Catch the Spoon

Whether you’re allergic to eggs or just too lazy to go to the store (like I was this afternoon), I present for your gastronomical pleasure a sweet, hearty, and delightfully delicious no-egg cornbread. It doesn’t hold together quite as tightly as it would with eggs, but but it under your favorite chili and you won’t notice a thing.

Buttery No-Egg Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter, softened, divided
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2/3 cup powdered milk
• 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 2/3 cups cold water
• 2/3 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1/3 cup granulated cornmeal (for texture; if you prefer a creamier consistency, use 1 cup total finely ground cornmeal)
• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Preheat oven to 400° F. Heavily grease a 13×9″ metal baking pan with 2 tablespoons softened butter. Reserve 1 tablespoon butter for topping.

In a lidded container (snap-tight container, jelly jar, etc.), combine milk powder, cornstarch, and water. Shake to combine, whisking with fork if necessary to break up clumps. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together cornmeals, flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and remaining butter. In alternating batches, slowly add cornstarch/milk slurry and dry ingredients. Mix until just combined – batter will be loose.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until edges are brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean. Rub top of bread with reserved butter immediately after removing from oven.

Cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting and serving. Serves 10-12.

Edited 1/9/10 to remove a typographical error that included 6 tablespoons of, well, nothing. – Dani