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Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread

February 4, 2013 by Joy the Baker 110 Comments

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Biscuits.  I love.  You know this to be true because I’m forever trying to stuff them with caramelized mushrooms  or chocolate chunks.  We could talk about biscuits all day and all night… and that would feel totally reasonable to me.

I have, however, neglected another Southern-bred carbohydrate:  cornbread.  How has this slipped by me?  Criminal, really.  In an effort to right this egregious wrong, I bring you cornbread with extras… totally major/bonkers-awesome extras like browned butter, orange, and rosemary.  It’s like cornbread gets a zippy kick in the pants.

The extra butter and honey drip added to the cornbread… that’s just showing off, which is totally allowed.

brown butter rosemary orange cornbread

I love the simplicity of cornbread.  Actually… I like that cornbread can be made in a regular old kitchen bowl with a big silver spoon.  It feels simple… like something that’s in my cooking bones from generations past.

brown butter rosemary orange cornbread

A few things make this recipe different/better/more delicious/more bonkers-awesome than regular cornbread.

Fresh orange juice and beautifully fragrant orange zest add a beautiful bright flavor and comforting scent to the bread.

Rosemary adds a fragrant savory element and pairs really well with citrus.

The orange zest and fresh chopped rosemary are rubbed together in granulated sugar.  It’s a secret tip to really bring out the flavorful oils or citrus and herbs.

Butter is browned… yea, I went there.  Adding a nutty, caramel colored butter brings an extra rich flavor to the cornbread.

brown butter rosemary orange cornbread

I use a coarse, stone-ground cornmeal for my cornbread.  I like the bite that the stone-ground cornmeal provides.

I actually use the same cornmeal for my Baked Polenta.  Same Same.

brown butter rosemary orange cornbread

When buttermilk combines with the baking soda and cornmeal, the batter really thickens.  It’s almost fluffy.

brown butter rosemary orange cornbread

Working.

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This bread bakes up moist and crisp around the edges.

It’s dense in the sense that cornbread is more bread-like than cake-like.  It’s in its nature.

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I want the middle slice.  How obnoxious is that?  There’s only one middle slice and I called dibs.

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This cornbread is an intriguing combination of sweet and savory.  There is a bit more sugar that may be traditionally found in cornbread recipes… of course, I’m Joy the Baker.  The orange juice and zest help this cornbread feel more sweet, but the rosemary makes it bend towards the savory end.

It’s best served warm with extra butter and honey… as are most things in the world.

Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread

makes 1 8×8-inch pan

Print this Recipe!

1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup coarse ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and 8×8-inch square baking pan.  Line with parchment paper and grease and flour the baking pan.  Set aside.

In a light-colored small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Melt and cook butter down completely.  It will sizzle and crackle.  That’s the butter cooking out of the butter.  Keep an eye on the butter and you’ll see brown bits begin to form at the bottom of the pan.  Swirl pan and cook until browned bits are a chestnut color and the butter smells nutty.  Remove from the pan and immediately transfer butter (browned bits and all) to a small bowl to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, orange juice, and browned butter.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, blend together sugar, orange zest, and chopped rosemary.  Blend with the back of a spoon working the orange and rosemary flavors into the sugar.

Add flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda to the large bowl with the flavored sugar.  Whisk to combine.

Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients.  Stir to combine, ensuring that all of the dry ingredients are moistened and incorporated into the batter.  Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth to the edges.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.  Bread is best served warm and will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to three days.

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Categories: Bread, Dinner, Recipes, Savory

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  1. Judy

    April 4, 2022 at 4:26 pm

    Love this! The orange and rosemary are a perfect combination!

    Reply
  2. Michelle

    July 9, 2020 at 11:08 am

    This made a delicious brunch today, paired with blueberry greek yogurt. Even after all these years, you are still my favorite baker! Brilliant recipe

    Reply
  3. Jena

    February 20, 2020 at 1:37 am

    Amazingly flavourful recipe! Only changes I made were to dial back the sugar to 1.5 TBS & add 1 cup of creamed corn (I like my cornbread more savoury & more corny!) It was a massive hit at my house! Thanks. :)

    Reply
  4. Isadora

    December 10, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    Would it be possible to make this in a skillet?

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      December 13, 2018 at 1:08 am

      Sure!

      Reply
  5. Cindy

    October 23, 2017 at 6:46 am

    I love cornbread, & I can’t wait to try this!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Trackbacks

  1. 17 Vegetarian Thanksgiving Recipes For An Entirely Meat-Free Meal | Holiday Music says:
    November 11, 2015 at 4:26 am

    […] Fine, cornbread is usually vegetarian anyway, but do you really need an excuse to make this tantalizing version with herbs and brown butter from Joy the Baker? […]

    Reply
  2. On Brown Butter | bediva says:
    September 6, 2015 at 5:33 am

    […] sweet, buttery and delicious.  Some things are just right. Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread.  Please note aggressive use of honey.  Cool, […]

    Reply
  3. 1 Ingredient x 3 Recipes: Corn | Le Premier Qui Rira says:
    August 17, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    […] Salty Cake Pops (Inspired by Joy The Baker’s Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread) […]

    Reply
  4. Sour Cream and Onion Cornbread says:
    April 30, 2015 at 4:14 pm

    […] Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread from Joy the Baker […]

    Reply
  5. Sour Cream and Onion Cornbread from Never Enough Thyme — Never Enough Thyme - Recipes with a slight southern accent. says:
    June 11, 2014 at 7:32 am

    […] Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread from Joy the Baker […]

    Reply
  6. Loafin’ Around | shivalryinc says:
    April 28, 2014 at 12:09 pm

    […] We attempted three different types of bread one afternoon. I was reading about three-ingredient recipes on BuzzFeed not too long ago and came across this phenomenon known as Ice Cream Bread. So I thought, might as well make a couple different kinds of breads if I am going to by disposable pans to put them in. We then decided on a Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Bread and a Orange, Rosemary, and Brown Butter Corn Bread. […]

    Reply
  7. Navel Oranges says:
    April 16, 2014 at 8:35 am

    […] a cornbread purist but I must bake this Brown Butter Rosemary Orange Cornbread. […]

    Reply
  8. Cooking for a Crowd | The Housewife's Journal says:
    April 6, 2014 at 10:44 pm

    […] as you can the day before. For this party it included making the syrup for the lemonade, baking the cornbread and cupcakes. The salad and chicken had to be made the day […]

    Reply
  9. Tuesday’s breakfast feast-Cornbread french toast | says:
    March 25, 2014 at 8:58 am

    […] found an extra delicious twist on the normal cornbread recipe here from Joy the Baker. I have just reworded it to reflect how I made it and also with all of the measurements in European […]

    Reply
  10. Happy 2014! | Shugar Rush says:
    January 2, 2014 at 3:41 pm

    […] (On the plate: Mississippi caviar (yum!), baked sweet potato and Joy’s (of course!) kick ass cornbread.) […]

    Reply

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