Aunt Artimese’s East Texas Cornbread
(Artimese Forrest, Huntington, TX 1905-1986)
1 cup white cornmeal
½ cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soda
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
2-3 tablespoon bacon drippings
Heat oven to 400-450. Preheat 8” cast iron skillet with bacon drippings. Mix first seven ingredients until smooth. Carefully remove hot skillet from oven with mitt and pour bacon drippings into batter. Mix. Lightly sprinkle bottom of hot pan with cornmeal. Then pour batter back into hot skillet. Return skillet to hot oven and bake for 20 minutes until cornbread is golden brown.
Double recipe for a 12” cast iron skillet. Cook for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
Variations: It won’t be ‘Aunt Mese’s Cornbread’ but the following substitutions can be made:
- Yellow cornmeal instead of white
- Butter flavored Crisco shortening instead of bacon drippings
- 8” square or 9”x13” pans can be used instead of cast iron skillets
- Omit sprinkling cornmeal in bottom of hot pan before pouring in batter
