A GERD-Friendly Cornbread Recipe to Bring Prosperity in the Year to Come

I always say that if you don’t learn something new every day, you're not paying attention. Well, while researching different versions of cornbread, I learned that eating cornbread on New Year’s Day represents gold and will give you luck and prosperity for the New Year. This is a Southern tradition of luck and prosperity, and the cornbread is paired with black-eyed peas, collard greens, and some Pot Likker soup.

GERD-Friendly and Gluten-Free Goodness  

These muffins are tender, easy, and full of flavor. If you’ve been following my recipes, then you know that I don’t have a lot of experience with gluten-free (GF) baking. During my test batches, I discovered that soaking the polenta in water refrigerated overnight, really softened the bite of the grain. Polenta is basically a larger milled corn meal, so soaking it definitely made a world of difference. 

I soaked the whole cup of polenta, which made approximately 1 cup and ¾ of wet polenta. I didn’t use all of it for the recipe. I only used a cup of it. The muffin batter was also a little waterier than the first test batch, but this didn’t affect the muffins in a negative manner at all! If anything, it made them more moist!

I also tested gluten-free rice flour and all-purpose GF flour. I personally liked the all-purpose GF flour better. They were tender, not grainy.

Lucky Muffins for New Year’s Day

These “lucky” gluten-free, GERD-friendly cornbread muffins will be the STAR of New Year’s Day! If you're pairing these with a Pot Likker soup, some chicken pozole, or even some GUMBO, you won’t be disappointed. The richness of the butter with a hint of sweetness will go with whatever you would like! 

1. _{Barnes, A. C. (2022, November 28). What is Pot Likker?. Southern Living. https://www.southernliving.com/what-is-pot-likker-6833345} 

Gluten-Free Cornbread Muffins

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Servings: 12 Prep: 15 minsCook: 30 minsTotal: 45 mins

Ingredients

1 cup polenta

1 cup gluten-free flour

1 stick butter melted

1 cup coconut-based dairy-free yogurt

2 eggs

⅔ cup brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

Instructions

1

The day before: Soak the polenta in water.

2

The day of: Preheat the oven to 375°F.

3

Melt the butter in the microwave and pour it into a mixing bowl.

4

Add brown sugar and mix until combined.

5

Incorporate the eggs, ensuring the butter is not too hot to avoid cooking the eggs.

6

Add the remaining ingredients and mix until well combined.

7

Pour the batter into a muffin tin, either greased, lined, or ungreased if using non-stick muffin tins.

8

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

9

Let the muffins rest for 5 minutes.

10

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts

Per serving

Calories
116

Fat
1.6g

Carbs
23.6g

Protein
2.1g

Fiber
0.8g

Sodium
340.0mg

Sugars
13.2g

Sat. Fat
0.6g

Notes

Difficulty: 3

*Difficulty level on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being easy (little to no cooking experience required) and 10 being difficult (having a strong background in cooking and using equipment)

Prep Tip: For optimal tenderness, soak polenta in water in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking. Drain excess water before use.