I'm really fond of baked goods that use masa as an ingredient. With barbecue season reeving up, I thought it would be nice to have a masa flavored cornbread to serve with some of our grilled meals. Masa, a flour made from corn, adds distinctive flavor and texture to baked goods  and I've found it adds an unmistakably Southwestern flair to cornbread. I stumbled on two recipes, found here and here, that use it as an ingredient and I was able to cherry-pick from them to come up with the recipe I'm featuring today. This is very easy to make, but I have found that the amount of milk needed to make the cornbread can vary from one occasion to the next. If you find the batter is too stiff to work, add additional milk, a spoonful at a time, until it is of spreadable consistency. I prefer my cornbread unadorned, but chiles and cheese can be added to the batter if you'd  like yours to have a bit more kick or flavor.  This was a welcome addition to our table today. I had planned to grill, but the weather turned cold and we are back in heavy sweaters and ended up having chili for dinner. This was a perfect accompaniment. I think those of you who try the cornbread will enjoy it. Here's the recipe.

Masa Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 cup masa harina

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 to 3 tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup or 1/2 stick) butter, melted plus 1 tablespoon for skillet

Directions:

1) Place a 10-inch cast iron skillet on center rack of oven. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2) Whisk masa, cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.

3) Whisk milk, eggs and 4 tablespoons butter together in a small bowl.

4) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir to combine. Do not over-mix.

5) Film bottom and sides of hot skillet with reserved tablespoon of butter. Spoon batter into skillet and smooth top.

6) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the edges are browned and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in pan or on a rack slightly before serving. Serve war. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

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