Sorry I skipped out on you guys yesterday! It was a ridiculously busy weekend — all with good things, like Christmas parties and pizza and cookies and minty mochas and babies and cozy couch talk with friends — so busy that I plumb ran out of time to get this recipe up and ready for yesterday. It’s probably for the best, though, because if I had tried to get this post up on this particular Monday, all you may have read was “Zzzzzzzzzzzzz.”
But, Tuesday! Tuesday is a happy day. Tuesday means Christmas is one day sooner than it was yesterday (unless that freaks you out because you have purchased exactly zero presents for people, in which case, maybe head over to Amazon after reading this post), Tuesday means it’s one day closer to the weekend, Tuesday means I’m a little more awake and therefore able to legitimately share this rosemary cornmeal loaf recipe with you. With lingonberry butter. Hold me.
Another reason for the delay in posting is that this quick bread was not my original intended recipe to share. I had grand plans to show you a baked brie recipe topped with lingonberry jam and wrapped in a rosemary brioche, and all was going really well until… well, until I baked it. And the end result was a blob of cheese, oozy jam and underbaked brioche. Blech. Please tell me you’ve been there? Please tell me I’m not the only one to fail on a baked brie recipe, which is otherwise ridiculously easy to make. I just… let’s not even talk about it anymore. Let’s talk more about this victory, this cornmeal loaf speckled with fresh rosemary served with a sweet and tart jam-swirled butter. Yes, that.
I love this loaf because a) it’s a quick bread, so not fussy at all, b) the ingredients are simple and v. v. accessible, c) the taste is off-the-charts delicious: perfectly blended with herbal, olive oil and cornmeal flavors in one tender, crumbly loaf. And that sweet, tart, creamy lingonberry jam butter? Fuhgeddaboutit. I’d suggest you package all of this up for a festive holiday gift (because how fun would it be to give a homemade loaf and butter in Christmas colors?), but if you decide to keep it all for yourself, I won’t tell Santa.
So maybe one day that baked brie situation will have its day here, but until then, I’ll happily nibble on buttered slices of this loaf until Christmas morning.
Rosemary Cornmeal Loaf
Ingredients
For the quick bread:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- ⅔ cup low fat buttermilk
- ⅔ cup olive oil
For the Lingonberry Butter:
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened and cubed
- ¼ cup lingonberry jam
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease bottom and sides of 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with butter; line with parchment paper extending up sides of loaf pan (to use as handles when removing loaf). Grease parchment paper.
- In large bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in chopped rosemary. In separate large bowl, whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk and oil until combined. Add dry ingredients; stir until just combined. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Top with 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, if desired.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in loaf pan.
- Meanwhile, in bowl of stand mixer, beat softened butter and lingonberry jam until well combined. Serve with fully cooled, sliced loaf (NOTE: remove rosemary sprigs before slicing).
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Made 2 loaves and a double batch of the butter this Christmas. Wonderful recipe! So beautiful and moist. Spot on flavor combination. Didn’t put the whole sprigs on even though that looks so pretty, the batter was very fragrant without so I didn’t want to overwhelm with more rosemary. Thanks for the keeper of a recipe! The olive oil was something new for me in cornbread and made it so moist and uniquely flavorful.
Kristy — You can definitely make it one or two days before!
Thanks Stephanie!
I’m hoping to make this loaf a few days beforehand. Would you recommend that or should I do it on the day of?
Kristy — Nope! Whisking the dry ingredients together acts as a way to sift the ingredients before mixing the batter.
Will I need to sift the flour beforehand?