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?