Family Recipe Friday: Betty's Cornbread (via Martha Pierce Lane)

Cornbread was a staple in our house when I was growing up, and my mom's cornbread was delicious.  She always used the recipe below which she said was dictated to her by her mother, Martha Pierce Lane, in the early 1950s.  The recipe was written on a 3 x 5 inch index card by my mom.  In parentheses to the right of each ingredient is the amount of that ingredient needed should you want to double the recipe.  These were written by my dad, Frank W. Lee, because he got tired of telling mom how to add fractions every time she made a big batch of cornbread!  (Like me, mom was "mathematically challenged," and she hated fractions.)

Betty Jewel Lane's Cornbread Recipe, c. 1950

Mom always used a cast iron skillet when she made cornbread.  She would grease the skillet with bacon drippings (which she kept in a can by the stove), and then she would put the skillet in the oven to warm while the oven was preheating.  "This gives your cornbread a nice crispy crust," she always said.

While I don't have mom's iron skillet, I do still have a couple of the other items she used when mixing up a batch of cornbread.  The measuring spoons have lost their luster, and the old Pyrex bowl shows wear from years stirring, but I wouldn't want them any other way.  I use them, too, when making cornbread for my family, and I think of her every time.

Betty Lane's Mixing Bowl, Measuring Cup, and Measuring Spoons, c. 1960

Betty Lane's Well-Worn Mixing Bowl, c. 1960