Brenda Gantt’s Lacy Cornbread

Ingredients

“Remember, the first one is the practice one. It’s worth your effort because it is absolutely delicious. Kind of like potato chips, you can’t eat just one!” Brenda Gantt, author of It’s Gonna Be Good Y’all!

1 cup fine stone-ground white cornmeal

1¼ cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Vegetable oil

Instructions

Stir cornmeal, 1¼ cups water, and salt until you have the consistency of thin buttermilk.
In a cast-iron skillet, pour oil to ½-inch deep, and heat over medium-high heat.
Drop batter by tablespoonfuls into middle of skillet. Brown on one side. Flip and brown the other side. It’s best to cook these one at a time so you don’t overcrowd the skillet.

Kitchen Wisdom: If the cornbread comes all apart when gently putting it in the oil, that means the batter is too thin, so add a little more cornmeal. If it will not spread out, that means the batter needs more water. The cornbread should be very thin and flat with little round holes in it.

-Brenda Gantt

This recipe is part of Gantt’s first cookbook, It’s Gonna Be Good Ya’ll. Packed with personal stories, helpful instructions and photos of every recipe, this cookbook is an invitation to tie on our favorite apron and join Mrs. Brenda in her kitchen. Her third cookbook, Live Each Little Moment, Y’all, is available for preorder here.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Try Brenda Gantt’s Fried Green Tomatoes, Tomato Pie, or Squash Alabama! If you’re looking for a dessert recipe, be sure to try her Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, Date Nut Balls, or Blueberry Pie!