Matt and Amy Bell, owners of the restaurant South on Main, usually avoid cooking contests. But the cornbread festival was different. “It’s more of a community project than a competition,” Matt says. “And it’s directly outside the restaurant.” The pair won the traditional category with their classic cornbread, a recipe developed by Amy’s grandmother Nellie Mae. “You don’t dare mess with family recipes,” Matt says. “And if you do, you better make sure they can’t tell.”
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 40 min |
| Prep: | 15 min |
| Inactive: | 15 min |
| Cook: | 10 min |
| Yield: | 8 to 10 servings |
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus more for the baking dish
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and brush a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with vegetable oil.
- Whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg, vegetable oil and buttermilk, then fold into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool 15 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 8 servings |
| Calories | 299 |
| Total Fat | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 46 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 18 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Cholesterol | 24 mg |
| Sodium | 233 mg |
Reviews
I agree with others that the recipe needs correcting. I knew it would be too sweet for cornbread stuffing so halved the sugar but would do just 1/4 cup next time. With the recommended amount of baking powder the 9×12 pan results in a 3/4 to 1-inch flatness even with quick folding of ingredients, so will do this in a 8×8 pan next time, add baking time, or try a different recipe. Overall taste was fine.
Excellent recipe for cornbread. Really easy to make and a delicious accompaniment for Thanksgiving dinner
Best cornbread recipe I’ve ever made. It was so light a d fluffy!
What type cornmeal? Fine? Coarse?
Way too large a pan. 8” square is better.
An OK but not memorable cornbread sorry.
Way too large a pan. 8” square is better.
An OK but not memorable cornbread sorry.
First time ever making cornbread from scratch! Made this on a last minute whim for dinner. Glad I took a chance. This recipe is a keeper; so smooth and moist. Really yummy.
This is a keeper of a recipe. Easy and the consistency is perfect. I only had whole milk on hand so I substituted that for buttermilk. My guests raved on and on.
Excellent!
Simple and delicious
This is the best cornbread I have ever made. I did increase eggs to 2..
Really great recipe–I agree with others. I wanted to use it for corn bread stuffing and as written is pretty sweet so would cut sugar.