The civil war may have ended over 100 years ago, but there are still some battles between the north and south that continue to rage. The cornbread issue, for instance. It basically boils down to unsweetened (the south) versus sweetened (the north). (Isn’t it ironic that the issue of the iced tea is the opposite, the south preferring sweetened?) I was raised on a hearty whole wheat, unsweetened variety, and loved smothering it with butter and eating it with pinto beans during the cold winter months. But now that I’m an adult and making my own cornbread, I most often make the northern kind since my hubby won’t eat the other. I’m Switzerland–a fan of both, which is apt since we live in the middle of the US and aren’t really in the north or the south.
For you that enjoy northern-style cornbread, you can find the absolute best recipe here, but if you’re looking for something a little lighter, I’ve come up with a great one for you that won’t disappoint!
Lighter Northern Cornbread
Printable version
Printable version with picture
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fine yellow cornmeal
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nonfat milk
½ cup canola or vegetable oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 350; grease a 9×9 pan and set aside. Combine dry ingredients in large bowl and stir. Add wet ingredients and stir just until mixed (it’s OK if there are some lumps). Bake 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cut into rows of 4 x 4 to make 16 squares.
Per square: 137 calories; 5.5 g fat; 19 g carbohydrate; .8 g fiber; 3 g protein
Recipe by Veronica Miller
Out of curiosity, how do you prefer your cornbread and tea? Sweet or not?
Veronica's Cornucopia 
LOL..I like my cornbread unsweet and my tea sweet!! Yep, southern born and bred!
But I will eat the slightly sweet cornbread if I have to!
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Sorry Veronica! Corn bread, neither Northern or Southern, is made with Whole grain wheat….it’s CORN!!
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I was actually wondering about that! I have a recipe for cornbread on the back of my cornmeal sack that doesn’t call for any flour, just the cornmeal and I thought maybe it was a southern thing. Carla says that’s real southern cornbread. But most recipes I’ve ran into, even southern ones, do call for wheat flour too, so I wasn’t sure.
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OH, I should clarify about the cornbread I was raised on–it was made with corn meal, but did have whole wheat flour too.
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I am from the north [Michigan] and live in the south [many years now]. My cornbread has always been cornmeal only. This is the way my mother made it and she was born in the south [KY] and lived in the north some 35 years. I do like a spoon if sugar in mine but not so much that it is sweet. Most people would not know there was any sugar in it if i did not say so. I do like a sweeter cornbread also. Now i have to make some with flour so i can see the difference in it. Thanks for making me wonder. I am cooking turkey chili tonight no better time to try this out!!!
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So interesting! Until I saw a recipe without flour on my corn meal sack, I didn’t know it was ever made without. Now I have to try cornbread your way–cornmeal only! I think with flour, it must be a lighter texture–let me know what you think. :)
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I’m from Kentucky and was always taught to use flour ,by my grandmothers.
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Cool! My favorite cornbread is made with flour. :)
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I have to admit I do like the sweeter cornbread–though I don’t know if I’ve ever tried the Southern kind.
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I love cornbread and can’t eat chili without it! Might have to put my unopened bag of cornmeal to use soon… Oh, and I never knew about the North vs. South difference!
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My husband only likes the sweeter cornbread too. :) I will have to try this one!
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I prefer a slightly sweetened cornbread too — I had no idea it was the Northern version! (Makes sense though, since I live in the North, lol!) Looks delicious, Veronica!
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