Masa Harina Cornbread

This recipe/post might look a little familiar to you. It was originally posted with my recipe for Cocido Rojo (Mexican Beef Soup) back in the early days of this blog. I love cornbread (I make it at least twice a month) and have such great memories associated with it that I felt it deserved to have it's very own post. I hope you don't mind. 

My first and fondest memory of cornbread dates back many years ago when I was about 7 or 8 years old, when my dad and I lived with my great-grandmother Pearl in Amarillo, Texas. I don't remember much about my great-grandmother, but what I do remember is that she loved to watch her stories (The Young & The Restless) and that she was an amazing cook. She made absolutely everything completely from scratch. The two foods that stick out most in my mind are her Peach Cobbler (a recipe I'm still trying to duplicate) and her buttery melt-in-your-mouth cornbread. I remember that she always used to bake cornbread on the same day she'd cook a pot of pinto beans. For dinner she'd serve a slice of buttered cornbread in a bowl, then she'd ladle some of her freshly cooked pinto beans and broth over the cornbread. Such a simple meal, but it was one of my favorite meals EVER! 

My second, and most amusing, memory is from when I was in my early teens. My grandparents had left for the afternoon to run errands or visit friends. Whenever they left me home alone for a couple of hours, the first (and only) thing I ever wanted to do was play in the kitchen. I never knew what I was going to make, but I always had such fun cooking something to eat all by myself. I remember looking through the tiny little pantry in our trailer's kitchen in search of something to make, when I spotted a box of yellow cornmeal that had been sitting in the pantry for I don't know how long. When I turned the box over and saw the picture of cornbread baked in a cast-iron skillet, I was reminded of my great-grandmother's cornbread and knew exactly what I wanted to make.

But just as soon as I had made up my mind, I ran into a bit of a problem. The recipe had all kinds of measurements, but my grandmother didn't have any measuring cups or spoons. Well, she did have a 1-cup Pyrex measuring cup, so I figured that it was better than nothing. I measured the cornmeal and milk using the glass measuring cup, and I used some of the spoons in Gramm's silverware drawer to measure the other ingredients like salt and baking powder. I popped it in the oven, and cleaned up the mess I made while I waited for it to finish baking. Shortly after I popped the cornbread in the oven, my grandparents came home and Gramm started to heat up our supper. Like magic, my cornbread was ready just as my grandparent were about to eat.

I excitedly cut into the cornbread and served them both a slice with a pat of butter on top. I stood anxiously by the table waiting for the oohing and ahhing to commence. Gramm took a bite, but didn't say a single word. Feeling kind of hurt, I glanced over at Pappy, knowing that he was sure to sing my praises. Pappy took a bit of cornbread, then made a face. I'm pretty sure Pappy was making the same kind of face I made whenever they made me eat nopales (cactus paddles). Ever the optimist, I thought maybe my grandparents were just teasing me. But Pappy quickly made it clear that they weren't teasing. He pushed away the rest of his cornbread and declared it the worst thing he'd ever tasted. Then he accused me of trying to poison him.  (Pappy had major trust issues because his previous wife was a bruja who practiced black magic.)

Now before you start to think that Pappy was the meanest grandpa in the world, he had a valid point. My first attempt at cornbread tasted awful. Like I-wouldn't-feed-it-to-my-worst-enemy kind of horrible. Believe me that there is such a thing as way too much baking powder and baking soda.

Thankfully practice makes perfect.

I've had to make some adjustments to my recipe over the years, like substituting masa harina for the cornmeal, since cornmeal is another of those hard-to-find-in-Mexico products. This golden cornbread is fluffy soft, crumbly, and buttery good. And it goes great with your favorite soup or Chili.

Masa Harina Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 cups milk
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 cup masa harina (I used Maseca) 
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 
• 4 tablespoons butter, divided 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350º F. In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the milk and vinegar. Set aside for 5 minutes.

In a mixing bowl combine the masa harina, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir in the milk, eggs, and vegetable oil until well combined; set aside.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in an oven-proof or cast-iron skillet over low heat. Remove from heat and pour in the batter. (Do NOT stir!) Bake at 350°F for 20 to 25 minutes or until light golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and spread remaining tablespoon of butter on top of cornbread. Enjoy! 

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