“Mom’s” Buttermilk Cornbread by Kristin Hannah

Did you know that best-selling author Kristin Hannah was planning to be a lawyer, not a writer? Kristin tell us all about how her writing journey began… and it started with her mother’s belief that storytelling would be the path to happiness for her daughter. And she shares a cherished family recipe for Buttermilk Cornbread.

“My mother's recipe. And believe me, any recipe worth passing on is hard to come by from MY mama's kitchen....” —Kristin

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. butter, melted

  2/3 c. sugar

  2 eggs

  1 c. buttermilk

  1/2 t. baking soda

  1 c. cornmeal

  1 c. flour

  1/2 t. salt

  2 tablespoons honey

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375  deg. and grease an 8 inch square pan.

Step 2

Stir together butter and sugar in large bowl.  (She loved to melt the butter in the microwave and then mix everything in one bowl).        

Step 3

Add eggs and beat until well blended, using either a wire whisk or electric hand mixer.

Step 4

Mix in buttermilk, baking soda, cornmeal, flour, salt, and honey.

Step 5

Pour batter in pan and bake 35 - 40 minutes.

Step 6

Serve with salted butter and homemade jam.

#MichelesKitchenNotes I love a good cornbread recipe. It’s one of my favorite foods, whether cooked in a glass dish or a skillet or prepared from a little blue Jiffy Box (because, let’s face it — sometimes time is not on our side.). But homemade cornbread is the best and Hannah’s recipe from her mama is delicious. Don’t fret if you don’t have buttermilk in the fridge. You can always whip up a buttermilk substitute with regular milk and lemon or vinegar. It’s worth the effort. Buttermilk lightens the batter and adds a kind of delicate tenderness. You can see that in the process when the acid in the buttermilk meets the baking soda and you get a little bubbly fizz in the batter. Kristin likes her cornbread with jelly or butter. I love a little honey or pepper jam on mine and it’s also great next to a big hot bowl of chili. Good stuff!