The Secret to Great Cornbread

I love cornbread! But I have a hard time when it's super crumbly. I have a friend from North Carolina, and we once had dinner with him and his mother. I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but she told me that in the south, they make cornbread with Bisquick, or baking mix, because it helps hold it together and not crumble.

I had never thought of this. I've experimented with this idea a lot since then, altering my mom's or other recipes to see how it worked and it's always been successful for me. Unfortunately, I've never bothered to write down any of my alterations. I also like my cornbread sweet and have been known to add a bit more sugar; yes, even when eating it with chili. :}

Anyway, my point is; you can do a lot with a good recipe, and making your own alterations can be really fun.

Here is the only corn bread recipe with baking mix that I could find on Allrecipes.com.
It's really basic, but it says it rises high and is nice and light. It also says it doesn't brown, which I'm not sure I like, but feel free to compare and combine it with other recipes.

I figure it's a perfect recipe to experiment with in case you want to add something extra like minced onion, sour cream, creamed corn, regular corn kernels, or just extra sugar. Whatever it is that sounds good to you. Enjoy!

Country Corn Bread

INGREDIENTS

• 1-1/2 cups Quick Baking Mix (recipe also in Recipe Finder)
• 3/4 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. In a bowl, combine the mix, cornmeal, sugar and salt.
   
2. Beat egg and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.
   
3. Pour into a greased 8-in. square baking pan.
   
4. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean (corn bread will not brown.
   
5. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before cutting.