by Kelly J. Larson

Cornbread with green chiles is very Texan and since I live in the capital of Texas, I am a big fan. Literally. At least a pound or two can be attributed to indulging in hot, not-too-spicy cornbread, from places like Z-Tejas and the Roaring Fork, thank you very much.

Here’s my latest version. They’re super dense and hearty and flavorful. I seem to tweak the recipe constantly. It’s fun to add or take away different ingredients or quantities to develop your favorite. Recently I accidentally grabbed the container of quick oats instead of cornmeal and at first was annoyed that I put in the wrong thing. So I added both and the result was excellent and I’ll always likely add oatmeal now. You can either cook a dozen muffins or bake the batter into a skillet.

Cheddar & Green Chile Cornbread

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons dried chopped onions
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup quick oats
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (7 ounces) diced green chiles
• 1 cup frozen corn

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Mix the butter and sugar in a stand mixer for a minute. Add in the eggs, dried onions, buttermilk. In a separate bowl, sift the dry ingredients together, flour, oats, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Pour into wet mixture and blend briefly, then add green chiles and corn. Divide batter into a dozen paper lined muffin pan wells (or use a silicone pan) or pour it all into a cast iron skillet. Bake 20 to 30 minutes.