Happy New Year and Welcome 2024! May this year bring good health, happiness, love, prosperity , peace and joy to you!
Whether you are superstitious or not, this moist cast iron baked corn bread with a slightly crispy edge will be a super pleaser to all of your corn bread fans! In many southern states it is said that eating corn bread with it's gold color represents bringing gold and wealth. Baking the cornbread in a round cast iron pan symbolizes a gold coin for prosperity. How cute. It's a quick bread to whip up, tastes amazingly comforting and bakes under 25 minutes. How easy is that?
Every country has some type of food that they feel will bring them good fortune, luck, prosperity or health if they eat certain foods either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day. From eating 12 and only 12 grapes, eating black eyed peas, consuming those beautiful red pomegranate seeds to eating cornbread. These traditions have a certain meaning to the people and bring some excitement for the holiday. I opted to make a corn bread because I am going to eat this with some delicious soup I made earlier- Sweet Potato, Lentil & Black-Eyed Pea Soup. Hey, a double whammy on my luck with the black-eyed peas!
So I hope you try this delicious and very easy recipe and provide me with your feedback. And as always, Enjoy!
Moist Cast Iron Skillet Corn Bread Ingredients: Serves 6-8 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F with 10-inch cast iron skillet placed on center rack while preparing the batter. 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and set aside. 1 ¼ cups coarsely ground cornmeal. ¾ cup all-purpose flour. ¼ cup granulated sugar. 2 teaspoon baking powder. ½ teaspoon baking soda. 1/3 cup whole milk. 1 cup buttermilk (see cook’s note)*. 2 eggs, lightly beaten. Preparation: Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with cast iron skillet placed on center rack. In a small stock pot, melt the butter over low heat and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and kosher salt. Set it aside. In a medium bowl, whisk the milk, buttermilk (see cook’s note)* and slightly beaten eggs. Add in 7 of the 8 tablespoons of the melted butter. The remaining will go into the hot preheated skillet. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Do not overmix. Lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Remove the very hot skillet from the oven and pour in the remaining 1 tablespoon melted butter. It will splatter so be careful. Coat the inside and sides of the skillet by using a pastry brush. Pour in the batter and place the skillet back into the center rack. Bake for 20- 25 minutes. Remove and check the center of the bread with a toothpick or cake tester to see if it comes out clean. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, serve and enjoy! *cooks note- If you do not have buttermilk you can add 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice to one cup milk. Mix and set aside for 10 minutes.