Sweet Cornbread & Secret Honey Butter

I can't seem to stop myself from sharing all my secrets with you! First it was the secret ingredient in my chili, and now I'll be telling you the genius behind my ultimate honey butter recipe.

I must like you an awful lot, huh?

Or else it's my dream to spread honey butter madness the world over.

Could be the second one, ha.

ANYWHO. You should definitely start this recipe with a batch of the world's best chili simmering on your stove.  Then, whip up this simple cornbread recipe to go with it. This (along with the honey butter spread) is the perfect accompaniment to hearty, spicy chili.

You've got to trust me, peeps. I wouldn't steer you wrong.

To get started with the cornbread, this is what you need:

Cornbread Ingredients

Start by mixing together ¾ cup of cornmeal with 1 ¼ cup flour, ⅔ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of salt. Once fully combined, make a well in the center, like so:

Why do this, you wonder? Well, I'll tell ya. If  you're using a big stand mixer, you probably don't need to bother with this step. But if you're mixing by hand (like me), this method ensures an even, non-lumpy batter that hasn't been over mixed. You can try mixing your batter without the well, and everything may turn out great, I just wasn't taking any chances.

SO. To your well (or not), add the following: ⅓ cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons melted (but not hot!) butter, 2 beaten eggs, and 1 ¼ cup whole milk. You can lighten the fat content here with 2% milk, but I don't think the cornbread is as moist and tasty that way. Up to you!

Stir all the ingredients together until just combined. This mix will be slightly grainy, but not lumpy, and thin…

Taking a picture one-handed… not as easy as it looks! 

Pour it all into a greased and floured 9x9 baking pan, then pop into a pre-heated, 350 degree oven for 25-28 minutes. I'm desperate to try this recipe in a cast-iron skillet. You can fully expect an updated post with alternate cooking methods once I've tested those ideas out.

Keep an eye on your cornbread, as all ovens are different. You don't want to dry the bread out! Test with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, or with only a few crummies clinging to it, your bread it done. The edges will be lightly browned, the center a golden yellow.

Cool in pan for 15 minutes before slicing.

In the meantime… 

You should make honey butter to go with your cornbread. No, you MUST make honey butter for the cornbread. In fact, don't even bother to make the cornbread unless you plan to make a honey butter accompaniment!

Honey butter

Seriously though, the butter makes the bread here. What was once a typical cornbread recipe transforms into magic with this honey butter.

I know what you're thinking… what makes this butter so special? Well, I'll tell ya. Most people make honey butter with only two ingredients, the obvious butter and honey.

I use three.

HA! The secret to perfect honey butter is actually… marshmallow creme! Or fluff, whatever your preference.

This is so easy to make, there isn't an excuse not to. Simply whip together 1 stick of softened butter with an ⅛ cup raw honey and ¼ cup marshmallow creme.

Viola! Your friends will think you're a genius, and your spouse will worship you from a honey butter induced coma.

Take the time people…. eat perfect honey butter. You won't regret it.

I guess that's all for today! Especially on these chilly winter nights, chili and cornbread make a great dinner. The Hubs and I often make a double-batch of the chili and freeze half for a later date. So warm up your evening soon, and let me know what you think.

Happy cooking, my friends! As always, the standard recipe is below.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

The Standard Form: 

Cornbread with Secret Honey Butter

Ingredients:

For the cornbread:                                                        For the honey butter:

¾ cup cornmeal                                                            1 stick butter, softened

1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour                                              ⅛ cup honey

⅔ cup sugar                                                                  ¼ cup marshmallow fluff

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

⅓ cup vegetable oil

3 tablespoons butter, melted

2 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cup whole milk

Directions:

For the cornbread: Mix together the dry ingredients and make a well in the center. To the well, add the oil, butter, beaten eggs, and the milk. Stir until just combined. The batter will be a little runny. Spread the batter into a greased and floured 9x9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 - 28 minutes. Cool 15 minutes in pan before slicing. 

For the honey butter: Whip together all the ingredients for the honey butter and then serve at room temperature with the cornbread. The butter can be chilled and refrigerated for up to 10 days. Soften at room temperature before serving again.

Regensburg Christmas Markets

Sigh.

This is the last Christmas market post of the season.

I miss them already.

The lights, the food, the drinks, the crafts… the sheer festiveness and fun. I've never experienced Christmas this way before, and I'm pretty sure I'm ruined for life. Christmas will never be the same.

What will I do back in the States??!

So, I've got to enjoy it while I can. I fully plan to visit as many Christmas markets as I can in the few years we have here.  My gluhwein mug collection will be enormous.

This last outing, I visited Regensburg with Hohenfels' ACS. There are many small markets around the city, and we visited most of them. In fact, I found my absolute favorite Christmas market (so far). Unlike some of the others, you pay to visit this market, but the entry fee is totally worth it. Known locally as the Romantic Market, the Thurn und Taxis Weihnachtsmarkt is beautiful.

Thurn und Taxis Christmas Market

The booths are strung with lights, decorated with evergreens. Fire pits abound. As night falls, the market definitely lives up to its romantic tag. Now that I've been, I can't wait to take the Hubs next year.

The other markets around the city are also fun, don't get me wrong. But this one spoke to me. It said, 'Stop, stay a while. Eat, drink, and be merry'. 

Of course, you know me, so the 'eating' part stuck out quite a bit, ha. After walking most of the afternoon, in the cold, we were all ready to warm up with a little food and drink.

The Regensburg markets impressed me with the abundance of their food choices. Looking back through my photos, I think I snapped more images of the good eats than anything else! Check it out:

Top left: Apfelkuchel
Bottom left: Spit meat
Right: Roasted nuts

The Apfelkuchel (above) is so dang delicious! Basically, fresh apple slices are dipped in batter, then fried, and then coated in sugar and cinnamon.

Ja, I ate those. And I would have kept going, except there were so many delicious things at the market to eat!

Left:  ½ meter hotdog (sausage)
Right: Bread, cheese, and meat vendor

The States may have the footlong, but the Germans have the ½ meter dog! The variety of sausage here is outrageous… I doubt I'll be able to taste them all in the few years we have. So far, I haven't found one that I didn't like.

BUT, my absolute favorite treat at the market is something I'll probably dream about until the next time I can eat it. So garlicy, buttery, and delicious, it's a hard treat to forget:

Knobibrot

Kind of like pizza, but not. Better. Soooo much better. The bread was fried right in front of us, then topped with a white sauce which is out of this world, scary-crazy delicious. You can add toppings or not, it's totally up to you.

You MUST try this if you have an opportunity. Seriously. Don't doubt me, peeps! If no one had been watching, I would have gone back for another, no lie.

I'm pretty bummed the holiday season is over, but I'm already planning my market trips for next year. I know I'll never be able to visit every market, but I'm dang sure gonna try. Luckily, Germany doesn't need much of a reason to have a festival. Various ones abound through the year, with all the same elements… beer, food, and community. Fasching will be here before I know it!

Until then, I'll keep you updated with all our travels. I'm visiting London this week, and Venice in the early spring. And of course, I'll also have more recipes and more Pinterest tested, and more army life tips! Talk to ya again soon!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com

Heidelberg Christmas Markets

Before our move, the Hubs and I were a little worried about meeting new people, and finding friends at a new duty station. After all, our old pals are so wonderful! We miss all the good times we had together, and really hope they can visit us sometime.

Lucky for us, a few of our friends have followed us to Europe! Of course, none are at our exact location, but they're closer than some of our other friends. Also lucky us, we discovered that we have amazing new neighbors! Most of us are new here, so we have the chance to discover this beautiful country together.

One of my new pals is actually from Germany, and she has been an incredible help to all of us as we fumble with the language, train schedules, and grocery stores. She's originally from Heidelberg, a gorgeous town. And, she offered to show me around a couple weekends ago...

Naturally, I said heck yes! 

The Christmas Markets were in full swing when we arrived. My friend, Becky (who lives in Germany now too!) met us there, and we all spent an excellent afternoon together. Mostly, we wandered the markets. Shopping, eating, and chatting…

I'm really, really obsessed with the Christmas markets. They're so much fun, just to hang out and socialize. Not to mention, a great place to pick up gifts for our family back in the States.

Though we only had the afternoon and a bit of the evening, Jasmina (my new neighbor) managed to show us so much of her lovely hometown. We stopped for breakfast at a fantastic cafe, wandered the markets, and eventually made our way to Heidelberg Castle.

Panoramic of Heidelberg Castle and the town

We spent some time seeing the sights, with Jasmina as our guide (she was excellent!). The history in Europe runs much longer than what I'm used to in the States, it's fascinating. Not only did we tour the outside of the castle area, with it's excellent views, but we wandered into the castle itself before making our way back to town.

Us ladies goofing off 

Left: Giant wine barrel (room sized!)
Top right: Entering the castle center
Bottom right: Sun clock on castle tower

Someday I might take a guided tour of the castle, but we saw so much even without a pro guide. Though I think Jasmina should qualify, ha! In the image above, you can see some of the sights. The ginormous (that's a real word, peeps!) wine barrel especially impressed me.

I'm not sure what that says about me… but I'm ok with it.

One spot Becky and I were especially determined to see was the Heidelberg Gate. As night began to fall, we walked to the gate among small crowds of people.

The gate is an especially photographic spot. On the other side is a stone bridge (also beautiful), where many people attach their "love locks" in this city (you might remember these from my trip to Budapest). One of these days, I'll buy a lock with the Hubs and we'll toss the key into the river below. We only have to decide which gorgeous city we'll complete this tradition in… suggestions, anyone?

Though I loved my trip to Heidelberg, it just wasn't enough. I'm desperate to go back! So far, this is one of my favorite cities in Germany. Sometime in the spring, I plan to visit again, for a weekend this time. Hopefully the Hubs can come on that trip too.

But for now, Happy New Year, my friends! There will be one more post about some of the local Christmas markets, and then I'll tell you all about my recent trip to Neuschwanstein castle. Plus, some new recipes should be coming soon (now that my dishes are unpacked!).

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Follow me on Facebook @ OurArmyLifeAccordingToTheWife

or on Pinterest, my newest obsession @ ArmyLifeFromTheWife

Email me: armylifefromthewife@gmail.com