Ever since I can remember, I have eaten my cornbread like a Yank: generously spread with butter and drizzled with maple syrup. You southerners may disagree, but that’s the way I like it. Slightly sweet, barely savory.
This is the recipe that our family loves and uses again and again.
You only need eight ingredients: whole wheat flour, cornmeal (stone ground or yellow), baking powder, salt, milk, butter, eggs, and maple syrup.
Start by preheating your oven to 425° F. Put the butter in a square baking dish and place in the oven until the butter has melted.
In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the milk and maple syrup. Pour all but a few tablespoons of the melted butter into the bowl. You want to leave some in the pan to grease it.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk just until moistened.
Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Look at that crunchy golden goodness.
At this point you could do whatever you want with this cornbread: crumble into chili, spread with jam, drizzle with honey, etc. Here’s the way we like our cornbread:
Slice a square in half horizontally.
Spread (read: slather) with butter. Wait for it to melt a little.
Now for my favorite part: pour maple syrup over all.
The cornbread will soak up the syrup and become saturated with buttery sweet goodness. And that’s how a Yankee eats cornbread. As my southern mom would say: larrupin’.
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Description
Sweet Yankee cornbread made with the goodness of whole wheat and pure maple syrup.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
- 1 cup Stone Ground Or Yellow Cornmeal
- 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoons Salt
- 1 cup Whole Milk
- ¼ cups Maple Syrup
- 6 Tablespoons Butter, Melted
- 2 whole Eggs, Lightly Beaten
Preparation Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. Pour 2 tablespoons of the melted butter into an 8 or 9-inch square or round baking pan.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the milk, maple syrup, remaining butter, and eggs. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently stir together just until moistened.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.
Makes 9 servings.
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Erica Berge shares her wonderful recipes and amazing food photography on her blog, Cooking for Seven. She also writes about crafts and posts more of her beautiful photography in her personal blog, EricaLea.com. There really isn’t much that this amazing young lady can’t do, and we’re thrilled she does some of it here.
59 Comments
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Judy on 11.15.2010
I am southern also and although we never put sweet in the cornbread, with Karo Syprup was a dessert or often for breakfast the next morning. Yes we were poor not white trash we never went hungry. We always had cornbread or biscuits to eat. Add what ever is available.
Natalie on 11.14.2010
When we lived in Atlanta, Houston’s would serve their salad with cornbread croutons. It was amazing. Now that I’m back in Canada, I make cornbread, then cut into squares and toast to make my own croutons.
Lisa in Seattle on 11.13.2010
I come from southern roots and we’ve grown up eating our cornbread with chili or beans but for dessert we ALWAYS had it split open with lots of butter and KARO SYRUP! After reading all these posts, I’m horrified! This must make me a REDNECK, or worse yet, “poor white trash”! Oh, dear!
Sharrieboberry on 11.12.2010
I’m a southern girl and I like my cornbread SWEET! But I like my iced tea unsweet. Go figure!
Elizabeth on 11.9.2010
I always eat cornbread with real butter and honey! YUM
Kerry on 11.9.2010
oops, wrong comment section, sorry!!
Kerry on 11.9.2010
Typically I do not have very many cooking responsibilites on this holiday as my mother and aunts and grandmother do all the cooking but I would like to help out a bit more this year and learn how to prepare more than just a side – so we’ll see who has the patience to teach me this year…
Lisa Lettenmaier on 11.9.2010
My momma always makes extra cornbread with her brown beans and fried potatoes!! Then later that night she crumbles up the cornbread into fresh buttermilk!! I like it with butter and honey myself and my Hubby thinks we are both crazy !!! hahahah
Margaret Robeson on 11.8.2010
My late neighbor always said that cornbread without sugar (or other sweetener) was “dog food” because that was what they made for the dogs when she was growing up. In the days before commercial dog food was available, corn bread and milk or sour milk was fed to the farm dogs and cats when there were no table scraps for them.
Kathi on 11.8.2010
“Larrupin”…that’s a term my grandpa used to say all the time. Although he enjoyed his cornbread crumbled in a glass with milk poured over it. This brings back wonderful memories.
Shelly Smith on 11.8.2010
sounds yummy – never thought to put maple syrup. I have always been a fan of apple sauce on my cornbread!
Rita E on 11.8.2010
There is nothing better than a crunchy outside piece of warm cornbread with butter and home made 13-bean soup…….yummy!
Patty on 11.8.2010
Wonderful classic recipe – and I love how you douse it with maple syrup – yum! I enjoy cornbread similarly – but instead of maple syrup I drizzle honey over it, and sometimes add a dash of cinnamon on top too.
Julie F. on 11.8.2010
That’s how I like it too!!! My grandpa is southern and everytime he would see me do that, he would say, “Dern it! You’re ruining the cornbread!” :o) Love your recipe, never thought of adding the maple syrup in the batter along with eating it on it!!
DaCook on 11.6.2010
I am pure Texan, born and bred and I love cornbread (without sugar) with syrup and butter. My husband says I love a little cornbread with my butter! I also love cornbread crumbled into a cup of buttermilk and so does my 10 yr old grand daughter. If I have buttermilk in the house, I had better have cornbread when she is here.
And stone ground, yellow corn meal is my favorite. I buy it freshly ground each April at a local fair we have. I get about 25 lbs and vacumn seal and freeze my 2/3’s of it and give my mom the rest.
K-Red on 11.6.2010
Thanks for the definition!
rachel on 11.6.2010
i am from michigan and my grandpa (who died when i was 6) made this ALL the time. thank you so much for the recipe! i will definitely be making this soon!!!
Adam on 11.6.2010
I haven’t made the recipe, though it sounds delicious. But I wanted to compliment your photographs, which are beautiful. I especially like the one of all the ingredients, pre-cooking.
Best,
Adam
Cowgirl Wannabe on 11.6.2010
Ummm….YUM!!!
annie56 on 11.6.2010
my first thought? yankee cornbread? no such thing.
make ist SOUTHERN cornbread, but substituting bacon drippings ( i use 1/2 bacon drippings and 1/2 evoo) in a cast iron skillet –
and we use molasses or home made peach marmalade on ours.
Margie on 11.6.2010
I was raised in Colorado by second generation Irish. We always had our cornbread with maple syrup. It was baked in whatever was available. We weren’t wealthy. The castiron was to fry meat and potatoes.
My own bias is toward unflavored cornbread. Adding cheese and peppers or anything else is not allowed in my house.
melodie1974 on 11.6.2010
Larrupin: “description of a food so tasty it makes your tongue slap your brains out”. Ex: We always looked forward to Grandmother’s Sunday dinners – her fried chicken was especially larrupin’. Taken from Urbandictionary.com
K-Red on 11.6.2010
Could someone please explain to me what “larrupin” means? I’m confused ….
Signed, a Yank
Sue Anne on 11.6.2010
As always, your photographs are mesmerizing and your narrative takes me right into your kitchen, where I can almost taste the syrupy, butter-slathered, cornmealy goodness. I may need an extra power walk today to work off those virtual calories!
Patty on 11.6.2010
Being a yank myself (Chicago) I always have cornbread that is sweet. The Jiffy box kind
There is a recipe on the box for “Johnny Cakes” which you then eat like a pancake with syrup. I’ll have to try to make it from scratch sometime.
callieanne on 11.6.2010
ok while i do believe everyone has a right to eat food the way they want to, my ancestors would roll over in their graves over this….maybe that’s why they fought for the South? lol
1) you eat cornbread w/ tons of butter & plain ol’ honey y’all!
2) Erin, you are right….cornbread is baked in cast iron….baking it in glass is a crime against humanity…and the South!
Erin on 11.6.2010
I’m sorry but when I saw the glass baking dish, I just could not go on. I think the 11th commandment was supposed to be cornbread must be baked in a cast iron skillet. Sometimes it’s hard for us southerners to give up our ways.
Kim on 11.6.2010
What a perfect addition to Thanksgiving dinner. I like my cornbread on the sweet side as well. Thank you for sharing it.
Alice on 11.5.2010
Oh the many ways to prepare and eat cornbread. Growing up on a farm in rural North Florida we had our white corn ground into grits and our yellow corn ground into corn meal. I have eaten cornbread just about any way you can think of. To this day I still like a bowl of cornbread and milk to eat for a meal. Try a casserole of chili with cornbread batter poured over the top and baked. We even made corn pancakes and poured our home made cane syrup over them. If you can imagine it you can make it when it comes to cornbread.
Donna B. on 11.5.2010
larrupin’.
What does this mean? And how do you say it? Never heard it!
Steffi on 11.5.2010
I put my cornbread in a bowl pour honey on top then drown it with milk…..nothing is better on Black Friday for breakfast….
Debbie St.Germain on 11.5.2010
Never had syrup on my cornbread and I am a yank? LOL
The only cornmeal I use is made here in RI, stoneground yellow cornmeal. The site has recipes too, I use it to make cornbread stuffing too, nice hearty flavor.
http://www.kenyonsgristmill.com/home.html
Debbie
Jessie Heninger on 11.5.2010
That’s how I eat my corn bread too. And so do my kids, my husband thinks we’re all crazy.
metaphase on 11.5.2010
Wow. Never in my life have I heard of maple syrup on cornbread! (Then again, I live in Alabama. Maybe that has something to do with it:)
Kristin on 11.5.2010
My mom has said “larrupin’ ” my whole life. I’ve NEVER heard anyone else say it. I thought it was one of her made-up words!!! Thanks for sharing the recipe and the word!
MOV on 11.5.2010
love it! thanks!
http://mothersofbrothersblog.blogspot.com
MOV
Kelly on 11.5.2010
Ok yall, I’m pregnant and hormonal but reading all your memory lane posts about cornbread is making me cry. I think it’s so sweet everyone has such good food memories.
karen in seattle on 11.5.2010
Betty R. you’re not alone! Some of my favorite times were a the kitchen table when my dad would cut a big piece of hot cornbread and stuff it in a tall glass covered in sweet cold milk and sprinkled with sugar. That’s the way he ate it as a kid in Indiana. I loved it. My sibling wouldn’t touch it.
Grandma Cindy on 11.5.2010
Looks delicous!
I love all cornbread.
I love cornbread salad!
Anissa on 11.5.2010
Cornbread is not suppose to be sweet!!!
But my mom is from Kentucky, so I guess that is why I feel this way 
Rachel W on 11.5.2010
That is some beautiful cornbread! Nothing better than cornbread with syrup on it. The only thing better is to pair that with some steamy beef stew!
Mindy Ussery on 11.5.2010
I am a Texan and we always eat cornbread with butter and honey. Oh, yum!
Marcia on 11.5.2010
My grandpa taught me to eat leftover cornbread mushed up in warm milk with sugar for breakfast. Must have doon him good since he lived to be 99.
Laura @ SweetSavoryPlanet on 11.5.2010
I make cornbread all the time. It not uncommon for us to put creamed honey on a slice instead of butter as a snack. I am a southerner, although your recipe looks good, I would be “tarred and feathered” if I tried such a thing. My Mom still gives me grief for putting 1 tablespoon of sugar and an egg in my cornbread. Good Grief!
larkie on 11.5.2010
Amen. In my family it’s Johnny cake, and it’s a breakfast food. Sometimes other people we don’t know bring cornbread to go with chili.
Patty W. on 11.5.2010
You’re the first person I’ve come across outside my family who makes cornbread like we do, then splits it and eats it with butter and maple syrup! We toast it after we split it, but that’s the only difference. So wonderful! Cheers to you!
Kelly @ Mom's Kitchen Gadgets on 11.5.2010
Being Canadian you would think that we would also drizzle maple syrup on cornbread but the preference in our house seems to be honey. Maybe we’ll give maple syrup a try next time. Thanks for sharing.
Gammaroobob on 11.5.2010
Some of us Texans eat it with Grandma’s Molasses strewn all over it! Yummo! That’s After you’ve eaten your pinto beans and first serving of cornbread….the Molasses is for dessert on your second piece!
Lindie on 11.5.2010
We called this Johnny Cake when I was growing up and was a favorite treat with maple syrup. Don’t know where the name came from but my mother grew up in Canada.
Cynthia Troendle on 11.5.2010
Your post made me laugh. It brought back memories of visiting my husband’s family in Minnesota and being asked to feed the men on their dairy. It was cold, and to me cold means beans and corn bread. There wasn’t any buttermilk in the fridge (horrors) but there was of course plenty of fresh milk which I put on the table. Hailing from a southern family imagine my confusion as the men put butter and maple syrup on the bread and ate it like it was cake! I was sure they thought it tasted bad or something! That wasn’t my last lesson about the difference of Yankees, but it was the funniest.