Monday, January 30, 2012

lower-fat cranberry
cornbread squares

Cranberry-Cornbread squares, fresh out of the oven.
Cornmeal-based baked goods are unfairly typecast. Cornbread tends to be savory or semi-savory while breakfast corn muffins usually lean on the sweet side. For this recipe, thinking "outside the savory box" required baking these tasty, sweet cornbread squares inside a box, 8" x 8" pan, to be exact. The slightly sour cranberries and orange juice and zest balance out the inherent sweetness of the cornmeal. Plus, I love how the ruby-red polka dots punctuate the sunshine yellow cake.

These Cranberry-Cornbread Squares are not exactly low fat – each square has about 4 grams. But compared to, say, store-bought corn muffins or buttery restaurant cornbread, they are practically angelic. These squares are divine for breakfast, slightly warmed with a dab of your favorite jam. They also pair nicely with a cup of afternoon tea.

Before I give you the recipe, please don't forget to enter my contest to win a $20 Gift Certificate to Allison's Gourmet. I'll be announcing the winner soon.

Bet you can't eat just one.
Cranberry-Cornbread Squares
  • 1 cup cornmeal
  • 3/4 cup flour [I used spelt]
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2 T soy flour 1 T baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
  • 2 T canola oil
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • Finely-grated zest of one organic orange
  • 1 cup of fresh or frozen cranberries

Serves 9

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and oil a non-stick 8" x 8" or 9" x 9" pan.

Mix dry ingredients [first five] in a large bowl. Mix wet ingredients in a medium bowl.

Stir the wet ingredients [next four] into the dry until just combined. Do not overmix. Finally, gently stir in the zest and the cranberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

17 comments:

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I love recipes that call for fresh or frozen cranberries as opposed to dried ones. For some reason, dried cranberries don't appeal to me, but I love their fresh/frozen counterparts. Thanks for the recipe!

Lizzie Bordello said...

I have been trying to recreate a cranberry cornbread that I used to get at my co-op (I think I'm the only one who ever bought it, so they don't have it any more :[), and I think this looks great. Even if it isn't the same, it should be tasty! :)

http://frugaliciouschick.blogspot.com said...

YUM! That looks so good...too bad I am so highly allergic to corn products.

JDB said...

Made this last night to have with our evening tea. Excellent!

urban vegan said...

Glad you liked it, JDB!

Glimmering Girl said...

Wow that sounds great! I just LOVE cranberries.

Carrie™ said...

I have all of ingredients in the house right now! I'll have to make this. It sounds delicious.

Kumudha said...

Cranberry cornbread squares sounds delicious!

Thank you so much for sharing so many vegan recipes...

Sarah P said...

Orange, cranberry, and corn? Three of my favorite flavors! I am psyched to try this.

Mary said...

I think I will try this with dry cranberries and let you know how it was :)

Anonymous said...

I made this today and they didn't turn out so well. The cranberries were too sour,the cornbread wasn't sweet enough and it was too crumbly. Did I do something wrong or maybe I just don't like them?

urban vegan said...

Anonymouse: Sorry they didn't do it for you. Cranberries are inherently acidic and they are not for everyone--at least not without a ton of sugar. (As you can see, JDB made them and liked them) I am getting off the sugar bandwagon so it also could be that my palate has shifted. You can always try them with more sugar!

Il you like sweet, you should try the smart blondies. Everyone loved them and they are a bit sweeter.

Anonymous said...

My dad has diabetes, and he loves cornbread and cranberry nut bread. This looks like a great recipe. Can you tell me why the recipe needs the soy flour? Is that instead of eggs? We're not vegans. Thanks.

urban vegan said...

Anonymouse 2: I use soy flour as an egg sub. Not really needed--you can just use regular flour--but I think the soy flour gives the cake a heftiness that I find pleasing.

Anonymous said...

Delicious!! My 13 month old really enjoyed it too!

zara whites said...

just tried it, and am eating it right now....wonderful and delicious, thank you so much for this recipe!!

Newbie Vegan said...

Tried these today for the first time as muffins. DEEEEEELICIOUS! They taste like Hostess orange cupcakes! Thanks so much for this!