Cornbread

I love cornbread.

It must be hereditary, because my mom likes cornbread too. But she is very picky about her cornbread.  Sort of like Goldilocks with the porridge or the beds.

“This one is too dry.  This one is too moist.  This one has too much sugar.  This one is not sweet enough.”

She’s pretty tough to make cornbread for.

Then, there is my father who hasn’t eaten sweets since he was 17.  Swear.  No sugar in any way, shape or form for over 65 years.

Pretty sure I am the milkman’s daughter, since I have eaten sugar in every way, shape and form for a great portion of my life. And loved every minute of it. (Sigh.  The good old days.)

So the challenge here was to make a cornbread they both would eat.  And everyone else as well.

Ingredients:

• 1  1/2 cups of cornmeal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon baking powder
• 2 heaping Tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 cup “buttermilk” — put 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar in a 1 cup measure and then fill it up with nut milk (I use almond) and let it sit about 10 minutes.
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (the liquid kind — if using solid, measure out 1/2 cup, then melt it)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 can corn (1  1/2 cups if using frozen, thawed, or fresh)
• Optional:  If you want a kick, you can add some diced jalapeño.

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 and grease an 8×8 inch baking pan with some coconut oil (I use a silicone pan, so I put it on a sheet pan to stabilize it.)
2. Make your buttermilk and set it aside while you prepare the other ingredients.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, pastry flour, salt, baking powder and arrowroot.
4. Using a blender or NutriBullet type blender, pulse the corn (drain first if using canned) till it is somewhat pureed, but not completely mushy.

 5  In a small mixing bowl, whisk the maple syrup, oil, buttermilk, applesauce and corn.

6  Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk to combine.

7  Pour into baking pan and bake for 25-30 minutes till golden and firm.  Let cool in pan for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack and cooling till you can’t wait any longer and must eat it (at least 10-15 minutes)

Enjoy!