Cornbread
This cornbread went through about 84 iterations before I landed on THE ONE. If the idea of mayonnaise in your cornbread absolutely horrifies you, just know that it's simply an emulsified mixture of eggs and oil (two ingredients already in most cornbreads) that prevent it from drying out. Eat this with anything that calls for dipping cornbread into or eating alongside.
Makes one 9-inch cornbread
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick)/115g unsalted butter, melted
1 cup/125g all-purpose flour
1 cup/120g cornmeal
½ cup/90g light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 ¼ teaspoon/3g kosher salt
1 tablespoon/12g baking powder
2 large eggs
¾ cup/170g mayonnaise, sour cream or a mix of both
½ cup/115g buttermilk
Directions
Preheat oven to 400° F/204 C°.
Spoon a bit (a tablespoon or less) of the melted butter into the bottom of a 9-inch pie plate, cake pan or cast-iron skillet (really, any 1L baking dish) and using your fingers because IDK about you but I am not getting a pastry brush out at this time, grease the dish all along the bottom and up the sides.
Whisk flour, cornmeal, light brown sugar, kosher salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl.
Whisk eggs, mayonnaise or sour cream and buttermilk together in a medium bowl (I always measure my buttermilk in a glass pyrex, then add in the mayonnaise and eggs, whisking in the pyrex. This saves a bowl to clean, but do whatever!).
Whisk wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry, but just until combined (a few dry spots/lumps are okay).
Add the remaining melted butter to the cornbread batter and using a spatula (or whisk), gently fold until it’s totally incorporated (I like to switch to a spatula whenever adding melted butter to a cake or quickbread, it reduces the risk of overmixing).
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake until the edges are deeply browned and crispy and the top is a lovely, sunflower-y golden yellow color (if it cracks, I’m into that. If it domes a little, that’s okay, too), 20–25 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool a few minutes before slicing, and then feel free to eat it then or in several hours or the next day.