacos from a small shack on Airport Blvd, Mexican Martinis from Trudy's, Coffee & Desserts from Mozart's Cafe, Tofu and Mushrooms from Veggie Heaven and Pad Thai from Madam Maam's on Guadalupe St., Red Potatoes from Rudy's and many many more - including the cornbread muffins from Threadgill's. These fresh-from-the-oven wonders were delivered at each table within minutes of arriving. They were tiny (by mid-western standards) muffins, had just a hint of sweetness and a sprinkling of red and green peppers (jalapenos!) inside. The sweet and spicy flavor is what I've remembered and missed over the years. A quick Google search revealed that there are plenty of versions of The Original Threadgill's Corn Muffin recipe. My quest for this weekend was to find a plant-based cornbread recipe and modify it to be as close to Threadgill's as possible.

Corn bread w Corn Salsa

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients & Directions: I followed a recipe for 'Bayou Cornbread' recipe from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook and added a tablespoon of raw sugar for the hint of sweetness and added 1/8 tsp of Cayenne pepper and 1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and minced super fine. I baked it in a pre-heated cast iron skillet exactly as described. I served it warm with a peppery sweet corn salsa (Kroger Private Selection). Great breakfast ... and even better ... leftovers!! :)

Nik's Reaction: Nik, do you want to try some of mom's cornbread? NO!! :)

My Assessment: I liked it. This no-fat version takes longer to get the golden color on the top so I broiled it for a few minutes to get it nice and golden on top - but the bottom definitely had better color on it. Overall, it came pretty close to what I remember as the Threadgill's taste. I plan on adding some more jalapeno the next time while keeping the sugar at 1 tbsp only. I hit the nail on the head with the right amount of sweetness!!