I don’t think that my Sundays are complete without a family grocery trip to stock up for the week. And whenever my mother and I feel like splurging a tiny bit, we head to Whole Foods for a nicer cut of meat or my mom’s newest 365 obsession (right now it’s apparently their hand sanitizer). But when we stop at Whole Foods my mom has to have one thing: the fresh in-house cornbread. My mom is honestly my biggest cooking inspiration, so it’s no surprise that I searched and searched for the perfect cornbread recipe.

Cornbread, however, is not merely as simple as I first believed. It has a troubled, controversial past involving many debates about whether or not it should contain sugar. Also, my family lacks cast iron anything which many claim is essential to “real” cornbread. So after much experimentation, and pounds and pounds of cornbread later (my friend’s family can attest) I came up with a recipe that suits my restrictions but satisfies my friends, family, and most importantly, my mother.

I do want to note that for this recipe I used two 9-inch round pans, but a cast iron skillet would be amazing. And I included prosciutto for an extra bit of fat and flavor, but it is purely optional. This is entirely true for the sugar element as well, if you prefer for your cornbread not sweet, then by all means.

If you do end up trying out this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you in the comments below as I love any feedback. Enjoy!

xoxo,
Megan

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Ultra Moist Cornbread Recipe

1¹⁄3 cups coarse ground cornmeal
²⁄₃ cup all-purpose flour
¹⁄₃ cup granulated sugar
¹⁄₂ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon baking soda
¹⁄₃ cup whole milk
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup corn (fresh or frozen are fine)
2 ounces prosciutto or any cured Italian meat, chopped

Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place your desired pan in the oven to heat while you make the batter.

In a large mixing bowl stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Then whisk in the milk, buttermilk, eggs, and about 5 tablespoons of the cooled melted butter. Allow the batter to rest and rise for 10-20 minutes. If using the Italian meat, add it to the hot pan inside the oven to heat up and render.

Carefully remove the hot pan from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 375 F. Coat the bottom of sides of the pan with a small amount of the remaining butter. Pour the batter into the skillet and place it in the center of the oven. Bake until the center is firm and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center, about 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes then enjoy.