Preheat oven to 400° and generously rub a 10-inch skillet with butter all over the bottom and up the sides.
Combine all the dry ingredients in one bowl and whisk together.
In another bowl, combine all the wet ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Slowly pour in wet ingredients into dry ingredients while whisking and whisk until evenly incorporated.
Spread cornbread batter evenly in the skillet and bake for 20-22 minutes. (Until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)
Let cornbread cool for about 10 minutes in the skillet and then turn it over onto the cutting board.
Sausage Cornbread Dressing:
Preheat a large skillet over medium heat and add butter. Once butter is melted, add diced onion and celery and saute for until it starts to soften.
Add diced apples and cook for a few minutes, until apples and veggies are soft.
Take everything out of the cooking pan and set aside.
Add ground sausage to the pan and break in apart as much as you can. Let sausage cook until done, breaking clumps apart as it cooks.
Once sausage is cooked, add veggies and apple mixture back into the pan and mix everything together.
Set oven to 375° and rub a 9×13 baking dish with butter all over the bottom and up the sides.
Crumble cooked cornbread in a large mixing bowl. Add sauteed sausage and vegetables, sage, thyme, and parsley.
Whisk eggs, salt, pepper, garlic powder, stock, and melted butter in another bowl and pour it all over the cornbread mixture. Mix everything together well and spread it evenly in the prepared baking dish.
Bake cornbread dressing for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the middle is set.