Vanilla Pumpkin Skillet Cornbread

Vanilla pumpkin skillet cornbread will make you SO glad it’s after October 1st. The addition of Nielsen-Massey Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla bean paste makes this delicious side dish elegant too.

I have some basic rules in life…

-Never go to bed without washing my face (shockingly, I follow this one religiously even if I’m far too many drinks past the acceptable point)

-Always say “I love you” to Ulysses before he goes to work. As the wife of a police officer, I’m unwavering on this one too.

-Never do anything work related before having at least 1 cup of coffee.

-Do not, I repeat, do not give into the pumpkin craze before October 1 on any given year.

*I was compensated by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas for my time in developing this recipe and post. All opinions are my own.

You’d think the first few would be the hardest to follow given laziness and typical marital arguments but let me tell you, the internet makes the pumpkin rule the absolute hardest of them all.

With pumpkin spice lattes showing up in August, bloggers shouting “pumpkin everything!” from the rooftops and Pinterest feeds turning into a sea of orange, the struggle is real when it comes to setting seasonal pumpkin boundaries.

If nothing else though, I’m strong willed (stubborn?) and held my ground.

Once October 1^st came rolling around, however, this vanilla pumpkin skillet cornbread made its debut in my kitchen.

I feel like the saying “good things come to those who wait” couldn’t be more applicable than this. I don’t want pumpkin in August, I’m way too busy with peaches and tomatoes then to fully enjoy pumpkin. I don’t even want it in September, that’s apple’s month.

But October…October’s got the market on pumpkin and it tastes all the more delicious when it’s eaten with leaves just starting to turn and fall, crisp breezes blowing through the house and mums in every garden bed as one last colorful hurrah, not in 90 degree, 85% humidity days with the A/C blasting.

It’d be perfectly acceptable to make this sweet potato cornbread come October as well. I might even allow that one in September since sweet potatoes are a bit more lenient in their seasonality but not August.

This cornbread is somewhere right smack in the middle of sweet and savory.

It could accompany your favorite chili easily (and deliciously) or it could be drizzled in maple syrup as part of your breakfast. I used Nielsen-Massey’s Madagascar bourbon pure vanilla paste for the perfect hint of vanilla undertone to this skillet cornbread.

Vanilla bean paste is actually my favorite type of vanilla product to use in baked goods because you can see the real vanilla bean seeds without having to deal with cutting a whole bean open and scraping the seeds out yourself. It blends right into the wet ingredients and has the same potency as extract.

The best part of this bread is the crispy bottom and sides. Skillet cornbread is my favorite because of this. Just make sure you know how to properly clean your cast iron skillet afterwards if baking in it.

A hot skillet and a pat of butter swirled around the pan before the batter gets poured in does wonders for the exterior. A crunchy bite that reveals a moist, textured pumpkin inside is pretty much everything I could ever want in a slice of vanilla pumpkin cornbread.

As long as it’s after October 1.

More pumpkin baked goods:
Pumpkin Corn Muffins
Toasted Pine Nut Herb Pumpkin Muffins
Pumpkin Popovers

I also shared this pumpkin vanilla skillet cornbread recipe on Food Fanatic’s site. Check it out there as well!