Wagner Ware and Southern Cornbread Recipe

Thse are my Wagner Ware cast iron pans I purchased at an auction awhile back.
A little bit of history about Wagner Ware. From what I have read it changed Americas kitchens for the better. 

"In 1895 the Montgomery Ward mail-order catalog drew from a growing number of foundries in the United States to present customers with the widest variety yet of cast iron cooking ware.

They featured lots of gem pans, and a waffle iron produced by the Wagner Manufacturing Co. in Sidney, Ohio.  However one of their biggest sellers was Schofield's Patent cake griddle.  The catalog proclaimed these griddles "makes better cakes than any other griddle ever invented, because the little pans are deep and hold the batter and prevent it spreading out, getting thin and drying out." Depending on size the pans were billed as provided six to eight cakes per minute.  Cost was 65 cents per pan"

The ones I own are called corn stick pans. Im not sure of the exact date when they were made but Im guessing maybe the 1920's or 30's by what I have researched online. They are very heavy and very well made, not like the type of cookware we have nowadays. This is what My Great Grandma cooked with. I get a bit of nostalgia using my pans to bake cornbread for my family, Even though they made fun of the fact that their dinner did INDEED look like a corncob. I hope to pass them along to the next generation in the future and I can almost guarantee that these pans will outlive me.  Now if I could just find a cast iron skillet to call my own. Just think how great my fried chicken will turn out if I have one of THOSE!


Stirring up the cornbread

This was a mix shhhh!! No ingredients in the pantry to make it from scratch

Taking them out of the oven and yes my children made me aware of the fact I did overfill a few of them :)

Out of the pan and ready to eat! Some butter and honey and Waa Laa!! SO delicious!

Southern Sweet Cornbread recipe

Ingredients:

Servings:
12 12

12

Servings Size

• 
  

• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 cups white cornmeal (for less gritty) or 2 cups yellow cornmeal (I use white)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Prep Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 50 mins

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/southern-pride-sweet-cornbread-79857#ixzz1CFyOMnnE

1. 1 Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan with shortening.
2. 2 Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. 3 Mix sugar, butter, eggs, milk, honey and water together in a large bowl.
4. 4 Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl: cornmeal, flour,baking powder, and salt.
5. 5 While stirring, add dry ingredients to sugar, egg, and milk mixture and mix thoroughly.
6. 6 Mixture will be slightly lumpy.
7. 7 Pour into greased rectangular pan.
8. 8 Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown on top.