8.12.14 Blueberry Skillet Cornbread with Maple Butter
Hello friends! We’ve returned from our travels in one piece! And let me just say, what a wonderful trip it was. Never having been to most of New England before, I was excited for all of the general awesomeness I knew I was sure to encounter. I was not disappointed. Our basic plan was to drive from Boston, up through New Hampshire and Maine until we reached Acadia National Park, stopping at as many microbreweries, lobster shacks, ice cream stands, and beaches as we could along the way. It was a tough undertaking, but all in all, I’d say we were pretty successful.
Of course, I made it a priority to eat as much seafood as humanly possible on this trip. Lobster, crab, shrimp, clams, oysters - you name it, we probably ate it. All of it, delicious. We also made sure to eat a semi-ridiculous amount of blueberries (both plain and in pie form), and partook in many of the region’s delicious assortment of potent potables (8 microbreweries, 1 distillery, and 1 kombucha fermentory). We ate from food trucks, roadside stands, oyster bars, lobster piers, and even whipped up some delicious clam chowder in a tiny cabin in the woods with a teensy gas burner and no running water. Let me just say, we ate very well on this trip.
Oh, and let’s not forget the scenery. Beaches, mountains, forests, islands, coves, rivers - it was unbelievably beautiful. We swam, we hiked, we waded around in tide pools, and just generally spent lots of time enjoying the lovely summer outdoors. It was a fantastic trip. And while part of me wishes it was just a little bit longer, I do have to admit that it’s also pretty nice to be back home and cooking in my own kitchen again.
Cooking up things like this amazing blueberry cornbread. You might think that after all the blueberries I ate in Maine, I might be getting sick of them. Well, think again! I could eat blueberries forever. Which is how I got the idea to add them to cornbread. We all know cornbread is one of the best kinds of bread (probably because it’s basically a cake disguised as a bread). And if you add blueberries, some lemon, and top it with maple butter, well, you’ve just taken cornbread to the next level. I’m not sure if this would be considered a dessert, a breakfast, a snack, or something else entirely. I’ll leave that up to you. All I can say is that you might as well make up a double batch, because it won’t last long!
Blueberry Skillet Cornbread with Maple Butter
cornbread:
- 1 ½ cups blueberries
- 1 cup + 1 Tbsp flour, divided
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup milk
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp lemon zest
maple butter:
- ¼ cup (4 Tbsp) butter, softened
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Toss the blueberries with 1 Tbsp flour until coated (this will help keep them from all sinking to the bottom of the bread)
3. In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a smaller bowl, combine the milk, melted butter, eggs, and maple syrup.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, stir until just mixed. Stir in the lemon zest, then fold in the blueberries.
6. Pour batter into a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Place skillet into preheated oven and bake until the top is golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
7. While cake bakes, make the maple butter by combining the softened butter and maple syrup, and stirring together until smooth.
8. Allow bread to cool slightly after removing from the oven, then serve with plenty of maple butter.
