The Cornbread Twist That'll Make Your Next Batch Even Sweeter

There's no denying that traditional cornbread is delicious all on its own — but it doesn't hurt to switch things up with a classic recipe from time to time. One way to upgrade cornbread? Add extra brown sugar and chopped pecans to the mix. It's the perfect combination of additions — the extra brown sugar will integrate a toffee-like sweetness, while the pecans will bring in a nutty savoriness for a balanced, more complex flavor profile. In other words, with this add-in duo, you'll simultaneously make your cornbread more sweet and more savory.

This cornbread twist is a fantastic way to upgrade store-bought boxed cornbread mix, but the method can also be used with a homemade recipe. Either way, after stirring together the ingredients as directed, simply add in one to two tablespoons of brown sugar and a handful of chopped pecans into the mix, then bake as directed.

You can also adjust the ingredient amounts according to your personal preferences. For example, maybe you want just a touch of extra sweetness, but not too much — in this case, add just one tablespoon of brown sugar. If you want extra sweetness, add three tablespoons. Or, if you want extra nuttiness, add ½ cup of chopped pecans. Another idea to add in extra nuttiness is to include extra pecan pieces (or full pecans) to the top of the batter after you've poured it into the bakeware, so you end up with extra pecans on the top of the finished bread.

The addition of brown sugar and chopped pecans doesn't have to be limited to just traditional cornbread — there are a plethora of cornbread varieties that would benefit from these add-ins. For example, Tasting Table's cast iron fig cornbread is a sweeter version of the dish thanks to added sugar and a lemon-honey glaze — for a different take on this recipe, you can swap out the regular sugar for the brown sugar and add in the pecans for a different type of sweetness, as well as a burst of savory notes from the nuts.

Brown sugar and chopped pecans may also pair well with honey sweet potato cornbread, which is made sweeter than usual by its two titular ingredients. Seeing as sweet potatoes are often paired with brown sugar, this could just be a match made in heaven. And if you don't want to overdo it with the sweetness, you could cut back on the honey or replace it with brown sugar altogether. Plus, pecans are another ingredient that is a frequent partner to sweet potato (such as in casseroles), so the nuts will fit right in as well.

Or, you could make a classic cornbread recipe — complete with brown sugar and pecans — then include your own choice of add-ins. Additional ingredients that would pair well include jalapeños, to round out the flavor profile with some heat, or another type of fruit — perhaps blackberries or blueberries — for an extra touch of sweetness.