Buttermilk Cornbread

Original Recipe HERE

Cornbread is supposed to be at its best when cooked in cast iron.  So far, this is the best cornbread I've made.  I think the buttermilk is key to keeping it so moist.

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup (one stick) butter

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1-1/2 cups corn kernels, optional [I used frozen]

 

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Put 12" cast iron skillet in the oven during the preheating phase.

(2) Melt butter in the microwave.

(3) In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs and buttermilk.

(4) Add sugar to egg mixture; whisk until dissolved.

(5) Add butter to egg mixture; whisk well to avoid butter cooling into solids.

(6) In a small bowl, sift together baking soda, cornmeal, flour, and salt.

(7) Stir dry ingredients into wet until well blended.
(8) Gently fold corn into batter if using.

(9) Remove skillet from oven.  Melt approximately one tablespoon of butter in it, swirling to coat entire bottom and halfway up the sides.

(10) Pour batter into skillet.  Return to oven; bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

(11) Allow cornbread to cool for several minutes in the skillet before slicing.

Kid Participation:
* Whisk wet ingredients
* Sift dry ingredients
* Stir it all together (gently, please!)

Cornbread Muffins

Original Recipe HERE

I might have found my go-to cornbread recipe. Forget trying to find healthy versions; they never have the fluffiness or sweetness or moistness that I'm searching for. These made awesome regular-sized muffins. And...I chopped up some hotdogs and added it to the second half of the batter, which made "corndog muffins" for the kids. *N* ate her weight in them; *J* picked out the hotdog bits to eat and played helicopter, boat, and plane with the actual muffin.

The only change I would make is less sugar. I liked how sweet they were, but that wouldn't compliment all main dishes I'd serve them with. Hopefully experimenting won't alter the end result too much.

Ingredients

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 2/3 cups milk

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Directions

(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13x2" baking pan or muffin tin.

(2) Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl.

(3) In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.

(4) In a separate bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

(5) Add flour mixture to butter and sugar alternately with egg mixture.

(6) Pour batter into pan or muffin tin. Bake 22-27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Kid Participation:

* Crack eggs

* Whisk eggs and milk

* Combine dry ingredients

* Stir together all ingredients

Basic Cornbread

Original Recipe HERE

It's always helpful to have an easy, tasty cornbread recipe in your repertoire for those nights when your main dish isn't quite enough but the refrigerator and pantry are pretty empty and you're scratching your head for a side dish.  I always have the ingredients for this on hand.

The original post didn't have a temperature listed, so I googled around to find that most cornbreads are baked between 400 and 450 degrees and for 15-20 minutes.  So monitor it closely the first time and make note of what worked for you.

If you have little ones eating this, be prepared to spend a good amount of your post-dinner clean-up wielding a dustpan while on your hands and knees under your table.  Like any cornbread, it's crumbly.  And my kids still haven't mastered the concept of "if you're eating that food item with your hands, keep it over your plate to avoid sacrificing half of it to your placement/lap/floor."

Ingredients

1 egg

1 cup milk [I used 2%]

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 cup flour

1 cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

Directions
(1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a 9" round pan.

(2) Whisk together dry ingredients.

(3) In a separate bowl, whisk together wet ingredients.  Add to dry ingredients.

(4) Whisk gently until combined.  Pour batter into pan and ensure it is evenly distributed.

(5) Bake 15 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean and edges are light golden brown.

(6) Cool on a drying rack.  Slice into wedges to serve.

Notes: This bread was good, but I'll research about additions like shredded cheese, chopped green chilis, garlic powder, taco seasoning, etc. to make the taste a bit more interesting.

Kid Participation:

* Whisk dry ingredients

* Whisk wet ingredients

* Combine all ingredients

* Pour batter into pan