Well, it's been not quite a year since this topic was active... But no one mentioned corn pone or corn sticks. It's my favorite way to make cornbread and I use a couple of antique cast iron pans with molded "cups" shaped like ears of corn. There's another pan with plain cups shaped kind of like string cheese sticks--but I haven't tried that one yet. You get much more crunchy crust per piece and they're nice and modular for throwing a couple into your lunch box to have along with soup. My mom never beat the eggs before adding them, but my recipe says to beat the eggs until light before adding. As you veteran foodies know, it does make a difference--and how! I'm using the recipe from Southern Cooking Cookbook by Mrs. S.R. Dull, written back in the '20s, I think. No sugar, as you might guess. If I add sugar, I make muffins instead. It's too much cognitive dissonance for me if my cornbread comes out sweet. As with skillet-based corn bread, pre-heat the pans. Even through mine are well seasoned, I spray them with non-stick stuff to ensure the sticks release from the pan. No need to dust with flour or meal. M
