I was so organized this morning that I took the butter for Dorie's rugelach out of the fridge to soften {4 ounces cream cheese, cold. One stick unsalted butter, cold. ...} the minute I woke up. Oh, well. But since I had that butter soft and ready, and a new cookie magazine, I decided to make the best of it and try a new recipe. I've seen (and clipped, and probably even pinned) other recipes for cornmeal cookies -- usually, like this one, flavored with a citrus zest. The idea is very intriguing: a sandy, shortbready texture, and a little bit of 'zing' from the lemon or lime or orange.
This was a very easy recipe to put together and a very nice dough to work with. {It does seem to soften very quickly, so following the fussy directions about working with a small amount and keeping the rest chilled is worth doing.} Since I only had one stick of butter ready (and I was trying these for the first time), I made a half-recipe. {That's usually easy until you get to the eggs. I did figure out that if you're making half -- half a yolk plus half the whites plus half of a second yolk -- you can separate one egg and use the whole yolk and half (or about 1 tablespoon) of the white.}
The simpleness of the baking is matched by the simpleness of the cookie. It does have that nice texture and a lot of orange flavor. I didn't think the plain cookies in the picture seemed festive enough so I sprinkled large sanding sugar on some and demerara sugar on some others. I think I'd do that again if I make some more for Christmas (this batch might be for snacking one between now and then}. The dough {when it's cold enough} also holds its shape well; I'm glad to have another flavor for cookie-cutter cookies.
I was also thinking that it could be interesting to add some herbs {rosemary?} or some seasoned {instead of plain} salt to the batter. They wouldn't be quite savory, but they'd be leaning in that direction. I'm also thinking that these would be an excellent summer cookie, with a tall glass of iced tea.
{I made half a recipe, using the egg division described above, and noted two things: even with the same 2-inch cookie cutter and the same thickness of dough the recipe calls for, I did not get anywhere near the expected number of cookies (about 22 instead of 42}, and mine needed more time in the oven {about 10 minutes instead of 6 to 8}. The cookies shown in the magazine are very light in color, but I think these will look (and probably even taste} better with a little more color and golden crust on the edges.
Cornmeal-Orange Cookies
from the new America's Test Kitchen Christmas Cookies magazine
for about 7 dozen cookies {so they say; see note above}
16 tablespoons (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (7 ounces) superfine sugar {you can make your own by whirling granulated sugar in a food processor or blender until it's, well, finer}
1 teaspoon grated orange zest {don't add too much}
1/2 teaspoon salt
one large egg yolk plus a second large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal {mine was the more finely ground kind, not the coarser one}
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the softened butter, sugar, orange zest, and salt on medium speed until it's light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk, beating well, then add the whole egg and the vanilla and beat until they're well mixed in.
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and cornmeal together to combine them. Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in the flour-cornmeal mixture just to combine. Divide the dough in half, form it into two disks, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate the dough until it is firm, at least an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Starting with one of your disks of dough, cut it in half and keep the second half chilled until you are ready to use it {see note above}. Lightly dust your rolling surface with flour and roll the dough {I used the plastic wrap on top, between my rolling pin and the dough} to a 1/4-inch thickness. {As long as the dough was cold, I didn't have any problems with the dough sticking; the original recipe says that you can sprinkle the top surface lightly with flour, too, if you do.}
Cut shapes from the dough, using a 2-inch cookie cutter; try to cut the shapes closely together to get as many cookies as you can without re-rolling more than twice. Space the cookies about a half-inch apart on the prepared cookie sheets {they hold their shape and don't really spread at all}.
Bake the cookies in the preheated for about 6 to 8 minutes {mine needed at least 10; see note above}, or until they are evenly golden brown, rotating the cookie sheets halfway through. These cookies are a little delicate when they are hot, so let them rest on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes before moving them to a wire rack to cool.
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I was being so very good about resisting the temptation to bring home any of the special baking magazines that come out at this time every year, but this one seemed like a worthwhile exception. These are some of the recipes I've put little sticky flags on:
- Saint Joseph's Fig Cookies {a filling made with dried figs and a crust made with refrigerated pie dough sheets, and
- Rugelach {they're gorgeous, and they're made with the other sheet of pie dough!
- Toasted Coconut Butter Cookies {a simple icebox cookie, drizzled with chocolate {but I've already made the dough, and there's a story behind that}
- Lemon Snowflakes {with a pretty, crackly, snow-flaky top ... and another flavor to add to the mix}
- Coconut Lime Dream Bites {I never make bar cookies at Christmas, but these are very festive looking. Office potluck, maybe.}
- Peppermint Candy Canes
- Eggnog Snickerdoodles (flavored with rum extract}
- Scrumptious Orange Bites (with dates and butterscotch chips}
- Sparkling Coffee Stars (drizzled with semisweet and white chocolate and finished with sanding sugar}