Everyone has their cornbread preferences. Whether you prefer making it sweet or not sweet at all, with bacon grease or with butter or however your grandma used to do it, cornbread is a must-have on your Thanksgiving table. It’s a hit with everyone (even the little ones) and can be whipped up and ready in 20 minutes or less.

This version is a great middle-of-the-road recipe. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, crispy where it needs to be and delicious with a schmear of butter on it. You can also spice it up and add things like bacon, chorizo, jalapenos or cheddar cheese to your batter. Just remember, the key to great cornbread is making it in a cast iron skillet.

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THE INGREDIENTS

1 cup cornmeal
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¾ cup flour
½ tsp salt
¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
1 stick of butter (5 tbsp + 3 tbsp)

Note: this recipe can be made with different grinds of cornmeal. If you choose to use a medium grind, we suggest soaking the cornmeal in the buttermilk for about 20 minutes before baking (unless you prefer a gritty cornbread, in which case you don’t want to soak the cornmeal!)

THE STEPS

Set your 10.5-inch Stargazer skillet in the oven on the center rack and preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
In a bowl, stir together the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, flour, salt and sugar.
In a separate bowl, mix together the (cooled) melted butter (5 tbsp), eggs and buttermilk.
Combine wet and dry ingredients into a single batter and mix well.
Carefully remove the skillet from the preheated oven and add the 3 tablespoons of butter to the hot skillet, making sure to coat the bottom and sides of the skillet.
As soon as the butter melts, add the batter to the skillet and cook for 15 minutes.
Check on the cornbread after 15 minutes by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cornbread. If the toothpick comes out clean, you’re all set.
Allow the cornbread to cool slightly before serving.