Holly Hill Inn Corn Sticks
recipe by Atholene Peyton and photography by Talitha Schroeder
Our Holly Hill corn sticks are very similar to a corn muffin recipe by Atholene Peyton, author of Peytonia Cook Book, published 1906 in Louisville, Ky. A version of this recipe also appeared, along with others from Miss Peyton, in the Nebraska Corn Book, which details the 1906 Corn Contest and Convention, and was printed that year for the Nebraska Boys and Girls Associations by the University Publishing Co. of Lincoln, Neb.
2 cups cornmeal (we use Weisenberger Mill stone-ground meal)
½ cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg
1 full tablespoon lard (or bacon fat, butter or vegetable oil)
Miss Peyton’s recipe instructed the cook to grease muffin tins with lard (or other fat) and fill ¾ full, before baking in a moderate oven. (See our variation below.)
She also recommended baking with coal. “Now for the stoves – have two, a gas and a steel range. I believe that bread and cakes are best baked by coal.”
We took a few liberties with Miss Peyton’s recipe, like subbing bacon fat for lard and baking the batter in our Holly Hill Inn corn stick molds. We have a vast and varied collection of cast iron, all lovingly refurbished for Chef Ouita Michel by her friend Jim Nance, who is famous in cast iron country.
Mix dry ingredients together. Add egg and milk and whisk to form a thick batter.
Place three corn stick molds in a 425° oven for 5 minutes or until heated through. Add a little fat (~1 teaspoon) to each corn stick compartment, pop the molds back in the oven to melt the fat, then pour in the batter.
If you only have one or two molds, bake the sticks in batches, wiping the pan(s) clean between each one. No need to wash but be sure to repeat pan greasing procedure!
Bake the filled pans at 425° for 12-16 minutes. Turn out of the pans and serve piping hot with butter and sorghum.
Related Content
Forged with Jim & Jan Nance
Kentucky cuisine is deeply rooted in the tradition of cooking in cast iron. Chef Ouita Michel’s dear friends Jim and Jan Nance have forged a life out of hand-hewn materials, and Jim’s restored cast iron pieces populate our kitchen shelves at Holly Hill Inn.
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