Cornmeal Currant Crunch Cookies Recipes

CORNMEAL COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, and salt; set aside.
• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined.
• Drop dough by heaping tablespoons, about 2 inches apart, onto two large baking sheets; flatten slightly with floured fingertips. Bake until edges are golden, 14 to 16 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies immediately to a wire rack; let cool completely.

VENETIAN CORNMEAL COOKIES (ZALETI)

Steps:

• Combine currants and almond liqueur in a small bowl. Let soak until fruit is plump, 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg and egg yolk, lemon zest, and vanilla. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut butter into dry ingredients until coarse crumbs form. Add plumped currants and wet ingredients, gently stirring until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Shape into a flat square, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate 45 minutes or up to overnight.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to an 8-inch square, about 1/2 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut dough horizontally into 1-inch strips. Working with one strip at a time, cut crosswise on the bias into 5 equal diamonds (you should make 6 cuts). Reroll scraps once and form additional cookies, if desired. Transfer cookies to two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 1 inch apart. Freeze until firm, about 10 minutes.
• Lightly beat reserved egg white. Brush tops of cookies with egg white and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until lightly golden around edges, about 22 minutes. Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.

CORNMEAL THYME COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture until just combined. Mix in currants and thyme.
• Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until pale golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer cookies on parchment to wire racks; let cool. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 3 days.

CORNMEAL CURRANT CRUNCH COOKIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven.
• preheat the oven to 350*.line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• in a medium bowl, stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt together.set aside.
• in a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the lemon zest until smooth and creamy -- and the color has lightened slightly.about 1 minute.
• stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.
• add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until blended -- about 1 minute.
• on low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated.
• mix in the currants and chopped pecans.
• spread the remaining 3 tbls sugar on a large piece of parchment or wax paper.using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4 cup capcacity, scoop out portions of dough --
• roll each between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball.then roll each ball in the sugar and flatten to about 3 1/2" circle.and place the cookies about 2" apart on the baking sheets --
• press a pecan half into the center of each cookie, if desired.
• bake one sheet at a time until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned.about 15 minutes.
• cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to tansfer them to a wire rack to cool compeltely --
• the cookies can be stored to a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.