Northern Cornbread

Every once in a while during my childhood my mom would serve Jiffy cornbread with dinner. We all enjoyed the sweet flavor of corn perfectly blended with butter from the Millerville Co-Op Creamery and topped with honey from a neighbor's bees. It was heavenly! Last year I made a batch of chili to bring to a friend's house for a potluck but I was completely out of cornbread mix, so I sent the hubs to the store to pick up a few boxes. He came home with a container of cornmeal. After a brief exchange of very frustrated words I found a recipe online for cornbread and decided to give homemade cornbread from scratch a try. Since that day I haven't bought a single box of Jiffy cornbread mix. So the real credit for this gem in my recipe collection goes to the hubs for making an epically brilliant shopping mistake!

Cornbread is virtually synonymous with Southern food, but while doing research for this post I learned there are a few notable regional differences. It's widely accepted that cornbread is sweet, but true Southern cornbread is made by pouring the batter into a screaming hot cast iron skillet with melted lard or bacon drippings, then baking it until it's golden on top and crispy on the bottom. In Texas you'll be served a heartier version, often made with creamed corn kernels, jalapenos, and cheddar cheese reflecting Mexican influences on Texas cuisine. Northern cornbread is a different gem altogether. It's baked, generally sweeter and lighter than Southern cornbread, making it more akin to a cornbread muffin. The basic recipe is always the same, flour, cornmeal, milk, eggs, salt, sugar, and a leavening agent.

Since the only time I make cornbread is with chili, I don't feel the least bit guilty about making this recipe using butter, but I do try and use light butter. Light butter is a great substitution you can make without even realizing you've made a change. It has half the fat and calories, less cholesterol, and tastes the same - too good to be true, right? To up the whole grain content, I've used whole wheat flour in combination with bread flour for some extra protein and a chewier texture. When the hubs tried this at the dinner table he looked at me very suspiciously and said, "this is the best tasting cornbread you've made, but it looks like you've made it healthier." At just 200 calories and 5 grams of fat per serving compared with 370 calories and 22 grams of fat for the traditional Southern version, I'd say that's a job well done. Enjoy!

Northern Cornbread, Serves 15
2/3 cup light butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 2/3 cup skim milk
1/2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 cup cornmeal
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Mix remaining dry ingredients together. Alternately fold in dry ingredients and milk to butter mixture until just combined.  Do not overmix - the batter may be lumpy. Let stand for five minutes. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Slice and enjoy with a little light butter and honey.