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.

Appalachian Buttermilk Cornbread

This cornbread is the pinnacle -- it's easy, requires only 4 ingredients, and is always a hit! My grandmother made it and always had it around her house for snacks. The scent of warming buttermilk-laced bread makes me incredibly nostalgic. I share her recipe and technique here.

Note: Remember that trick a couple of posts ago where you make buttermilk using vinegar or lemon juice in regular milk? That will not work with this cornbread. You must use real buttermilk!

First, the ingredients:

1 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1 1/4 cup white cornmeal (yellow will be too sweet)
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
1 tbsp oil (vegetable, olive, canola)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees.

Pour the dry ingredients into a bowl, and mix with a spoon. Add the buttermilk slowly, mixing as you add. Once all of the flour is mixed and the dough is a wet, sticky texture, it is ready.

Coat the inside of an 8-inch cast-iron skillet with the oil, and dump in the dough.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Once the bread has cooled, cut into eighths for serving.