I wish you could actually see the melted butter glistening on top of this cornbread. Oh yes, I do. Because when you see it, your mouth just waters for a taste of this simple sweet cornbread.
Now, for the life of me, I can't remember which recipe I used. I remember looking at about 300 of them before deciding to use one and fudge it up a bit. I stopped drinking milk about two years ago, so when I tell you it's hard to find a Cornbread recipe without milk... well, it's hard to find a Cornbread recipe without milk!!
This one is based on Martha Stewart's Skillet Cornbread, because Martha Stewart loves butter. And so do I. Nothing else bakes or tastes as good.
So...looking in the fridge to see what I can use to substitute milk with, and guess what I pull out? Orange Juice. Yup. How's that for a little surprise. :)
Here's what I did:
I took Martha Stewart's Cornbread recipe:
Then I made these changes:
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda (plus a tiny bit more)
2 large eggs
2 cups low-fat buttermilk fresh pulpy orange juice
1/2 cup Monterrey Jack cheese - Also Optional
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
First, put some of the butter in a flat casserole dish; place in oven until butter is melted and pan is heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Martha uses a skillet, but it's at my Mama's house (and next time I'll 'borrow it').
Then, in a bowl, mix together the cornmeal, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a another larger bowl, mix together the eggs and orange juice.
Put on some oven mitts.
Okay, now remove hot casserole dish from oven. Check out all that melted buttery goodness. Oh yes!
Pour that lovely golden liquid in with the orange juice and eggs, and really quickly whisk it. If you wait too long, the hot butter will cook the eggs. Roll the remaining butter in the casserole dish around so it coats the sides.
Finally, pour the dry cornmeal mixture into the wet orange juice mixture and stir until just moistened. This is when you would also stir in the jalapeno if you are using it. But you can leave the jalapeno out if you just want the basic cornbread (or if you'll eat part of it savory and the next piece sweet drizzling with honey like I do). Scrape the batter into the hot casserole dish and bake until golden, about 25 minutes.
Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
I'll tell you, when you take that golden baby out of the oven, and you see the orangey colour with the glistening butter floating on top, you will not be able to wait the 10 minutes.
Eat with whatever you like. Ham, chili, eggs, more cheese. Or slice open, add more butter, and strawberry jam. Or drizzle the top with honey to add even more golden sunshine to your day.
Either way, it's a winner. And one I'll definitely make again!
