Delicious Cornbread Recipe

Tom made a great cornbread recipe last night for dinner. It came from a fun book my sister-in-law gave me for my birthday.

"The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life" by Jennifer Worick has 50 fun pioneer projects for the modern girl. It is divided into the kitchen, the bathroom, the bedroom, the parlor, and the barn and beyond.

The cornbread was the first thing we have tried and it was a winner. Basic, but delicious. To be honest, I don't think I have ever made cornbread from scratch before. But this one wasn't too crumbly, nor too sweet, it was just right.

Skillet Corn Bread

2 T bacon grease
1 c yellow cornmeal
2 t sugar
1 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/3 c boiling water
3/4 c buttermilk
1/8 - 1/4 c honey
1 egg, beaten
1 jalapeno, optional

Preheat oven to 450. Place grease in 12-inch cast iron skillet and place in oven until very hot. In a small bowl, combine 2/3 c cornmeal with the sugar, salt, powder and soda. set aside. Place remaining cornmeal in a medium bowl and pour the boiling water over it. Stir together until blended and stiff. Slowly whisk buttermilk (I used milk and vinegar) and honey into the cornmeal/water mixture, whisking until smooth. whisk in egg and fold in jalapeno. (We omitted jalapeno because we have wimpy kids, but next time we want to try it).
Fold dry ingredients into the wet until combined. Remove skillet from oven pour batter in while tilting skillet away from you. Bake about 20 minutes, or until golden on the edges and firm to the touch in center. Flip immediately onto cooling rack and cool for 5 minutes.

What makes this cornbread so divine are the edges, all crispy from the bacon grease. Next time we want to add some cream corn as well.