Best-Ever Traditional Southern Cornbread Recipe adapted from White Lily Food Co..
White Lily's Best-Ever Traditional Southern Cornbread and Cheesy Corn Muffins are perfect with fried chicken, a bowl of greens with "likker" or a bowl of navy bean and ham soup.
The cornbread recipe includes an optional addition of sugar, a practice of Northern cooks, who even add brown sugar. True Southern cooks save the sweetness for pies and cakes. You also have a choice of buttermilk or milk. If you have never tried cornbread made with buttermilk, resolve to make your next batch a buttermilk batch.
Ingredients:
3 cups White Lily Self-Rising Cornmeal Mix
2 to 3 Tbs. sugar (optional)
1 Tbs. vegetable oil
3 large eggs, beaten
2-1/4 cups buttermilk or milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter or margarine, divided
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine cornmeal mix and sugar, if using, and set aside. Add vegetable oil to a 10- or 11-inch cast-iron skillet. Place in oven for 10 minutes to heat skillet.
Meanwhile, in medium bowl, combine egg, buttermilk and 1/4 cup melted butter. Add all at once to cornmeal mixture. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Remove skillet from oven and swirl oil to coat bottom and side. Pour batter into hot skillet. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown and a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Brush remaining 1/4 cup melted butter over top. Serve warm.
Variation: To make cornsticks, substitute a well-oiled cast-iron cornstick mold. Heat as directed above. Fill each indentation about 3/4 full and bake for 12-15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Brush as above with melted butter. Let stand 2 minutes before removing from the pan.
Yield: 8-10 servings
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