What goes better with soup, crackers or bread? This has been an ongoing discussion between me and my husband for the past few months. I can go both ways, but when we have guests over I like to put out bread because I feel funny putting out a basket of crackers. I’ve been making a lot of soups lately (if you couldn’t tell from previous blog posts) so I figured this was a good time to whip up some cornbread to go along with it. With this delicious cornbread in the house, neither one of us is reaching for boring crackers. 😉
This moist and slightly sweet homemade cornbread is the perfect side dish for almost any Fall time meal. It’s amazing by itself, but I wanted this basic recipe to be extra special so I created a Spanish olive spread to go with it. Sure, my husband won’t eat the spread because he doesn’t like olives, but there was left over cream cheese so it’s not like he went without.
Cornbread Recipe
(About 12 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 and 1/4 cups yellow cornmeal
- 1 cup all-purposed flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (equivalent to 1 stick) butter, melted
- 1 cup skim milk
- 1 large egg
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Grease an 8 x 8 baking dish and set it aside.
- Whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set the dry ingredients aside.
- Melt the butter and stir the milk and egg into it. (Make sure the butter is not hot, and add the milk first to cool it down or you might end up with scrambled eggs.)
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake it in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
Store the cornbread in an air tight container at room temperature.
(Makes 1/2 cup of spread)Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Spanish olives with pimentos, chopped
Directions:
- Mix the cream cheese and chopped olives together until well blended.
Store the spread in an air tight container in the refrigerator.
Homemade cornbread is just as easy to make as a box mix, except you simply need a few more ingredients. I bet you already have most of them already. A fancy mixer is not required here. In fact, I mixed the batter by hand. The batter will be nice and thick. (Sorry about the stupid sun glare in the picture.)
There are so many fabulous cornbread recipes out there, but after a lot of research I finally settled on this one. I prefer using butter instead of oil because I find I like the texture of the final product better. It’s all about what you prefer.
There is just a hint of sweetness in this cornbread, which I find to be perfect. I think cornbread should have a little sweetness, but it should not dominate over the delicate flavor of the corn.
I’m in love with this golden yellow cornbread. It’s so moist and a tad crumbly, just like a good cornbread should be. Some crumbs are required if you ask me. 😉
Let’s not forget about this simple two ingredient spread! My inspiration came from a sandwich that my mom used to make me when I was a kid. Picture two slices of bread, a layer of cream cheese, and a layer of Spanish olives. It was one of my favorite sandwiches.
You can make as little or as much of it as you want. Just remember the simple 2 to 1 ratio of cream cheese to olives and you’ll be able to make any amount from a spoonful for a single piece to a swimming pool full for a big party. As I mentioned before, since my husband doesn’t like olives I made a small batch just for myself. This recipe is a great way to use up the last bits of your cream cheese or the bits of olive and pimento at the bottom of the jar. I used some of this yummy spread on my bagel the next day, so it’s not just a great companion for cornbread.
Hope you have a happy Monday!
Cornbread adapted from: Betty Crocker
Spanish Olive Cream Cheese Spread source: Tina’s Chic Corner
Beer Bread is another tasty bread recipe.
Cornbread and beer bread go great with soups and chili, like this Hearty Italian Sausage Soup
And this Perfect Chili
Love cornbread but I really like the spread you made.
Thanks! That spread is pretty awesome. I’ll definitely be serving it as an appetizer (with veggies and crackers) during the holiday season. 🙂
Cornbread is much better to put out than crackers : ) And that olive spread sounds amazing!
Hehe. Thanks so much! 🙂
Love cornbread and it sounds even better served with this olive cream cheese spread! I am a big fan of olives and this is definitely a great way to use up the last bits of both ingredients 🙂
I totally agree! 🙂
Oh Tina, you’re making me so hungry! First, all those yummy-looking, cosy soups and then cornbread AND olive spread… So hungry indeed, I want this now! x
Hehe, you’re so cute. 🙂 I hope you’re not sick of all my soup posts…I have another coming tomorrow!
Pita chips all the way! But cornbread is a close second. We always have it with red beans and rice. To be honest, I’ve never made cornbread from scratch (dun dun dun!) and this version looks like the perfect one to start with!
Oh pita chips are a good one! That’s a must-have when we serve hummus. 🙂 There’s definitly nothing wrong with a using a box mix. 😉
I pretty much always make bread to go with soup. Most of the soups I make are pretty healthy so I feel like the bread is a nice little splurge. Love this cornbread! The olive spread sounds like a perfect pairing for it!
Yes, it’s very easy to make healthy soups. I think that’s why I’ve been in soup-making mode lately. And a slice of bread just pulls the whole meal together. 🙂
I love dipping a good piece of bread into my soup, or even just enjoying it on the side. Your olive spread sounds like the perfect complement to the cornbread- yum!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Home made cornbread like yours beats boxed ones any day! Your cornbread looks so light so scrumptious!
You’re so sweet. Thank you!
You know how I feel about cornbread <3
I still have your pumpkin cornbread on my “must make” list. 🙂
I adore cornbread and I got my eyes on that olive spread. Delicious! 🙂
I still remember the bacon and cheddar cornbread you blogged about recently and yours looked mad tasty! One can never have enough cornbread varieties. 😉