Adding cheese to the all American quick bread creates a creamy texture that is otherwise missing. You can bake this in the traditional round cast iron skillet or a square baking pan.
Serves 8 (Makes one 8 inch round)
Ingredients:
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups self-rising cornmeal
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (packed) coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 8 inch round cast iron skillet or baking pan. Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Mix in cheese.
Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and oil in another medium bowl to blend. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients and stir just until incorporated; do not over mix. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
Bake until bread is golden on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Best served warm right out of the oven but can be made a day in advance.
Cooking Wiser
To decrease calories, use low fat buttermilk or 2% milk
Make it your own by using a different cheese, for example use Hot Pepper Jack, Havarti, Asiago, or Swiss.
Turn it into Mexican cornbread. Add diced peppers, red, green or jalapeno or a combination, sliced scallions, chopped onions and/or 1/4 cup canned corn. About 1/3 cup total of any of the above ingredients should be just about enough.