Marbled Molasses Cornbread

Sometimes an idea is sparked by the smallest gesture.

In this case, it was watching my father pour a smooth river of molasses over a warm chunk of cornbread one Christmas.

I thought, why not work the molasses into the bread itself? Inspired by this comforting, old-fashioned way of enjoying cornbread, I went to work on an updated (and less sticky!) take on the idea.


I knew I wanted it to be in a loaf shape, so it would be easy to cut into nice slices for a piece of toast, for instance.

So here it is... a simple cornbread recipe, with just a touch of sweetness to bring out the corn flavor and a ribbon of molasses running through. If you enjoy cornbread that's more sweet than savory, feel free to double the sugar.

If you're in the mood for cornbread but are looking for something a little different, you may want to give this a try!

Marbled Molasses Cornbread

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 cups fine yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk*

1/2 cup oil or melted butter

1/4 cup molasses

freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

.

*Don't have buttermilk? Make sour milk instead: Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to a measuring cup, pour in milk until it reaches the 1-cup line and stir. Let stand for a couple of minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.


Spray a 9"x5" loaf pan with oil, sprinkle in some cornmeal, then tap out the excess.

Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.

Whisk the oil, buttermilk, and eggs together, then stir into the dry mixture until well combined.


Share out about 1/3 of the batter into another bowl and stir in the molasses.



Sprinkle a dusting of nutmeg into the molasses mixture if you like...

Add the batter to the prepared pan by alternating spoons of plain and molasses batter.



Run a butter knife through the batter in a figure-8 motion.

Bake for 45-55 minutes in the preheated oven.



Let the bread sit in the pan for a minute or two, then turn out onto a rack to cool...

Slice, slather with butter and...

Enjoy! :o)