Cornbread

What am I going to do with all of the applesauce I just made? For one thing, I use it in many recipes. When a recipe calls for oil, I'll substitute applesauce for half of the oil. Here's a good example.

In addition to applesauce, this recipe has vegetables in it, too!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup masa harina
1/2 cup polenta
2 Tbs corn meal
1 cup bread flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 cup milk (or soy milk)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbs butter, softened or melted
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs applesauce
2 egg whites
1/2 cup corn kernels, cut from cob or frozen
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped pepper, red or anaheim chile
1 tsp canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Chop onions and peppers and place into a microwave safe cooking bowl. Heat for 1 minute on high to soften. Let the vegetable mixture cool. Mix masa harina, polenta, cornmeal, flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Add milk, sugar, butter, oil, applesauce and eggs whites. Mix wet and dry ingredients together until the dry ingredients are moistened. Fold corn, onions, and peppers into cornbread mixture. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with canola oil, or use a paper towel to distribute the oil lightly over the surface. Pour cornbread mixture into pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. These may also be made into muffins. Fill muffin liners about 2/3 full and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Makes 9 to 10 servings.

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Applesauce is a good stand in for oil in many recipes. Baked goods, especially those with a sweet undertone, can usually hold up to substituting applesauce for 1/2 of the oil. In this recipe, I used a small amount of butter to retain rich flavor, a small amount of oil to help develop the "crumb" of the cornbread, and then applesauce for the rest of the oil. Try this out with some of your favorite home recipes. The one thing to remember is to use smooth style applesauce, chunky style applesauce won't give you the same results.