HOWW DEEE! Before there was “You might be a redneck”, “Here’s your sign”, “Git-R-Done” or “Tater Salad”, there was Minnie Pearl. Pearl was the stage persona of comedian Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon. Known for her straw hat with the hanging price tag, Minnie Pearl was a regular on the Grand Ole Opry stage since 1940 as well the country variety show Hee Haw. Minnie Pearl’s comedy drew inspiration from her hometown of Centerville, Tennessee where there is a statue of her made out of chicken wire.

This is Minnie Pearl’s recipe for corn light bread. First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. This is a cornbread recipe that contains sugar and there is a very vocal group (especially in the South) that does not believe sugar should be in cornbread. Don’t shoot the messenger as I am just following Minnie Pearl’s recipe. Though I will admit I am very neutral on the topic and feel like both varieties of cornbread have a time and place.

The original recipe calls for white cornmeal. Well, that is not so easy to find in the stores at least in my area. I could of special order the white cornmeal but an unspoken rule of this blog is to try to use what I can get locally. The past did not have access to 2 day Amazon Prime shipping so I try not to use it as a crutch. So yellow cornmeal it is. This cornbread is quite dense and with the amount of cornmeal used it does have a gritty texture. I don’t mind that texture in cornbread but if you don’t, you may want to substitute more flour for the cornmeal like a more traditional recipe. This does make a lot so get ready to eat some cornbread! It does freeze well and will last a couple of months if wrapped well.

If you want more recipes from other funny ladies, I also did posts on Carol Burnett’s Raspberry Riches Cake, Phyllis Diller’s Stuffed Mushrooms or Rose Marie’s Dream Cake.