Red Pepper Flake Cornbread

This was a last-minute addition to my Thanksgiving menu this year. I’ve been cooking for three days but forgot to plan for a carb–I didn’t know Cameron was going to bring homemade biscuits–so I made my brother run an errand to buy buttermilk and corn at the grocery store in the morning. Cornbread is easy enough to make, but I was intrigued by this recipe because of the spiciness. I didn’t really know how it would translate to bread form.

The final product tasted like regular cornbread–mine came out paler because I used white sugar–but the kick in the end was a nice surprise. It even made my dad cough the first time because it was so unexpected.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels
1 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tbsps butter
1 1/2 tsps salt

1. Preheat your oven to 350º with the rack in the middle slot.
2. In a medium glass bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg and corn together. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Set aside.
3. In a small saucepan, melt the butter and stir in the red pepper flakes and cook for 1 minute. Pour into a square baking dish. Top with the cornbread batter and level with a spatula. Bake for 45 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is set. Remove from oven and let rest for up to 10 minutes before slicing into squares.

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