November 15, 2011

Famous Dave's Cornbread Muffins Copycat Recipe

This was probably the fifth copycat recipe I had tried for Famous Dave's amazing Cornbread Muffins.  One had used a cake mix, one used stone-ground cornmeal and one even used Mayonnaise.  None came even close to the real deal, but I love the real muffins so much, that even after so many failed attempts, I was still willing to try another.  I even had such high hopes for this recipe that I actually went to dinner at Famous Daves and ordered an extra half dozen of the muffins to take home, so I could compare these side by side.  

Well, my first attempt at this recipe turned out dry, but the flavor was so close that I tried again.  My 2nd attempt, I made a few minor adjustments and ended up with a very very yummy and moist muffin that is probably the closest you could come to the real thing!  The biggest difference was that the real muffins domed at the top and mine were more flat, but everything else was really really close!
Above is a real Famous Dave's muffin straight from the restaurant - So Good!
This was my first attempt at this recipe.  You can just tell it isn't going to be moist.
This was my 2nd attempt with a few minor changes.  It looks so much better (and tasted so much better)!
Famous Dave's Corn Muffins Copycat

1 3/4 c. cornmeal
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2 eggs
3/4 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. shortening
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. whole milk
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/3 c. vegetable oil
4 Tbl. honey

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grind the cornmeal at high speed in a food processor for 5 minutes or until some of it has become flour.  Pour ground cornmeal into a large bowl with the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda and whisk together.  In a separate bowl, cream together the eggs, sugar, shortening and vanilla using an electric mixer.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and add the remaining ingredients.  Stir together with a rubber spatula until smooth.  Line a muffin pan with paper liners.  Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full with batter and bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden.  Remove from oven and take a cold stick of butter and rub over the top of the rolls until each is coated.  Makes 16 muffins.  Serve plain or with cinnamon honey butter.  

Jenn's Notes: I typed the recipe above with the adjustments that I made the 2nd time.  I used less flour than Todd's original recipe and I added more honey.  I also used whole milk the 2nd time (the 1st time I used 1%) and brushed butter over the top when they were done baking.  The batter should be the consistency of any other cornbread recipe.  Mine were done at 18 minutes.  I am eating one of these while I sit here and type this and they really are so good! It is even the 3rd day and they are still moist!  I am going to try these again without grinding the cornmeal to see if it makes a difference and I will update this when I do.   


Very slightly adapted from: Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 3

63 comments:

  1. Famous Dave's has actually put out their corn muffin recipe. There are a few differences.

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  2. Yes itis good good we adapt and try.They look fabtastic;)

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  3. @lisabella - I saw that Famous Dave put out his "home" corn muffin recipe, but not the restaurants and all of the copycat versions I had tried until now did not taste like the restaurants. You should send me the link to the one you have seen. - Jenn

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    1. http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/sep/10/famous-daves-fulfills-readers-request/

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  4. It's been too long since I went to Famous Daves! These muffins look delicious! My favorite corn bread is a recipe that I got from my BFF!

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  5. Its a realy testy cake. and many diffrent flavor.

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  6. Its create style is very nice. they create different type cake.


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  7. Don't forget that in all likelihood it's a mix of some sort so that the muffins at all restaurants are alike. It may be just an "add water" mix or a mix that adds the milk and eggs. But I am sure that it is a mix.

    It is frustrating to find something good in a restaurant and not be able to duplicate it at home. Glad you got fairly close and your persistence is commendable.

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    1. yes I actually recently bought a box of famous dave's cornbread mix from Walmart. I haven't made them yet but you just add eggs and milk

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  8. YUM! My husband will be so excited! He loves Famous Dave's everything...thank you for sharing this recipe!

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  9. Oh my goodness. These look scrumptious! What a perfect way to serve individual size for parties! :) Thanks for sharing and have a wonderful weekend. Wish you and your family a blessed Thanksgiving.

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  10. More yummy muffins!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a great week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  11. Have you tried it with out grinding yet? I don't own a food processor.
    I too am a lover of FD's muffins and sadly don't have a FD close....closest one is an hour and a half drive! I'd love to make some muffins at home!!
    Thanks!

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    1. Carrie - I haven't tried these without grinding the cornmeal (I forgot I was going to - thanks for the reminder), but I really think they would work just fine without grinding it. Its worth a try - you could always make a half a batch just in case!

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    2. I just tried these without grinding the cornmeal and they are wonderful. I think they are a little heavier than "Famous Dave's" but I will make this recipe again just because it was easy and they taste great!

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    3. Thanks for letting us know it works without the extra step of grinding the cornmeal! I am so glad you liked them. - Jenn

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    4. Have you tried using Masa flour ? I found it really lightens up hushpuppy's. There is a fish place (The Catfish Hole" Fayetteville Ark) that has the best I have ever eaten and I have been trying to copy theirs

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    5. No, I haven't, but that is a great idea :)

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    6. I hate baking so if there is one less step to get me to deliciousness I'm happy! Can't wait to try.

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  12. Thank u for the recipe. Hubby took me there n I fell in love with those muffins. Googled the muffins to see if there was anything even close to it n here it is. Will be trying very soon.

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    1. I can't wait to see what you think!! - Jenn

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  13. I don't know about Famous Dave's, but to copy Marie Callendar's use 1 box of Jiffy Cornbread Mix and 1 box Jiffy Yellow cake mix; follow directions as if making each one separately, then mix the two together and bake in a greased 9" x 12" pan. I serve this with butter and honey, althought it's delicious without the honey. Great with chili with chopped onions and grated Cheddar cheese.

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    1. Oh -I can't wait to try this out!! - Jenn

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    2. Marie Callendars's is our favorite boxed mix to use. It makes amazing cornbread if I don't have time to throw homemade together.

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  14. I just made these today. Oh my, they are good! I used farm fresh eggs (from the grocery store), and farm fresh eggs are a tiny bit bigger than regular eggs. Mine puffed up really nicely! You should give that a try! The only other thing I did differently was not use an electric mixer. I whisked together the eggs, shortening, sugar and vanilla with a fork. Don't know if that made a difference.

    If you are interested, here's what mine ended up looking like: http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae315/bigrockcreek/003-18.jpg

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    1. April - Thanks for the tips. I'll have to try those things out next time. I'm so glad you liked the muffins! - Jenn

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  15. Delicious!
    Here's what I did:
    No food processor, used corn meal as-is.
    Out of sugar, so substituted powdered sugar, but you have to multiply amount x 1.75.
    No shortening, used Morrell Snow Cap lard.
    Didn't have buttermilk, but had leftover heavy whipping cream from making potato soup, so shook that for 20 minutes in a jar, and got homemade buttermilk with homemade butter to brush on top of the muffins!
    Only have mini muffin pans, and no liners. They are dark nonstick but I Pammed them anyway, and they slid right out! I also baked for 10-12 mins, for smaller muffins.

    They were almost like Famous Dave's in texture, but identical in delicious taste! I'm 21 and newly married, so this will be my lifetime cornbread recipe!

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    1. Wow - I am so glad these turned out, even with all those substitutions. So glad you liked them. - Jenn

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  16. Trying these tonight. I grind my own corn meal and flour . . .so need for second grind. I added a little home canned corn. Will let you know how they turn out!

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    1. Oh I bet they will taste so good with freshly ground cornmeal & flour. I can't wait to hear what you think! - Jenn

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  17. Famous Dave's corn bread muffins come already mixed in 5 gallon buckets so all they do is scoop and bake them in the restaurants. Anything you make at home will be better because they won't have all the preservatives and chemicals.

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  18. I worked at Famous Dave's and yes the batter came in buckets, however lower the baking temperature by 25 to 50 degrees and let them cook longer so they "puff-up" also the muffins were covered with "a lot" of honey butter sauce and let sit in a warming drawer/rack before they were served, the muffins suck up a lot off the sauce before you see them.

    so more sauce then you think...

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  19. I made this today with some slight modifications based on what I had at home. 1/4 c. shortening = 1/4 c. + 1 tbsp unsalted butter and 1/4 c. buttermilk = 1/4 c. half and half. I filled each muffin cup more than 3/4 way (almost full) and they came out beautifully domed like the actual stuff. The full recipe made 14 muffins. Tasted great on its own and with your cinnamon honey butter recipe. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks for the substitutions. I will make sure and fill mine fuller next time, because I really want those domed tops! I am so glad you liked them. - Jenn

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  20. Is it possible to use cornflour instead of grinding the cornmeal as the recipe says to do.

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    1. I have never tried it, but it could possibly work. It might give the muffins a different texture. Do you have regular cornmeal? I would use that and not worry about grinding it.

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    2. Cornflour is basically the same thing as what you're going for. If you grind cornmeal you get cornflour. Instead of grinding mine I'm soaking the cornbread first. That'll soften it up a bit on its own.

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    3. Edit: I meant to say soaking the cornmeal, not the cornbread. I'm using yogurt and milk for my soak instead of buttermilk.

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  21. Been wanting to try these for some time now. Tonight is the night. Crossing my fingers it will come out nicely :)

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    1. AMAZING!! Thanks for sharing :) I added 1/2 cup of Cream of Corn to add pieces of corn ... MMMMMmmm

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    2. That sounds like a great addition. I am so glad you liked them as much as I do - Thanks - Jenn

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  22. What are you supposed to do with the 4 TBL of honey? It is listed as an ingredient but doesn't say what to do with it in the recipe

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    1. After you combine the wet and the dry ingredients you add the honey in when you add the remaining ingredients. Thanks - Jenn

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  23. Jenn, did you add in the baking powder twice, since it is typed twice in the recipe above that you posted?

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    1. Hey RJ, I can't seem to find where it lists baking powder twice? The recipe does call for both baking powder and baking soda?

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  24. I made these last night and they were delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe!

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    1. Thanks for letting me know you liked them!

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  25. Ok we tried these tonight...and I bet they are nearly perfect if you actually follow the recipe. I made the mistake of using masa flour as one commenter suggested. It sounded like a good idea but DON'T do it! They were mealy and crumbly... Not cakey at all! They still tasted okay but I was wishing I would have just used regular flour! Lesson learned! Thanks for the recipe!

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  26. When do you put in the vegetable oil?

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    1. After you mix the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients, you will add the vegetable oil along with the remaining ingredients.

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  27. I just wanted to say that I made a gluten free version of these using an all purpose gluten free flour, and they still were amazing!! My daughter has Celiac's so she is excited she can eat our traditional Halloween dinner of chili and cornbread tonight.

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  28. Just made these with the original recipe and they turned out great! Only baked them 15 min. The original time of 25-30 min would produce an overlooked muffin. Next time I think I will decrease the amount of stone ground cornmeal and increase the corn flour. Serving them with honey butter, yum!

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  29. I'm so happy to see this recipe. Recently at FD here in Virginia I was told they no longer serve the round glazed top muffins we all know and love so well. They've been replaced by a square piece of cornbread that no doubt, will be served to frowning faces everywhere. My server didn't know why the change happened. Truly that was a sad day for me.

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    1. The FD here in Utah did the same thing. Those muffins were the best part, I was so bummed they stopped making them.

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    2. Oh, no! Here in the Tacoma, WA area we still get the big cornbread muffins. I always order an extra one to take home with me. :)

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  30. I have made these numerous times and sometimes don't ground the cornmeal. They turn out great with not much difference. I like melting some butter, adding honey and brushing it on when they come out of the oven. Making these tonight to go with homemade beans and franks. Thanks for the recipe!!!

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    1. Good to know about grinding the cornmeal. I am so glad you like the recipe. Love the idea of brushing some honey butter on top.

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  31. These muffins are delicious! Fabulous recipe!

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  32. oh these are good!! great job!!!!!!!

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  33. Since these are basically cake, I used 9oz of chocolate cake. Chocolate corn muffins with chocolate gravy......YUMMMMM

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