Bake-Along #41: Maple Bacon Cornbread

A quick and easy side dish or snack! For tips and to bake-along live, just follow along with the video.

Prep: 20 minutes

Bake: 15-25 minutes

Maple Bacon Cornbread Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 & 1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 cup buttermilk*

1 egg

6-8 strip of bacon, cooked and chopped/crumbled**

Extra maple syrup and butter for serving

Tools:

8-12 inch cast iron***

1. Pre-heat oven to 400°F.

2. Begin by browning the butter: put your butter into you cast iron (or any other pan) and melt it over medium low heat, stirring frequently once it is fully melted. Your butter will bubble a bit and then foam. Make sure to stir as the foam can sometimes hide the fact that your butter has already browned. You'll notice the little white milk solids in the bottom of your pan begin to turn golden -- that is exactly what you're looking for. Stir until the milk solids have lightly browned and the aroma is nutty. To hear more about this head to the 6:25 mark.

3. Meanwhile you can whisk together your cornmeal, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

4. Once your butter is melted add it to a large heat-proof measuring cup (or a shallow bowl) and allow to cool for a few minutes.

5. If you have a large heat-proof measuring cup you can now measure all your remaining wet ingredients on top of your brown butter: maple syrup, then buttermilk (give it a good shake before using it!), then your egg. Whisk quickly after adding your egg to ensure the warm butter doesn't prematurely cook it and until it is well combined. You can see me combine my wet ingredients at the 8:40 mark.

6. Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and gently stir in your wet ingredients. You don't want to overwork your batter but try to get out as many lumps as possible (your batter will be a little lumpy and that's okay!).

7. Stir in your bacon.

8. If you are using a separate pan, grease your pan. Otherwise you have already greased your pan when you browned your butter.

9. Add your batter to your pan and spread it evenly. If you would like to see the consistency of my batter head to the 10:50 mark.

10. Bake for 15-25 minutes just until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I recommend turning your pan around halfway through. You really don't want to overcook this! The larger your pan the shorter your cook time (I went for 17 minutes but 15 minutes would have been sufficient). No harm in checking this one early!

11. Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup and enjoy!

Notes:

• *You can use a different dairy here, or make your own buttermilk by combine 1 cup milk with 1 T lemon juice or white vinegar.

• **My husband Josh would tell you that 6 is not enough. And if you want to add any other mix-ins into this cornbread feel free! Chives, corn kernels.

• ***You don't need to use a cast iron for this! It's idea to use a pan that is both stovetop and oven safe, but you can also use any size cake round or even an 8x8inch or 9x13inch pan. Make sure to adjust bake time accordingly.

• Cornbread freezes well! Thaw in the fridge overnight or on the countertop for a few hours.