Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Thanksgiving Recipes: Corn Bread Edition


The Recipe:  Famous Dave's Copycat Cornbread Muffins
Original Recipe Found In:  Various Sources

What You'll Need:
1 3/4 Cup Cornmeal
1 1/2 Cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Eggs
2/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Shortening
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
3/4 Cup Whole Milk
1/4 Cup Buttermilk
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 Tablespoons Honey

To start, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  If your cornmeal isn't finely ground, almost to a flour-like consistency, grind it in a food processor for five minutes.  This will help the dry ingredients keep the same consistency when mixing.  Pour the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large mixing bowl and mix until all the ingredients are incorporated.

In another mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, shortening, and vanilla.  Using an electric mixer, cream these ingredients together until they are well combined.  Next, pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients.  Stir together until smooth.  

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper muffin cups.  We used silicon muffin cups and they pop out the muffins much more easier than paper muffins cups.  Fill each muffin cup until it's 3/4 full with batter.  Place the muffin tins in the oven and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Serve with butter and honey and enjoy!



The End Result:



I have been to Famous Dave's Restaurant several times and I always love to have their muffins.  Now, I won't need to go to their restaurant, because these muffins are way better.  The muffins have a little bit of moistness still left in them, even after baking in the oven for 20 minutes.  The sweetness isn't too much, but there is enough there to make it incredibly delicious.  Pairing the muffins with butter and honey is one of the ways we enjoys cornbread muffins, but you can decide what to pair with them.  We love these muffins so much, that I made them twice in a month.  Even if you aren't a cornbread muffin fan, we would definitely recommend that you try these, you won't regret it.


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The Recipe: Crispy Cornbread
This is an Out of the Culinary Recipe

What You'll Need:

3/4 Cup Corn Meal (Yellow)
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
2 Tablespoons Light Brown Sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
2 Eggs
3/4 Cup Milk*
3 Tablespoons Butter

* Maggie and I are actually slightly lactose intolerant (milk doesn't really 'sit' right with us). So, we don't keep standard milk in our home. Instead we use almond milk (vanilla flavored) - the downside is that almond milk (when flavored) doesn't lend itself to baking. In its place, we used water. If you're using a leaner type of milk (skim, low fat) the difference between milk and water in a recipe is negligible. The only thing your recipe will miss is the fat in the milk (making the bread drier). You can replicate this fat by adding about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to the mixture (if you're using water).

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

To begin, combine the dry ingredients (corn meal, flour, brown sugar and baking powder) in a large bowl and whisk until everything is well combined. Next, add the eggs, honey, butter (melted) water (or milk) and whisk until everything is well blended and no lumps remain.

Lightly grease an 8 X 8 baking dish with cooking spray and pour the mixture into the baking pan. Once the dough has been evenly distributed into the baking dish, pop the pan into the oven and allow it to cook for about 25 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and passes the toothpick test. (Stick a toothpick into the center of the bread, if it comes out clean, it's done).

The Results:

I prefer my cornbread to act as a vessel for butter and honey. Sure, the cornbread is great, but slathering it in butter and honey makes it extraordinary. This cornbread recipe created a nice, porous bread that absorbed the melted butter and honey without making a sticky mess or crumbling all over the plate. This is a drier cornbread - but as I said it was sort of designed that way intentionally. If you like to pair your cornbread with chili or simply like to serve it with honey, jelly or other toppings, this recipe works great and can easily be made with things you likely have in your pantry.






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