Here’s my New Year’s recipe for Good Luck Cornbread. This is moist and rises up nicely in the oven.

To make this vegan, substitute something like Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks for the butter. Instead of buttermilk, add 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar to 2 cups unsweetened soymilk and set aside to curdle for a couple of minutes.

To make this lucky, clean a couple of shiny dimes in white vinegar. Then mix them into the batter before baking. Be sure to tell anybody who’s going to eat it that the coins are there so they don’t swallow them or chip a tooth. The one who gets a dime in their piece of cornbread will be extra lucky in the coming year!

The chopped sage is optional, but a really nice addition to this cornbread.

Good Luck Cornbread
2 cups cornmeal
½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups buttermilk or curdled non-dairy milk
2 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup fresh sage, chopped, optional

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly spray an 8×8-inch baking pan.

Sift the cornmeal, flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter or margarine, buttermilk, maple syrup, and sage, if using.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes and then remove from pan.