Hard Times Cornbread Mix
A bowl of chili is never complete without a piece of golden cornbread to give your tastebuds a reprieve from the spice of chili and to sop up the last bits in your bowl. Our cornbread mix is identical to the one used in all Hard Times restaurants and is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.
Recipe Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F
Place 1 cup of water in mixer bowl
Add entire contents of package while mixing with a paddle on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop and scrape side of bowl.
Continue to mix on low speed for 30 seconds. DO NOT OVER MIX
Scale batter into prepared (lightly greased) cast iron pan or sheet pan. Place in oven for 15 minutes. Leave in up to 20 minutes for a darker golden brown top.
Background
Chili and cornbread were both economically viable food options for people in the American Southwest, particularly along the cattle trails that ran from Texas to Kansas in the late 1800s and in chili parlors that later popped up during The Great Depression. Cornmeal, which is used to make cornbread was a cheaper and more readily available resource than wheat flour, and beef was plentiful. The two foodstuffs came together to product the very delicious combo that fed millions during the economic ‘hard times’ of the 1930s and which are still enjoyed by millions today. The debate over the sweetness in cornbread is a fierce one depending on the region in the US. Our cornbread mix is slightly sweet, wonderfully completing the spiciness of our chili. Enjoy a direct connection to the style of cornbread eaten by my great grandfather on cattle drives from Texas to Kansas and later served in my great aunt’s chili parlor in Gracemont, Oklahoma during the The Dust Bowl. This is the same cornbread that is served at the Hard Times Cafe in the Washington DC area.
Ingredients
Enriched bleached wheat flour, sugar, degermed yellow cornmeal, palm and soybean oil, dextrose, food starch-modified. Contains: Wheat, eggs.
