Kelly really likes cornbread. I mean really, really likes cornbread! When she was growing up, she would request cornbread with dinner at least once a week. And I’m not talking Jiffy Mix cornbread here. The only cornbread she would eat was Rich Corn Cake made from scratch. The recipe is out of the The Fanny Farmer Cookbook, one of the first cookbooks I got as a newlywed. As Kelly got older, I started to make the cornbread in muffin tins. That gave us the ability to freeze the individual muffins. Then she could ration the cornbread out to make it last until the next care package arrived or the next visit home.
Naturally, I gave the recipe to Kelly when she moved out on her own. But she still prefers if I make it for her. I don’t mind. Baking is a pleasure for me. Eric & I certainly cannot eat all the things I bake by ourselves, so it is good to have others willing to help with the eating part. I tried a new cornbread version out on Kelly & Gilbert when they came to dinner with Gilbert’s parents a few weeks ago. Kelly is resistant to changes, especially in such a beloved recipe, but even she liked the new cornbread recipe. I don’t think she will totally give up the Fanny Farmer vesion, but this one has earned its place in our repetoire. We served it with the Shredded Beef from a few weeks back. There is even talk of using it to make some stuffing with for Turkey Day in another few weeks! I’ll have to get back to you on that one!
Cornbread with Caramelized Apples & Onions
Cornbread with Caramelized Apples & Onions (adapted from bonappétit.com) Serves 9
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium MacIntosh apples, thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preparation:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the butter in skillet, season it with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the apple slices, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the thyme and cook, stirring often, until the apples are softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium bowl.
Caramelizing the onions & apples.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Melt the 3/4 cup of butter in the microwave and set it aside. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl.
Combine the dry ingredients first.
Whisk the eggs into the buttermilk then gradually whisk the milk-egg mixture and the melted butter into the dry ingredients until it is all smooth.
Add in the wet ingredients.
Fold in half of the onion mixture and scrape the batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Add half the onion-apple mixture to the batter.
Top the batter with the remaining onion-apple mixture and the remaining teaspoon of thyme.
The rest of the onion-apple mixture adorns the top of the cornbread.
Bake the cornbread until it is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30–40 minutes. Let the cornbread cool slightly before serving.
It was hard to eat only one piece of this cornbread!
Everything is better with some apples! ~Linda
Cornbread with Caramelized Apples & Onions (adapted from bonappétit.com) Serves 9
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium MacIntosh apples, thinly sliced
- 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
- 3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided
- 1 1/2 cups cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preparation:
Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the butter in skillet, season it with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Add the apple slices, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and 2 teaspoons of the thyme and cook, stirring often, until the apples are softened, about 4 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a medium bowl.
Preheat the oven to 400°. Melt the 3/4 cup of butter in the microwave and set it aside. Whisk the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and the remaining 3 tablespoons of sugar in a large bowl.
Whisk the eggs into the buttermilk then gradually whisk the milk-egg mixture and the melted butter into the dry ingredients until it is all smooth. Fold in half of the onion-apple mixture and scrape the batter into an 8 x 8 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top the batter with the remaining onion mixture and the remaining teaspoon of thyme.
Bake the cornbread until it is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30–40 minutes. Let the cornbread cool slightly before serving.