LIME CORNMEAL COOKIES

 

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These are my absolute favorites of all the cookies the family makes. I love food with texture, and cornmeal gives these a little extra crunch and flavor. The lime is a tart, terrific counterpoint to the sugary glaze.

Several points could give you trouble, but if you watch out for them, these are worth the effort. One is that the dough is very sticky. I have provided a quick-time here of our system for keeping the cookies uniform and unstuck. Do not skip the parchment paper! Once the bottom of the glass gets seasoned by pressing a few, they tend to stick less. For the first one, spray the bottom of the glass with non-stick cooking spray before dipping it in the cornmeal. Another tricky area is the consistency of the glaze. With all glazes of this type, whether on cookies or cakes, drip a ribbon of glaze with your spoon or beater across the top surface of the glaze mixture. Count to 10. The ribbon should take 10 seconds to disappear into the rest of the mixture. If it takes much longer, add a few drops of lime juice or water. If it disappears too quickly, add some powdered sugar until the correct consistency is reached. Once the cookies have been glazed, give them 12 to 24 hours for the glaze to set completely before attempting to stack or pack them between sheets of waxed paper. Of course, it should go without saying that you should only use beautiful fresh limes and their juice for this recipe. Use a microplane to easily get the relatively large amount of grated rind needed. 

Lime Cornmeal Cookies

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 Tbsp. freshly grated lime zest (about 6 limes including for glaze)
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 Tbsp. freshly grated orange zest (about 2 medium oranges)
• 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour (I use Ceresota or Heckers)
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, plus more for coating glass
• Lime glaze

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. 

2. Add egg; beat until just blended. 

3. Add citrus zests, lime juice and almond extract. 

4. With the mixer on low speed, add flour and cornmeal. Continue beating until well blended. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, shaping the dough into a thick disk and chill until firm, about 1 hour. 

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 

6. Line two baking pans with Silpats or parchment paper. 

7. Fill a small bowl with cornmeal. 

8. Using a 1-1/4 inch ice-cream scoop, form balls from chilled dough. Place balls on prepared sheets, spaced about 3 inches apart. 

9. Dip bottom of a medium drinking glass into cornmeal. Flatten balls with the bottom of the glass until dough is about a little less than 1/4-inch thick. 

10. Bake cookies until crisp and light-golden brown around the edges, 14 to 16 minutes in a standard oven, 10 minutes in a convection oven. 

11. Transfer baking sheets to a wire rack, and let the cookies cool completely. 

12. Use the scoop to measure out about one tablespoon-full of glaze and release in the center of the cookie, allowing it to disperse almost to the edges. Let glaze set. Cookies may be frozen between sheets of waxed paper. 

Makes about 4 dozen. 

Lime Glaze

Makes 1-1/2 cups

• 3-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (approximately)
• 7 Tbsp. freshly-squeezed lime juice (approximately)
• 1-2 Tbsp. freshly-grated lime zest

1. Measure confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. 

2. Add lime juce; stir until smooth. 

3. Drip a ribbon of glaze with your spoon across the top surface of the glaze mixture. Count to 10. The ribbon should take 10 seconds to disappear into the rest of the mixture. If it takes much longer, add a few drops of lime juice or water. If it disappears too quickly, add some powdered sugar until the correct consistency is reached. 

4. Stir in lime zest. Use glaze immediately.