Cornbread Dressing

by Beth | Dec 20, 2011 | Recipes | 0 comments

This is required at all of our family holiday meals. I learned how to do it by watching my Nanaw make it. Well seasoned iron skillet required.

Since I will be celebrating Christmas with my children this year, my mom and I are fighting over custody of the iron skillet (she’ll be making it for the rest of the family.)

Serve it with dinner and good gravy. Note: Your cardiologist might delight in the potential new business after you consume this treat!

Cornbread Dressing

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • Cornbread I used Martha White cornbread mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 c. buttermilk
  • 1/4 c. bacon fat
  • 3 or 4 sticks of celery sliced thin
  • 1 medium to large onion chopped coarsely
  • 1 stick of butter BUTTER, not margarine!
  • chicken or turkey stock

Method
 

  1. For the cornbread: preheat oven to 450ºF. Instead of the oil in the recipe on the bag of mix, put about 1/4 c. of bacon grease in an iron skillet. Put the skillet in the oven to melt the bacon grease. Combine other ingredients (egg, buttermilk, cornbread mix) in a bowl and mix lightly. When the fat is melted and hot, remove the skillet from the oven and pour the melted fat into the cornbread mix. Stir lightly to combine and immediately pour into the hot skillet. Bake. Remove cornbread from the iron skillet, because you need it for the next step.
  2. Dressing: Using the same iron skillet, melt the butter and add the celery and onion. Cook until the onion is clear. Turn off the heat and add the cornbread (crumbled). Mix so that the onions and celery are evenly distributed. Add stock/broth to moisten. It should be fairly wet, since the dressing will be baked afterward.
  3. Move the dressing into a baking dish. At this point, you can put it in the fridge until you are ready to bake it. Bake at 350ºF until hot all the way through.

Notes

My cornbread mix uses egg and buttermilk. It is "Southern cornbread" -- not sweet. If my son, Daniel is around and helping me, we might need 2 batches of cornbread since we seem to be unable to resist eating some of it right out of the oven -- and we need a entire recipe for the dressing.
Enjoy.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 12 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 300

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
  • 2 c. sugar
  • 2 c. flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 3 tsp. cinnamon
  • 2 tsp. soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 3 c. raw carrots, grated (I don't measure, but I grate up about 1lb of carrots)
  • 4 Tbsp. hot water
Icing
  • 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese
  • 1/4 c.butter
  • 1 (1 lb.) box confectioners sugar
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 c. chopped nuts (pecans)

Method
 

Cake
  1. Blend sugar and oil. Add eggs. Beat well. Add hot water.
  2. Sift dry ingredients. Add to sugar-egg mixture. Beat well.
  3. Stir in grated carrots.
  4. Pour into 2 or 3 (9-inch) or a 9x13u0022 greased and floured cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 25 to 35 minutes.
  5. Cool cakes and stack with frosting.
Icing
  1. Work cheese until soft. Add softened butter. Beat in sugar gradually. Add flavoring ana nuts. Mix and spread.

Notes

  • Mt family loves a 4 layer cake, so I modify this way: bake in 2 layers; when cooled thoroughly, I split the layers horizontally using dental floss so I have 4 layers. Double the icing recipe; don't add the pecans until after icing between the layers. So u002du002d interior has no pecans, but the outside is covered!
  • Cream Cheese Icing

    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Total Time 10 minutes

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
    • 1/4 c. margarine
    • 1 1 lb. box confectioners sugar
    • 2 tsp. vanilla
    • 1 c. chopped nuts pecans

    Method
     

    1. Work cheese until soft. Add softened margarine. Beat in sugar gradually. Add flavoring ana nuts. Mix and spread.

    Notes

    If I make a 3 layer carrot cake, I double this recipe. But then I have extras! What to do? Make a second carrot cake recipe and make it into cupcakes or a sheet cake and use the rest of the icing on that.
    Or, just be decadent and eat it like fudge.

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    Beth

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