Halloween Spicy Cornbread Skulls made from a buttery rich cornbread batter, stuffed with pepper bacon and cheese and baked to spooky perfection!
A Fun Halloween Culinary Cornbread With A Bit Of Spice
Who said Halloween couldn’t be fun for adults too! This corn bread is loaded with crispy bacon, plenty cracked black pepper, in a buttery rich, whole milk cornmeal batter.
I created this delicious cornbread recipe to go in my Halloween Skull Mold but they are so darn delicious you will want to make these all year, in a muffin tin, loaf pan or sheet tray.
These will be served on Halloween night for our family, with a huge cauldron of Squid Ink Pasta, slimy black noodles!
Spicy Pepper Bacon And Corn Are Just A ‘Thing’
Bacon, for me, is a great way to add both fat and saltiness to foods. We all know how delicious corn is with salt and melted butter, so bacon was the perfect marriage with corn in this cornmeal batter.
The bacon gets baked in the oven in about 10-minutes while mixing the batter, crumbled and added to the batter just before baking.
Pepper
Pepper. While I could have chosen fresh chili peppers from my garden for this recipe, still producing in October, I wanted to be mindful of the little ones who will definitely want to eat this cornbread.
For this reason, freshly cracked black pepper is both spicy yet kind to a young palate.
However, if heat is no issue, by all means chop jalapenos into the batter too!
If you really like a spicy bite to your cornbread then for sure you will love my recipe for my favorite summertime Gluten-free Jalapeño Cornbread.
Fun Halloween Cornbread Skulls
Corn. Cornbread is so easy to prepare but if you really want to elevate these corn muffins, toss some whole corn kernels in the batter as well.
The sweetness from the corn is perfect with the salty bacon bits.
We often think of corn again, around Thanksgiving time. The giant meal on this special day is not the only time to serve yummy dishes.
I created Harvest Thyme Corn Fritters to serve on an appetizer table while the family is enjoying sips and conversation long before dinner time.
Skeletons And Skull Muffin Pans
These Skull Muffin Tins are just too darn fun not to own, even if you only pull it out for Halloween to use.
This particular skull muffin tin was exceptionally easy to work with.
It is metal, so it got really hot fast when I popped these in the oven.
I thought for sure, the details in the face wouldn’t come out in the cornbread once it was baked, but I was wrong.
I sprayed a little non-stick in the crevices, dusted a little cornmeal inside, then tapped the extra out, and they were perfect!
Halloween Food
Halloween Food should be just as much fun as the day itself, for both kids and adults.
A large cauldron of chili or Oyster Chowder (since October is oyster season), and these muffins will become a Halloween favorite.
After all, a traditional meal to look forward to every Halloween, whether adult or kid, makes the day fun for all!
Us adults also like to have some fun for Halloween, which has become my tradition to arrange a totally adult Boo’s & Booze Halloween Dinner Party.
Come join me for this fun evening!
Ingredients Needed
- Pepper Bacon
- Milk
- Lemon juice
- Eggs
- Butter
- Sugar
- Cornmeal
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Grated cheese
Equipment Needed
My favorite Halloween spooky toy is this heavy gauge skull baking mold. Baked goods pop out easily with a little non-stick spray and a dusting of flour.
- Nordic Ware Skull baking pan is the most reliable mold pans for intricate molds.
- Mixing bowls
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Sauté pan – to precook the bacon and melt butter
- Oven
My Muffin Madness Cookbook
Now that I’ve got you thinking outside the box about muffins, are you ready to try other creative and delicious muffin recipes you won’t find anywhere else?
If you think these cornbread skulls are fun, for sure you will love:
- Spanakopita Muffins – all the yummy spinach, feta, lemon, fresh oregano and eggs found in spanakopita, made into a muffin, without phyllo!
- Cheeseburger Muffins – All your favorite burger ingredients in a muffin batter with another mini cheeseburger on top, pickles and tomatoes!
- Cheesy Beer Biscuit Muffins – are an easy ‘quick bread’ recipe with olive oil, herbs, cheese and beer, which aerates the dough, making them light and fluffy.
Hot off the press, 52 unique muffins in all – My Muffin Madness Cookbook!
Halloween Spicy Cornbread Skulls
Equipment
- Skull Baking Mold or muffin pan
Ingredients
- 12 oz Pepper Bacon cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups Whole Milk or yogurt
- 2 tsp Lemon juice
- 2 Whole Eggs
- 1 Egg yolk
- 16 oz Butter melted and cooled
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 cups Cornmeal
- 2 cups All purpose flour
- 2 tsp Baking powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 3/4 cup Grated Cheese optional
- 2 tbsp Jalapeno optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Place non-stick spray in molds/tins and lightly dust with cornmeal.
- In a small bowl, whisk milk and lemon juice and let it sit 5 minutes to sour.
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and soured milk. While whisking, slowly pour in melted butter and jalapeno if using.
- Whisk in the remaining dry ingredients.
- Fold in bacon and cheese (if using).
- Fill tins 3/4 full and bake for about 25 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
- Cool 5 minutes, and remove from cooking molds onto a wire rack to cool.
Video
Notes
I believe the table... that place that draws people to gather, is the most powerful symbol of togetherness. All that happens before the table is set, the planning, the gathering, the preparing, are all an intricate part of the dance that create the mood of celebration to share with friends and loved ones.