Skillet Cornbread

Moist and flavorful, even on the second day

Lengthening days foretell the coming of spring. The sunny faces of the first daffodils remind how a nephew, at age four, took to calling them laffodils.

And just a few days ago, a seventy-degree Sunday brought forth Easter-festive dresses at church and then kids in shorts on bikes, dog walkers, strolling families, even a few winter-plump joggers.

But the forecast is for winter white: flurries for tonight and a possible ‘big winter event’ within ten days.

So even in sunshine, today’s afternoon air holds an insinuating chill, one that triggers dusting off the woodpile’s last logs for supper by the fire.

What to cook? Like the fire, tonight’s meal must warm within and without.

Chili is an easy answer, beanless since that would require a trip to the grocery store, but redolent with roasted peppers from the freezer. And a simple cornbread deep from the recipe box, made just once more than ten years ago.

What a great re-discovery! SKILLET CORNBREAD calls for on-hand ingredients, makes up in a few minutes, tastes great and is healthful besides!

With fireside suppers like this, winter is welcome to keep its grip a few more weeks.

ALANNA's TIPS It’s good to omit unnecessary sugar from recipes. The corn syrup here, however, is integral to the near-sweet, chewy crust.

Unlike many cornbreads, this batch tastes nearly as moist and flavorful the second day as the first – if there are leftovers, that is!

Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. Send your favorite cornbread recipe e-mail.

SKILLET CORNBREAD

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 35 minutes
Makes 8 generous wedges

1-1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
2 tablespoons skim milk
5 tablespoons non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup corn syrup
1-1/3 cups yellow cornmeal, preferably stoneground
2/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt or 2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 egg whites

Whisk together buttermilk, milk, yogurt and corn syrup in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold whites gently into corn mixture.

TIP for NEW COOKS: The trick to beating egg whites is to prevent fat, including the yolks’ fat, from touching the whites. Make sure the mixing bowl and beaters are clean. A glass or metal bowl is better than plastic. You may use a metal whisk rather than an electric mixer but the beating will take longer -- your wrist may suffer! Crack one egg and carefully drop its white into one small dish, its yolk into another. (If the yolk breaks, reserve it for an omelet then proceed with another egg and a clean small dish.) Transfer the first white into the mixing bowl; this way, if the second yolk breaks, it won’t contaminate the first. Repeat with the second egg. Beat whites until peaks form and fall over like the tip of a soft-serve ice cream cone.

Grease a nine-inch cast iron skillet with butter or bacon fat. Pour batter into skillet and gently distribute evenly. Bake at 450F for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE Per Serving: 185Cal; 6g Protein; 1g Tot Fat; 37g Carb; 3g Fiber; 604mg Sodium; 2mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 3 points

LATER NOTES

• What a forgiving recipe I've found this to be, the one I turn to again and again, knowing it'll turn out so well, no matter what I do to it.
• I've substituted sour cream, Greek yogurt, keffir and even ricotta for the yogurt.
• These days, I substitute honey for the corn syrup with wonderful results. When baking for a diabetic, I use low-glycemic agave or Whey-Low Gold (an all natural brown sugar substitute). I suspect that Splenda would work too. These last three, mix into the dry ingredients.
• I've also started to put the ungreased cast-iron skillet into the oven as it preheats and while I mix the cornbread batter. When it's plenty hot, I grease the pan (carefully since it's hot) and pour in the batter. This creates an especially crispy crust.
• My notes say that stone-ground cornmeal is important but honestly, I haven't found it necessary for the last two batches. While stone-ground cornmeal is whole-grain, plain yellow cornmeal makes one very good cornbread.
• For a little bit of heat to complement the corn's natural sweetness, stir in a small can of green chile peppers.

More Bread Recipes

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~ more bread recipes ~

~ more cornmeal recipes from A Veggie Venture ~

Soup & Cornbread, Yes?

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~ more soup recipes ~

Preparing for Easter

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~ more Easter recipes ~

What a Big Winter Event in Spring Looks Like

Hello? Is there anyone out there? My dog Lady surveying my front yard and my street, here in Missouri after nine inches of thunder snow in March 2008 when this 2005 column was first published online

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I've been looking for a great cornbread recipe. Is this one sweet, like southern cornbread?

Great picture of your dog!

Ali on 3/06/2008

Hi Ali ~ It's very slightly sweet, just enough to create a good crust and nice flavor. But it's not half so sweet as southern cornbreads which are as much 'cake' as anything. This is definitely on the savory side, letting the corn flavor shine through.

Lady says 'woof' (thanks).

Alanna on 3/06/2008

Ahyep. That's what she looks like a'right. I am mightily getting sick of chili.

Sally on 3/07/2008

I bake all the time & am addicted to food blogs, so I won't say I'm a greenhorn. I followed the recipe with these changes: I added molasses instead of corn syrup. And a half tsp of rosemary.

I haven't noticed a major problem with my oven temperature, either, but I had to bake this puppy for nearly 25 minutes and the inside was still slightly-undercooked and the top was utterly burnt.

Be careful if you bake this recipe! I must have done something wrong, I hope?

sarah on 3/07/2008

Hi Sarah ~ It's hard to imagine what would cause cornbread to 'burn' with the simple modifications (love the rosemary idea) you've mentioned. Stuff happens in cooking - we forget ingredients, we mix them differently, we use different pans, cornmeal can vary, we put them on different racks in the oven. Should you try again, I'd suggest preheating the cast-iron skillet while the oven heats, as I did when I made it again for the xxxth time . I'd also not use molasses, in case it's the culprit. I'm so sorry it didn't work out: please don't think it's a faulty recipe, it's been made so many time with great results.

Alanna on 3/08/2008

I've been wondering what to use in place of corn syrup - which I can't get here. Thanks for the tip!
Love the photo!

katiez on 3/11/2008

Made this for my dad over the weekend -- your chili recipe too -- and we nearly ate the whole pen. I used honey. Somehow a slice survived and it's still moist!

Ali on 3/11/2008

I was happy to see you included the "put the skillet in the oven first" trick. My grandmother has always done this, and her cornbread turns out better than any I've ever had. Thank you Alanna for a great reminder of my grandmother!

Kara on 3/18/2008

I just had to comment on this wonderful recipe! I LOVE cornbread, but somewhere in a move long ago, I lost my recipe. Recent attempts to bake cornbread were less than satisfying, and I was sure my old reputation for great cornbread was as lost as my old recipe.

This recipe saved my reputation! It's very forgiving--I used more buttermilk to substitute for the skim milk, and used light sour cream instead of yogurt. I chose agave instead of corn syrup or honey (it's what I had on hand). I even forgot it in the oven for five or so minutes and it STILL came out moist and flavorful. The darkened crust just peeled right off (though I kept it on my piece, it tasted just fine). Not too sweet at all, not cakey--great corn flavor and a perfect crumb.

Just wanted to let you know that your oldie-but-goodie is now my new oldie. Thank you for sharing so many delicious recipes and insightful commentary on your blogs.

CJ on 12/19/2010

I assume I would fold the whipped egg whites into the batter prior to pouring it into the pan. The recipe doesn't actually say what to do with them. Does the pan need to be hot, like in your Simple Cast Iron Southern Cornbread recipe? Thanks.

Savannagal on 3/07/2013

Savannagal ~ Yes, do fold in the whipped egg whites (as in the second paragraph) and yes, since publishing this column eight years ago, I have indeed started preheating the oven, greasing the skillet and then letting the skillet itself heat up til hot-hot-hot before adding the batter. The crust is SO excellent that way.

Just FYI, my recipes are "living" recipes, I don't publish them until I think they are "excellent" and "ready for the world" but then, because they're my favorites, I keep making them and some times make adaptations to simplify or variations to take advantage of new information or different on-hand ingredients, etc. You'll typically see these noted as "later notes".

Hope this helps, you've now got me hankering for THIS cornbread, ever since I started making the Simple Cast Iron Southern Cornbread, I've let this one slip to the wayside. In my world, there is definitely room for both!

Alanna Kellogg on 3/07/2013