Homemade Corn Toasties

Growing up I loved to eat Corn Toasties for breakfast. Those sweet, dense, toastable cornmeal circles dripping in melted butter were such a treat. I think I remember that we used to buy them frozen from a Howard Johnson restaurant near our house. Its been a long time since I've had them, or even thought of them, but over the Fourth of July I thought I spotted some in my parents' freezer. This made me start thinking, could I make my own corn toasties at home? I mentioned them to Matt & he said he'd never had them so this set me on my mission.

I started looking for recipes online. There were are couple things called corn toasties that were really muffins & then there was something that was creamed corn on toast! There was only one that sounded like what I was looking for & it was an anonymous recipe from Cooks.com (the exact same recipe was also on a few other sites). The ingredients sounded right though some of the other instructions were a little vague, like what temperature was needed for baking. Well, I figured I'd been doing enough baking lately that I could take a stab at it.

This was what I had been looking for. The batter cooked up to a nice thin, dense corn cake which held together well when cut into individual portions & in the toaster. The flavor was just as I remembered sweet but not too sweet with that great texture you get from cornmeal. I would have loved to have made these round like the ones I grew up but the squares probably fit the toaster better anyway.

This morning we popped them in the toaster & I was brought right back to childhood.

Corn Toasties

1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/2 c + 2 T sugar
2 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 c + 2 T cornmeal
1 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 c milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a medium-sized bowl mix together the melted butter & sugar. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Add the baking powder, cornmeal, flour & salt. Mix until everything is moistened. Stir in milk & mix until almost smooth (a few lumps are fine).

Lightly grease a 10" x 15" baking sheet with 1/2" sides. Pour the batter into the baking sheet, spreading into all the corners. Tap the baking sheet on the counter 1 or 2 times to even the batter out.

Bake for about 25 minutes. The edges should be brown & pulling away from the side of the pan & the top show be set. Allow to rest in the pan on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes. Using a sharp knife cut into individual pieces I cut it into eight 2 1/2" x 3 3/4" rectangles.

Store the toasties wrapped in plastic wrap or in a resealable bag in the refrigerator for use over the next week. For longer storage keep them in the freezer.

To serve toast until browning & top with butter, syrup, honey or jam.

Makes 8 toasties

This is my sweet (as opposed to savory) entry for the new food event over at What's Cooking.

Ben is hosting a bi-weekly event for people who love to bake with prizes for both sweet & savory entries. The first deadline is August 7th so preheat those ovens & join the fun.