Sweet Southern Cornbread

I was invited to an old-fashioned Southern BBQ this weekend, complete with vinegar-y pulled pork. I thought about making my Appalachian cornbread, but thought that a sweet, soft cornbread would taste better with the salty flavors of the pork. But I remembered that most recipes for sweet cornbreads involve tons of white sugar, and the more I read about white sugar, the more determined I become to remove it from my diet as much as possible. I made this recipe using a combination of brown sugar for texture and honey for extra sweetness. It turned out so soft and sweet, perfect! This recipe also could be used to make cornbread muffins (would make about 12). The best part -- it is incredibly easy.

First, the ingredients:

1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour

1 cup cornmeal (I used white, but you could use yellow)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup natural honey

1/2 tsp salt

3 tsp baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and spray a 9 X 9 square pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder (I used a KitchenAid mixer, but this works fine just mixing with a spoon). Next, mix in the sugar and honey, then slowly blend in the remaining ingredients.

Once the ingredients are well-mixed, pour them into the baking dish, and bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.