Matthews sister and her family came over a few weekends ago for a BBQ. We wanted to make some cornbread, but I have never made any from scratch before so I went googling for a good recipe. It took a while because apparently there are two types of corn bread and people are very serious about which one is the "right" one. In Texas and other southern states, cornbread just isn't cornbread unless its salty and can be served with dinner. It is not supposed to be the sweet dessert like cornbread that I think most of us grew up with, and that we happen to prefer. It took a little searching to find the perfect recipe, made harder by the fact that I wanted one that was made for cooking in cast iron. But I found it, and we all love it so much that I have made it 3 times since! The recipe is from the Eating, Etc blog (click on the link below to go to it) and is pretty much perfect how it is. I only made one tiny little change. I had read in a few places that you should heat up a little oil in the skillet (I used about a tablespoon of olive oil), then dump the oil into the cornbread mix, and blend it all together before putting the mix into the pan, and the pan in the oven. I am not sure of the reasoning behind this but people swore it did *something* and it sounded just obscure enough for me to think it would be a good idea. But I am sure the recipe below will impress either way. Doesn't it look delicious?
Eating, Etc Cast Iron Sweet Cornbread Recipe:
Eating, Etc Cast Iron Sweet Cornbread Recipe:
Cast-Iron Sweet Cornbread
2/3c sugar
1/3c softened butter
1tsp salt
1tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-1/2c all-purpose flour
1T baking powder
1-1/4c cornmeal
1-1/3c milk
.
1) Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly grease 10-1/2” cast-iron skillet and place in oven while it is preheating.
2) In a large bowl, cream together sugar, butter, salt, & vanilla.
3) Stir in eggs and mix well.
4) In a separate medium bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, & cornmeal.
5) Alternately stir flour mixture & milk into egg mixture and beat until well-blended.
6) Bake in preheated cast-iron skillet for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
7) Serve warm with butter & honey.