Mini Blueberry Cornbread

I hate to start this Mini Blueberry Cornbread recipe with controversy, but cornbread is a very passionate and divisive food. The differences between Northern and Southern cornbread is just the tip of the iceberg. I'm wading into even deeper waters - whether or not sugar belongs in cornbread. Read this article on Serious Eats for the lowdown, with which I disagree wholeheartedly. Because Olga Mae said so.

Olga mae, as many of you recall, was my Grandmother from Mississippi. For the most part, people tend to cook things the way their parents, or their grandparents cooked them. Olga Mae liked her cornbread sweet, all the better to eat crumbled up in a bowl of buttermilk, cereal-style. and, trust me, you didn't argue with Olga Mae.

In this recipe, I took my traditional cornbread recipe, handed down by Olga Mae, and added blueberries to it. as an unexpected breakfast treat! Schmeared with honey butter and drizzled with a little maple syrup, this just might be more popular than pancakes on the breakfast table!

Ingredients

• Cornmeal You can use either yellow or white. I prefer yellow because the color just screams cornbread to me, but they are really interchangeable. Also, white cornmeal tends to be a finer grind, and I enjoy the more rustic texture that yellow cornmeal gives my cornbread.
• All-purpose flour This keeps the cornbread from baking up too crumbly. I don't want a cake-like texture, but I don't want it too gritty either. This is the perfect ratio.
• Sugar and honey I use granulated sugar and honey because they each bring a different kind of sweetness that I think compliments the blueberries.
• Buttermilk This has so many roles in this cornbread! Buttermilk adds a tangy flavor to the cornbread, but by reacting to the baking soda, it also brings a level of tenderness and fluffiness that you wouldn't have if you just used milk.
• Blueberries When I first tested this recipe, I used fresh blueberries. They were in season and plentiful! If you can't find fresh blueberries, you can use frozen blueberries, but do not thaw first or they may change the color and texture of the batter. If using frozen berries, the cornbread may need to baked a few extra minutes, so remember to check for doneness with a skewer or cake tester.

Instructions

• Make the honey butter So, so complicated. Mix honey and a pinch of salt into softened butter. Exhausting.
• Heat the pans One of my favorite parts of cornbread is the crusty outside. This is achieved with the bit of sweetness that we've added with the sugar and the honey, and with a hot mini cast iron skillet. You just place your skillets into the oven and proceed with making the cornbread batter. We'll come back to them.
• Dry ingredients Mix the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
• Wet ingredients Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey, and 4 tablespoons of melted butter, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Add all but ¼ cup of the blueberries and fold in.
• Pour into pans Remove your hot pans from the oven and divide the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter between them. Evenly divide the batter between the pans, and add the remaining blueberries on top.
• Bake Place in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool just a little before schmearing with honey butter, drizzling with maple syrup, and devouring!

Equipment: mini cast iron skillets

Let me tell you about the joy of a mini cast iron skillet. I have 6 of them and I use them for everything. They are not only cute as heck, they cook foods quickly and evenly. They require, actually prefer, minimal cleaning and last forever.

I enjoy using my pans to make Tater Tot Breakfast Poutine and Mini Fruit Crisps, and now these Mini Blueberry Cornbreads!

Can I make this in one large pan?

Yes! If you don't have mini cast iron skillets, or you want to bake this family style, you can bake your cornbread in a 10 inch cast iron skillet or a square baking pan. It may take 5-8 minutes longer, but check for doneness at 25 minutes and keep checking until a skewer or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Can I make this cornbread with other fruit?

Absolutely! This would be delicious with other fruits such as peaches and other stone fruits, cranberries, and blackberries, but I would avoid more watery fruits, such as strawberries or raspberries.