Pumpkin Maple Cornbread

Updated Jan. 29, 2020

Pumpkin Maple Cornbread
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(1,885)
Comments
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Sweetened with brown sugar and maple syrup, this cornbread is hardly typical and extremely versatile: It would be just as welcome as a Thanksgiving side as it would be as breakfast, a snack or even a light dessert. Should you have any leftovers, try toasting cubes of the cornbread in the oven and serving them warm with poached fruit and yogurt or ice cream. Though you may find fine, medium and coarse ground cornmeal at your supermarket, be sure to use finely ground. Its downy texture is best suited for this recipe.

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Ingredients

Yield:9 to 12 servings
  • ½cup plus 2 tablespoons/140 grams unsalted butter (1¼ stick), melted and cooled slightly, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 1cup/180 grams finely ground yellow cornmeal
  • 1cup/130 grams all-purpose flour
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½teaspoon baking soda
  • 1large egg
  • ¾cup/165 grams packed light or dark brown sugar
  • 1cup/240 milliliters canned pumpkin purée
  • ½cup/120 milliliters buttermilk
  • ½cup plus 2 tablespoons/150 milliliters maple syrup
  • ¼cup/15 grams pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

333 calories; 11 grams fat; 6 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 56 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 33 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 233 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on two sides. Butter the parchment.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda.

  3. Step 3

    In a large bowl, whisk together ½ cup melted butter, the egg, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, buttermilk and ½ cup maple syrup. Fold in the dry ingredients. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, and smooth out the top.

  4. Step 4

    Top evenly with the pumpkin seeds. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 25 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons of melted butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons maple syrup.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer bread in the pan to a wire rack. While the bread is still warm, brush the entire surface with the butter-maple mixture. Remove the cornbread from the pan using the overhanging parchment, and cut cornbread into pieces. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,885 user ratings
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Comments

Please note that you don't add all the maple syrup into the batter, hold out two tablespoons for the finish. This should be reflected in the directions, which it isn't.

This sounds delicious but it has the increasingly common baking direction that leaves me perplexed. Why on earth do you butter a pan only to line it with parchment and then butter that? Could any better than me bakers explain the benefit of this? I was out of parchment last week and made the maple pumpkin bread in a buttered pan and I thought it came out beautifully. Thanks!

While it was baking, I looked at other corn bread recipes and saw that this one has about 3x the sugar of a typical recipe. I just tried a couple of bites and the sweetness is overwhelming.

Highly recommend trying this recipe in a muffin tray. The first time I tried it I had trouble finding the right bake time to get the middle to set in the 8x8 dish. The second time I reduced the brown sugar to 1/2 cup and spooned the batter into muffin trays - getting about 18 "breads". Baked for 20-25 minutes until browned on the sides. They came out beautifully and just the right amount of sweet.

Wayyy too sweet. I didn’t check the comments because of the rating and because I’ve loved so many of Samantha’s recipes. This is a bummer because the sweetness over powers so many of the other flavors. Next time I’m dropping the brown sugar completely and seeing the affect.

I did only about 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup maple syrup and I thought that worked out perfectly! Brought it to a dinner party and most people said it was their favorite dish of the night. Super moist and baked for about 38 minutes.

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