Humble ingredients result in a crunchy, peanut butter cookie that begs for a glass of sweet tea.
Recently I took a little road trip deep into the South to the place I call home. I drove along dirt roads, watched chickens peck while I sipped coffee and silently cursed the fact that there was not a grocery store within 40 miles that stayed open past 6 p.m.
Seeing old friends and family is always a delight and reminiscing about old times is even more delightful. At one point, conversation turned to my grandfather and how a great portion of the food I grew up with came from his farm. I was particularly fond of thick, slab bacon, turnip greens and cornbread.
Driving back to Blythewood I began to daydream about cornbread. I grew up eating buttermilk cornbread bread cooked in a black iron skillet but on some level I knew there was much more to be done with stone ground cornmeal.
A little investigating and good old-fashioned community cookbook turned up lots of great cornmeal recipes. It was a brutal decision, but I managed to narrow it down to my top three.
I was instantly intrigued by a cornbread that was leavened with yeast and included a lot of flour. What sort of Yankee invention was this? At first glance, I’d be hard pressed to call this cornbread yet this airy loaf is exactly that. While traditional corn bread is a quick bread that is leavened with baking powder, Arizona Corn Bread is more time consuming and depends on yeast for a rise.
I love this strange (to me) mix of yeast bread and corn bread. This is best straight out of the oven; it tends to go stale quickly. If this happens, immediately cut it into cubes and make croutons for taco salad or chili.
Arizona Corn Bread
Yield: 2 loaves
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 Tablespoon sugar
2 packages (1/4 oz each) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup sour cream
½ cup canola oil
½ cup chopped green onions
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 ¼ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 cup cream style corn
2 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
5 to 6 cups all purpose flour
Additional cornmeal
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients; set aside. In a saucepan, heat the sour cream, oil and onions to 120°F to 130°F. Add the to the cornbread mixture; beat until blended. Beat in the eggs, cheese, corn and jalapenos. Stir in enough flour to make a stiff dough.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about an hour.
Punch the dough down; turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Shape into two loaves. Grease two 9×5 inch loaf pans; dust with additional cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down in the prepared pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30-45 minutes.
Brush butter over the loaves; bake at 375°F for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown; cover loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly.
Remove from the pans and cool on wire racks.
Southern culture is a complicated thing. We have much to regret, but we’ve done a few things right, pimento cheese and corn muffins come to mind. Pimento cheese folded into corn muffin batter can transform a bad day into a good day. I am not joking. Try it and see.
Pimento Cheese Muffins
Yield: 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins
1 cup yellow cornmeal
¾ cup of flour
3 teaspoons of baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 cup of milk
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 eggs, well beaten
1 cup prepared pimento cheese
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and set aside.
Place the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and sugar in a mixing bowl; whisk to combine. In a separate mixing owl, combine the milk, oil, and eggs; stir to fully combine and then stir in the pimento cheese.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fill the muffin tins 2/3 of the way and bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 3 minutes and then turn out on a wire rack. I prefer these served hot.
Making cookies with cornmeal was a new experience for me. These Peanut Butter Cornmeal Cookies are such a nifty twist on a traditional peanut butter cookie. I love the crunchy, sandy texture that the addition of cornmeal gives these little gems. You’ll want to have some in the cookie jar with friends come to visit. They go just great with a glass of sweet tea on the porch.
Peanut Butter Cornmeal Cookies
Yield: about 4 dozen
½ cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
½ cup whole milk
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour. Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter, peanut butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Stir in the dry ingredients.
Drop by the teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each cookie. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
