yellow cornmeal

The torta is really a big cookie whose texture is a cross between a perfect shortbread and the best crumb topping you can imagine.  The addition of almond flour and cornmeal is partially responsible for the cookie’s wonderful texture; the technique claims the rest of the credit. The dough is quickly mixed in a food processor — whir just until you’ve got a bowl full of morsels; you don’t want a smooth dough — and then you pinch off nuggets of the dough and press them lightly into the pan. It’s as if you were baking a pan full of streusel.  You can cut the big cookie into individual pieces or put it out whole and let everyone break off chunks — messy, but fun.

Torta Sbrisolona

(102 grams) all-purpose flour

almond flour

(57 grams) yellow cornmeal

(67 grams) sugar

fine sea salt

cinnamon

(50 grams) unblanched whole almonds, very coarsely chopped

Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 325 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Put both flours, cornmeal, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor, and pulse to blend. Drop in the chunks of butter, and pulse, scraping the bottom of the bowl a couple of times, until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal. Pulsing, pour in the yolk. Using long pulses, process until the mixture is moist and grainy, like wet sand — it should hold together when pinched.

Transfer to a bowl, stir in the almonds and use your fingers to squeeze the dough into small streusel-like morsels; drop the pieces into the buttered pan as you go. When all the dough is in, pat it down gently, just enough to start the morsels on the road to sticking together.

Bake for 34 to 38 minutes, until the top is deeply golden brown. Transfer to a rack, wait 3 minutes, then run a table knife around the torta and invert it onto the rack. If you want to cut it into pieces, turn it right-side-up onto a cutting board, and use a chef’s knife to cut into cookies; return the pieces to the rack to cool to room temperature. If you want to serve the torta as a break-apart sweet, simply let it cool on the rack.

This lightly sweet cornbread has a crunchy, buttery crust, which comes from baking it in a hot skillet. If you have a cast-iron pan, this is the time to use it. The heavy, heat-retaining material will give you the darkest color (which equals the most flavor). But any large ovenproof skillet will work. And if you don’t have a skillet big enough to hold all the batter, you can either halve the recipe or bake the cornbread in 9-by-13-inch pan. (Brown the butter first in a saucepan.) Your bread won’t have the same dark crust, but the moist crumb flavored with brown butter and maple syrup is ample recompense.

Brown Butter Skillet Cornbread

unsalted butter

120 ml maple syrup

530 ml buttermilk

eggs

yellow cornmeal, fine or medium-coarse grind

whole wheat flour

all-purpose flour

baking powder

kosher salt

baking soda

Heat oven to 375 degrees. On the stovetop, in a 11- or 12-inch skillet (ovenproof and preferably cast iron), melt the butter over medium heat. Cook, swirling pan to lightly coat sides and bottom, until the foam subsides and the butter turns a deep nut brown. (Watch carefully to see that it does not burn.)

Pour brown butter into a large bowl. (Do not wipe out the pan.) Whisk the maple syrup into the butter, then whisk in buttermilk. The mixture should be cool to the touch; if not, let cool before whisking in the eggs. Then whisk in the cornmeal, flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

If the skillet is no longer hot (cast iron retains heat longer than other metals), reheat it briefly on the stove for a few minutes. Scrape batter back into it. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into it emerges clean, 30 to 40 minutes. Cool in the skillet for 10 minutes before slicing.

Melissa Clark bakes tender, flavorful cornbread in a cast-iron pan.

This easy skillet cornbread comes together with just a handful of ingredients, many of which you probably already have on hand. It’s a firm-crumbed but light quick bread that can hold its own as a side slathered with salted butter, or it can be used as a base for <a href="https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1022723-cornbread-dressing">cornbread dressing</a>. The buttermilk gives the toasted corn flavor a pleasant tartness — full-fat buttermilk is preferred, but low-fat will do in a pinch.

Cornbread

unsalted butter, melted,

medium-coarse yellow cornmeal

granulated sugar

kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

470 milliliters buttermilk,

eggs,

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch skillet or cast-iron pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk and eggs. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until incorporated. Fold in the melted butter. Pour the batter into the prepared skillet and smooth the top.

Bake until the top is lightly browned and the sides pull away cleanly from the skillet, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool completely and serve warm or room temperature, or reserve to make cornbread dressing.

Southern cornbread without buttermilk is an easy skillet recipe that only takes a few minutes to whip up and get into the oven.

Easy Southern Cornbread Without Buttermilk (Skillet Recipe)

salt

2% milk

sour cream

vegetable oil

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees and place the...

Preheat the oven to 425-degrees and place the cast iron skillet into the oven while you prepare the cornbread.

Add the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking soda, and...

Add the cornmeal, flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder to a bowl and mix.

Next, add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream,...

Next, add the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, milk, and mix.

Remove the skillet from the oven and grease...

Remove the skillet from the oven and grease with butter - be careful it will be hot!

Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet and...

Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. The top of the cornbread will also be light golden brown.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/ihge3sworievha2q6emo.mp4

Easy Southern Cornbread Without Buttermilk

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