Maple Cornbread

When I think of cornbread, I think of a nice salty pot of beans with a little bacon or ham. We usually eat the two together and it's yummy. Simple, but yummy. When I was making up the January menu I told my husband that we're going to be eating a lot of rice and beans for a while. After indulging in sweets and heavy foods, our bellies (and our wallets) needed to get back to simple. I say that to my husband as a joke, but he always smiles because he loves rice and beans and so do my girls.

This is a simple and tasty cornbread. After doing a little reading on the subject, I found out this is more of a Yankee cornbread because it's sweetened. I guess southerners don't like sweetened cornbread, but I'll take it any day. This is perfect right out of the oven with a little honey butter or crumble it over a scoop of freshly made beans. YUM!

Maple Cornbread
1 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
2 large eggs

Preheat your oven to 425°F. Lightly grease or oil an 8 x 8-inch square or 9-inch round baking pan.

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt until thoroughly combined. In a small bowl, or in a large measuring cup, whisk together the milk, maple syrup, melted butter and eggs. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake the cornbread for about 20 to 25 minutes, until it's lightly browned and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.




SOURCE: adapted from King Arthur Flour