Northern-Style Sweet Corn Bread

As many of you already know, I am a huge fan of Southern Style corn bread. I’ve featured Southern Style Corn Bread as a side with a number of dishes. I love the fact that Southern Cornbread is cooked up in a cast iron skillet. I’ve even considered the possibility of buying a bunch of small cast iron skillets for a nice presentation when baking Corn Bread for a crowd. Can you imagine? There are your backyard barbecue diners, with giant dinner platters (not plates, but big Texas size platters) with a slab of ribs, some barbecued chicken, and a small skillet of individual Southern Style Corn Bread. Oh and let’s not forget the little bowls of Ranch Beans. Now that’s what I call barbecue.

That said, I wanted to share with you my favorite “Northern” bread. Unlike its Southern counterpart, Northern Corn Bread is more cake-like in constancy, with a sweet, buttery flavor. When it comes to baking up perfect Northern Corn Bread, Kiddo is my baker and it’s awesome every time.

This bread is super easy to make and goes well with a number of dishes – especially chili that is extra-hot. The sweetness of the bread can help to off-set the heat of the chili. It’s also yummy as a side bread for barbecued ribs or chicken when a less gritty bread is desired. My Dad likes to put the left-over corn bread into a big glass of milk – I know, strange. It might be an Okie thing. Dad likes to break up Ritz Crackers in a glass of milk, too. I will confess, I like the Ritz Cracker thing – there’s something about the salty crackers and milk that is comforting, bringing to mind fond childhood memories.

But we aren’t here to talk about Okie eating habits – especially since we are featuring a “Northern” side dish. This particular corn bread is especially sweet. It’s my all-time favorite sweet corn bread recipe, one I’ve relied on for years. And it never fails to please. It’s even been known to convert a few Southerners who swore nothing but true Southern bread would ever do.

Northern Style Sweet Corn Bread
Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 Cup Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Yellow Corn Meal
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Wet Ingredients:
2 Large Eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 Cups Milk
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Set aside until ready to use.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium size bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add wet ingredients and whip until well blended.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Mix until well incorporated. Pour batter into baking pan.

Bake until golden brown, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven, serve warm with plenty of sweet, creamy butter.

Yum!