Cooking with Alicia & Annie: Amish Cornbread

Tonight I thought cornbread would be a nice addition to the Taco Skillet we were having for dinner. I'm a fan of corn muffins, and am always in search of the Perfect Corn Muffin. But sometimes muffins are a pain. You have to have the little Muffin Papers, and there are always drips on the muffin pan. Cornbread is just like a big muffin without the hassle.

I found a recipe for Amish Cornbread at Alicia's Recipes.

1 c. sifted flour
1/4 c sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 egg, well beaten
1 c. milk
5 tbsp. shortening, melted and cooled

Instructions
Sift first 4 ingredients. Mix in cornmeal. Blend egg, milk, shortening until mixed. Add to dry ingredients and beat until smooth. Use greased (bottom only) 8x8x2 pan. Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

The only change I made to this recipe was to use an 8-inch round pan rather than square, because my square pans have gone, full of treats, to a friend's house.

I had a little technical difficulty when I poured the melted shortening, which was, I guess, not cool enough, into the cold milk and beaten-egg mixture. That was a mess. The shortening immediately solidified in little pieces. So I put the whole bowl into the microwave to warm it up and stirred it until it was smooth(er).

The texture if this cornbread was very cake-like. It was a moist, smooth texture with a fine crumb. But the cornbread itself seemed to be "missing something." I think it might be good with butter instead of shortening--so I'll try this again.

This post is an entry in the Amanda's Cookin' "Cooking with Alicia & Annie" Contest.