Friday Feast: Epic Awesome Cornbread

There’s not a lot of cornbread that I’ve enjoyed in my lifetime. Always dry, boring… truly, a waste of calories. But, my mother-in-law always nails it. Like, better-than-soft-bread good. When I asked about the recipe, she referenced the Fannie Farmer cookbook, which I’ve used since she gave it to me when JD and I first got married. Since the cookbook is long and filled with tons of recipes, I’ve passed over the cornbread because of my dry history with the food. But I took a stab at the recipe, and holy cow, so good. Here’s my adjustment to the Fannie Farmer recipe:

Cornbread (modified from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

just under 1 cup flour

1/3 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1 egg, well beaten

2 tablespoons bacon fat (yes)

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
• Mix the cornmeal,flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the milk, egg, and shortening or bacon fat, and blend well.
• Spoon into the pan and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool and cut in squares.

 

Soooooo good. Mad props to the mother-in-law for changing my long-standing views on cornbread!