Fry bacon in a 10" cast-iron skillet. Drain bacon onto paper towels, then chop or crumble. Leave a few tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan. Cube cheese and dice jalapeno.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, creamed corn, oil, buttermilk, sour cream, and applesauce. In another bowl, mix Jiffy cornbread mix, bacon, cubed cheddar cheese, and diced jalapeno.
Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix just until combined then pour the batter into the cast-iron skillet. No need to butter the pan since it should be coated with the bacon grease.
Bake the cornbread for 20 minutes then turn down the temperature to 350 and continue to bake for 10 additional minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cornbread is golden brown.
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Notes
If you don't want to use the bacon grease, just wipe the skillet clean and use 2 tablespoons of melted butter or spray with cooking spray instead.
If you are worried about the cornbread being too sweet, you can leave out the applesauce and increase the oil from ⅓ to ½ cup.
Coating the mix-ins with the cornmeal before mixing in the wet ingredients will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the baked cornbread.
Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container for up to a week in the refrigerator. If you want to store the leftovers in the pan, cover the pan with foil or plastic wrap first.
To reheat cornbread, cover the skillet with aluminum foil and place in a 350-degree preheated oven for 10 minutes. To reheat a slice at a time, wrap in foil and reheat in a toaster oven.
This recipe can also be prepared in an 8x8 baking dish if you prefer.