Southern-Style Skillet Cornbread: So good you'll slap your mama!

I am not sure why I have been in such a mood to cook lately. I think it's because of the cooler temps but I definitely have been more motivated to fire up the stove or oven lately. In the summer who wants to turn on your oven only to make your entire house seem hotter? Bleh. So hooray for Fall weather!

This weekend I made a batch of Taco Soup, which to me is more of a chili but we won't split hairs. It's one of my favorite soups and I decided that I wanted to make some cornbread to go with it. Now, I've made cornbread occasionally over the years, but it's always been pretty meh in my opinion. Having finally recently gotten a cast iron skillet I spent part of the weekend looking for a really good cornbread recipe and by george I found one! Y'all. It did NOT disapoint. If you are making soup or chili anytime soon, I highly recommend this!

Southern Style Skillet Cornbread
Makes 12 mini cornbreads, or 1 8-inch round cornbread

Ingredients
4 teaspoons bacon fat, or 1 teaspoon oil and 1 tablespoon melted butter
1 cup corn meal 
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place bacon fat, or vegetable oil/butter mixture in the skillet and place it in the oven to preheat. (If you’re using mini skillets, place all of the fat into one skillet, it will be added to the bread batter later.)

Set aside 1/3 cup of the corn meal in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2/3 cup corn meal, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.

Bring the water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, quickly add the water to the 1/3 cup of corn meal in the medium bowl, stirring to form a thick paste. Slowly whisk in the buttermilk, being sure to get rid of any lumps that form. Next, whisk in the egg until combined. Finally, stir int he dry ingredients until just incorporated. Carefully, remove the skillet with the fat in it from the oven and pour the fat into the batter, stirring until incorporated. Pour into the preheated skillet(s) and bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes for an 8-inch skillet, and 8 to 10 minutes for the mini skillets).

Immediately smear the tops with butter after removing from the oven and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe adapted from Baking Illustrated

When you are done, sit back, have a glass of wine and appreciate that you just made the best cornbread ever.

PS Have you seen "Sh%t Southern Women Say" yet? Enjoy...