"We seldom get into trouble when we speak softly. It is only when we raise our voices that the sparks fly and tiny molehills become great mountains of contention."
Everyone needs a go-to
cornbread recipe, don’t you think? Cornbread is so versatile
and we definitely love cornbread around these parts, making it quite
often. I already have a tried-and-true recipe for cornbread
muffins which are fantastic and I make often, but
sometimes a basic, no-fail cornbread recipe is needed.
I’ve gone through
recipe after recipe and always been a tad disappointed: too dry, too
crumbly, too sweet.
I’m here today to
announce that my search is over. I’ve found The One. I’ve
made this cornbread four times in the last three weeks. Excessive?
Maybe. But not only am I in love with this cornbread but the honey
butter that accompanied this recipe from my brother and sister-in-law
is so amazing, I could eat it by the spoonful (not that I am
admitting to anything).
Food snobs, look away!
The honey butter has a rather unique ingredient, but I tell you what,
I’ve never tasted a honey butter more fluffy and delicious than
this one.
And the cornbread?
Moist and perfect. Enough said.
After five years of
having this cornbread as my go-to, I’ve finally updated the
pictures and a few notes under the recipe (I’ve taken to
decreasing the sugar a bit). You know it’s a good one when it
hasn’t been replaced by another favorite recipe after all these
years!
I often use half to 3/4
finely ground white whole wheat flour with good results — and
sometimes I get crazy and use 100% whole wheat flour (always finely
ground white wheat); the cornbread is a bit more dense with all wheat
flour but still delicious.
Over the last few years
of making this, I've toyed with the sugar amount and almost always
end up decreasing it (often cutting it in half). The cornbread is
still plenty sweet and delicious.
Ingredients
Cornbread:
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cups flour (see note above)
2/3 cup sugar (see note above)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cup milk
Honey Butter:
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff
Directions
For the cornbread, add dry
ingredients, make a well and add oil, butter, eggs, and milk into
the center. Stir until just mixed (batter will be runny —
don’t be alarmed!). Bake in an 8” square pan at 350
degrees for 35 minutes. This doubles perfectly for a 9X13-inch pan.
For the honey butter, whip all
together with an electric mixer and serve at room temperature (can
be refrigerated and softened).
Recipe Source: My brother Nate and his wife, Kylie (love you
forever!). (A reader says the cornbread recipe originally came from
the Alber’s Yellow Cornmeal box.)
Melanie Gunnell is a food-loving, chocolate-obsessed mom who has a desperate need to share
her favorite tried-and-true recipes with the world. In a past life she graduated from Brigham
Young University with a degree in public health, but for the past ten years, stay-at-home
motherhood has been her job along with blogging-from-home for the past five.
She resides in the brilliantly cold tundra of Northern Minnesota with her husband and their brood
of five children: four boys and one tiny, bossy girl. Dark chocolate (particularly the act of
shoving chocolate chips in her mouth whilst hiding in the pantry) is her coping skill of choice for
both the never-ending winters and the never-ending wrestling matches in her front room.