Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
Even for those of us who didn’t grow up in New England, the flavors of Thanksgiving—maple, corn, and pumpkin—have a way of pulling us in, no matter where we are. For me, it’s the smells that fill the house and the gathering of family and friends in the kitchen, sharing the experience of cooking together.
The Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread is a dish that brings all of that to life. Pumpkin and maple syrup blend with cornmeal to create a simple yet rich bread that’s perfect on its own or topped with Wonderful Whipped Maple Butter. Besides the outstanding flavor, the next best thing about Wonderful Whipped Maple Butter is how easy it is to make. Even the youngest kids can whisk it together, helping them feel part of the meal and proud of their contribution.
Maple Pumpkin Frappé is a fun, unexpected treat for Thanksgiving Day or any fall moment when you’re craving those cozy, familiar flavors in a cool, creamy form.
Happy & Healthy Cooking,
Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills
- whisk :
to beat or stir ingredients vigorously with a fork or whisk to mix, blend, or incorporate air.
Equipment Checklist
- Oven
- Muffin pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Skillet (or saucepan or microwave) for melting butter
- Mixing bowls
- Can opener
- Dry measuring cups
- Liquid measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Whisk
Ingredients
Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
- 1 C fine cornmeal
- 1 C all-purpose flour **(for GLUTEN ALLERGY sub 1 1/4 C gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour)**
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 C unsalted butter **(for DAIRY ALLERGY sub unsalted dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance brand)**
- 1 large egg **(for EGG ALLERGY sub 1 ripe banana)**
- 2 T vegetable oil **(for SOY ALLERGY sub avocado oil)**
- 1/3 C brown sugar
- 1/4 C maple syrup
- 1 C pumpkin purée
Food Allergen Substitutions
Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
- Gluten/Wheat: For 1 C all-purpose flour, substitute 1 1/4 C gluten-free/nut-free all-purpose flour.
- Dairy: Substitute unsalted dairy-free/nut-free butter, like Earth Balance brand.
- Soy: Substitute avocado oil for vegetable oil.
- Egg: For 1 large egg, substitute 1 ripe banana.
Instructions
Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
intro
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Every year, my whole family gathers and prepares a feast together. It always feels so special cooking, laughing, singing, and dancing around with my entire family. Cornbread is a Thanksgiving staple. Corn has actually been served since the first Thanksgiving in 1621, so it’s the perfect ingredient to help us celebrate Thanksgiving. While you cook your way through this scrumptious Sweet Thanksgiving Pumpkin Maple Cornbread recipe, remember to laugh, sing, dance, and celebrate how fun it is to cook with friends and family.
measure + whisk
In a medium mixing bowl, measure 1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Stir with a whisk until all the dry ingredients are well mixed.
melt + measure
In a skillet, saucepan or microwave, melt 1/2 cup butter. Then, in a large mixing bowl, crack in 1 egg and measure 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup maple syrup, and 1 cup pumpkin purée. Add the melted butter to the wet ingredients. Whisk until combined.
preheat + mix + whisk
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth. Place cupcake liners in each well of a muffin pan.
bake + serve
Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the lined muffin pan wells. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve alongside the Wonderful Whipped Maple Butter! Bon appétit!
Hi! I’m Pumpkin!
"I'm orange, round, like to sit on your porch making faces in the Fall, and I'm good to eat! I'm a pumpkin! Of course, not all pumpkins are orange. We can be white, red, yellow, tan, blue, dark green, and even black! We're not always round, either! We might be tall and oblong or short and squat. We love it when families come to the pumpkin patch to pick out their favorite pumpkin to take home!"
History
- The pumpkin is a winter squash that is believed to have originated in Central America. Seeds from pumpkins were found in the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico, dating back to 7000 to 5500 BCE, about 9,000 years ago!
- Now, pumpkins are grown on six continents. The only continent that can't grow pumpkins is Antarctica!
- Native Americans were eating pumpkins for centuries before European colonists arrived. They ate pumpkin seeds, used them as medicine, and made mats from flattened and dried strips of pumpkins.
- Archaeologists have found pumpkin residue among the 800-year-old ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo people.
- A pumpkin is not the same as a Jack-o-Lantern. A pumpkin is only a Jack-o-Lantern once it's carved! Carving pumpkins into Jack-o-Lanterns is a tradition that started hundreds of years ago in Ireland. The Irish used to carve turnips, but when Irish immigrants arrived in North America and found pumpkins aplenty, they began to use those instead.
- Pumpkins were once endorsed as a remedy for freckles and snake bites. As if we need a cure for freckles!
- According to Guinness World Records, Stefano Cutrupi of Italy harvested the heaviest pumpkin on September 26, 2021. His humongous pumpkin weighed over 2,702 pounds.
Anatomy & Etymology
- Why are pumpkins orange? Before a pumpkin matures, it's green in color due to the presence of chlorophyll, a green-pigmented nutrient required for the pumpkin to absorb and use sunlight for energy and food. However, as a pumpkin matures, it develops phytonutrients called "carotenoids," which give a pumpkin its bright orange color.
- The stem of a pumpkin is often referred to as its "handle."
- Thin, hairlike "tendrils" are often attached to the pumpkin's stem. As it grows, the pumpkin's tendrils cling to the vine and are green in color. These tendrils attach to and wind themselves around fences, posts, other plants, and objects on the ground to anchor the vine and protect the plant from the wind.
- Leaves grow on the pumpkin's vine and absorb sunlight to provide energy for the plant and its fruit.
- We collectively refer to the pumpkin's outer skin and inner fruit as the pumpkin's "shell." Ribs are the indentations around the outside of the pumpkin's shell.
- The meat of the pumpkin is called the "pulp," or sometimes affectionately referred to as "pumpkin brains!" Attached to the pulp are lots of pumpkin seeds that can be cleaned, dried, and roasted with salt (delicious!). The inner part of each pumpkin seed contains a nut (technically, the "germ" of the seed), and this is what eventually develops into a new pumpkin.
- The word "pumpkin" originated from the Greek word for "large melon," which is "pepon." The French called it "pompon." The English used "pumpion." And, American colonists changed "pumpion" into "pumpkin."
How to Pick, Buy, & Eat
- A pumpkin is used as a vegetable in cooking, but it's actually a fruit! It's a member of the Cucurbita family, which includes squash and cucumbers.
- Pumpkin flowers and seeds are edible.
- Undoubtedly the most popular recipe that uses pumpkins is pumpkin pie. But pumpkin pulp can be used for everything from baked goods to soups to ice cream, pudding, and even beer!
- You can store uncut pumpkins for up to 60 days in a cool, dark place!
Nutrition
- Pumpkins contain potassium, vitamin C, soluble fiber, and beta carotene.
- Vitamin C and beta carotene are two powerful antioxidants that help protect cell membranes and the immune system.
- Potassium is good for circulation and healthy blood pressure, and it's great for bones. It also helps take blood pumped from hearts through arteries and veins to muscles and organs.
- Beta carotene is great for the health of our eyes! The body takes beta carotene and converts it to vitamin A, which our eyes need to stay healthy. When this happens, it signals the immune system to create white blood cells, which help the body fight off infection.
- Soluble fiber is so good for our digestive systems! Fiber also helps slow the absorption of blood sugar into our tissues.
History of Cornbread!
- Cornbread is a batter bread made with cornmeal, originating with Indigenous Americans. The Native people grew corn and cooked with the kernels and ground cornmeal for thousands of years before it reached Europe and West Africa. They showed the colonists how to grow and harvest corn and some of their cooking techniques, like making a simple cornbread with ground cornmeal and water and baking it over an open or hearth fire.
- Enslaved Africans may have already been familiar with using corn and cornmeal in their cooking when they were brought to America. Since corn was a cheaper crop than wheat, they were supplied with cornmeal for cooking and baking. Cornbread became a staple of the Southern diet.
- All cornbread batter has cornmeal, and some include wheat flour, baking powder, eggs, sugar, and buttermilk. With the addition of baking powder rather than yeast, cornbread becomes a quick bread, usually baked in the oven. Southern cornbread uses less, if any, sugar and flour compared with cornbread from the north.
- Variations of cornbread are "johnnycakes" or "hoecakes," pancake-like cornmeal batter fried in a skillet. "Hush puppies" are deep-fried balls of cornmeal and buttermilk batter, a popular Southern side dish with fried fish.
- Cornbread is a popular side dish for barbecue, chili, and ham and beans. It is often served with butter and honey. Cornbread crumbs or cubes are frequently added to turkey stuffing.
Let's Learn About Thanksgiving!
- A Thanksgiving holiday is celebrated on various dates in a few countries and cities. It is a national holiday in the United States on the third Thursday in November and Canada on the second Monday in October. The holidays began as a celebration of the harvest and the past year's blessings.
- In the US, the traditional beginnings of the holiday began in 1621 as a three-day celebration to give thanks for the harvest. The Pilgrims living in Plymouth Colony (Massachusetts) were joined by several members of Wampanoag Indians, who may also have brought food with them. Although the Pilgrims did not refer to their feast by name, it is usually called the "first'' Thanksgiving.
- The foods the Pilgrims and Wampanoag ate would have been somewhat different than our traditional Thanksgiving dinners. According to an account written in the journal of William Bradford, the leader of the Plymouth Colony, the Pilgrims had access to cod, bass, and other fish, venison (deer), waterfowl, wild turkeys, and Indian corn (as bread or porridge). Later reports of their crops besides corn may indicate they also had beans, carrots, grains, lettuce, onions, peas, pumpkins, and turnips.
- Since that "first" Thanksgiving, national proclamations made to celebrate a day of Thanksgiving included ones in 1782 by the US Congress, in 1789 and 1795 by George Washington, in 1798 and 1799 by John Adams, and in 1814 by James Madison. Various states also proclaimed days of Thanksgiving.
- Starting in 1846 and continuing for 17 years, Sarah Josepha Hale, the editor of Godey's Lady's Book magazine, campaigned for a national Thanksgiving holiday to be celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November. She sent her requests to newspapers and government leaders.
- Finally, in 1863, during the Civil War, Sarah's editorials moved President Abraham Lincoln to proclaim Thanksgiving a national holiday to give thanks for the nation's general blessings and military successes. Since then, it has been observed every year.
- In the United States, the modern Thanksgiving dinner typically consists of turkey, dressing or stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole or other vegetables, and pumpkin or other pies. After the feast, families often take walks, watch American football games, go to the movies, play games, put together jigsaw puzzles, or decorate for Christmas. Some families volunteer to serve dinner at homeless shelters.
- Cooking methods for the Thanksgiving turkey have changed over the years. In addition to roasted, you might be served a turkey that has been deep-fried, smoked, broiled, or grilled.
The Yolk's On You
What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?
Plymouth Rock!
Lettuce Joke Around
What is a pumpkin's favorite sport?
Squash! (like racquetball)
Lettuce Joke Around
What do bakers drink while the cornbread is in the oven?
Baking soda!
The Yolk's On You
What do you use to mend a jack-o-lantern?
A pumpkin patch!
That's Berry Funny
Who helps the little pumpkins cross the road to school?
The Crossing Gourd!
That's Berry Funny
What do you get when an elephant steps on your cornbread?
Creamed corn!
That's Berry Funny
If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
Pilgrims!
That's Berry Funny
What kind of amphibian bakes cornbread?
A corned toad!
