Barefoot Bloggers: Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

I am thrilled to be participating in my first Barefoot Blogger this month! Barefoot Bloggers was created by an individual who thought it would be fun to try Ina Garten recipes (every other week!) and has allowed other people to join on the journey. I have a number of Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, but never seem to try enough of the recipes, which is why I decided to join this group. I lucked out because my first recipe since joining is pretty straight forward and easy! It was chosen by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids. I had to make some adjustments to the recipe which included scaling it down from a 9 x 13 pan to an 8 x 8 size, as I'm only feeding two of us, and adjustments for baking at a high altitude! Below I post the recipe as it was published by Ina Garten, then the recipe with adjustments I made. Overall, the cornbread turned out really well. I do prefer my cornbread a little sweeter versus the savory flavor of this recipe so to make up for the lack of sweetness, I added a little butter to top of mine before eating.

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread from Barefoot Contessa at Home

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons baking powder

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 cups milk

3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan

8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided

1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish (@3 scallions)

3 tablespoons seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs, and butter. With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved. Don't over mix! Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking pan. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and cut into large squares. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Cornbread with Ellyn's adjustments

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/8 cup sugar

1 Tbls baking powder (I used 2 tsp for the altitude change)

1 tsp kosher salt

1 cup milk (plus 3 Tbls for altitude)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup butter, melted

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 1/2 Tbls jalapeno peppers (I used the already diced can variety!)

Follow instructions above, except for high altitude baking increase oven temperature from 350 degrees to 370 degrees.