Lime Cornmeal Cookies
A few years ago I received the cookbook The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread for my birthday. I had checked this cookbook out of the library and just fell in love with it. The pictures are beautiful, the descriptions of each recipe make my mouth water and the stories about the bakery, its customers, employees and food are so fun to read. This book makes me desperately want to go to New York City and visit Amy's Bread. Someday I will.
From the day I got this book, Lara has wanted to make these lime cornmeal cookies but we never got around to it. First we didn't have the course cornmeal needed for the recipe, then we never had limes. Even though these are not difficult ingredients to buy, we just never got around to it. However, this week Lara finally made them. She made sure to buy a couple limes when at the grocery store and then whipped up this recipe, and boy and I ever glad she did.
These cookies were delicious! They were quite different for a cookie, but so tasty. The course cornmeal absolutely made them, it added a delicious crunch to each bite that elevated these cookies to a whole new level. On their own, the cookies were not overly sweet, but they had a delightful punch of lime flavor, not overpowering but nice and tangy. With the lime juice glaze on the top to add a touch of sweetness, these cookies were the perfect combination of sour and sweet, tangy and sugary. These would be perfect in the summer after a southwester themed meal, nice and light and packed with flavor and crunch. I'll definitely be making these again!
Note: We made our cookies around 50 g, not the 90 g called for in the recipe, and they were plenty big. 90 g cookies would be delicious, but huge! We also added some lime zest to the glaze for a fun look.
Lime Cornmeal Cookies
from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
Ingredients
Directions
Position one rack in the top third of the oven, one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, bread flour, salt and baking soda and whisk together.
In another bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar, butter and lime zest together on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. Gradually add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing until every thing is well combined.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the dry ingredients in stages. Mix only until everything is well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. There should not be any pockets of dry flour left in the dough.
Using a large soup spoon, a metal ice cream scoop, or your clean hands moistened with water, scoop out big balls of dough, placing 6 balls on each cookie sheet. Each ball of dough should weight approximately 90g/3.2oz. If you don't have a scale use a scant 1/2 c to estimate the size. The dough balls should be about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. This dough will be soft, so don't flatten the dough balls at all before baking. Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, rotating the cookies sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies should be lightly browned on the edges and baked all the way into the center. They should be soft, but be careful not to underbake them or the centers will collapse and be doughy.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before glazing.
Whisk together the confectioner's sugar and the lime juice to make a loose glaze. Use a 2 inch pastry brush to frost the top of each cookie, leaving an unfrosted 1/4 inch border around the edge. Let the glaze dry completely before storing the cookies in an airtight container.
From the day I got this book, Lara has wanted to make these lime cornmeal cookies but we never got around to it. First we didn't have the course cornmeal needed for the recipe, then we never had limes. Even though these are not difficult ingredients to buy, we just never got around to it. However, this week Lara finally made them. She made sure to buy a couple limes when at the grocery store and then whipped up this recipe, and boy and I ever glad she did.
These cookies were delicious! They were quite different for a cookie, but so tasty. The course cornmeal absolutely made them, it added a delicious crunch to each bite that elevated these cookies to a whole new level. On their own, the cookies were not overly sweet, but they had a delightful punch of lime flavor, not overpowering but nice and tangy. With the lime juice glaze on the top to add a touch of sweetness, these cookies were the perfect combination of sour and sweet, tangy and sugary. These would be perfect in the summer after a southwester themed meal, nice and light and packed with flavor and crunch. I'll definitely be making these again!
Read on to see what wonderful things this lime gave its life for
The dough, if you look very closely
you can see specks of green lime zest, yummy!
Form dough into balls, it you're a perfectionist
like me, use a scale
Bake, and frost with lime juice glaze,
so simple and so delicious
Note: We made our cookies around 50 g, not the 90 g called for in the recipe, and they were plenty big. 90 g cookies would be delicious, but huge! We also added some lime zest to the glaze for a fun look.
Lime Cornmeal Cookies
from The Sweeter Side of Amy's Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c All purpose flour
- 1 c Coarse cornmeal
- 7/8 c Bread flour
- 1 3/4 tsp Kosher salt
- 7/8 tsp Baking soda
- 1 1/4 c Sugar
- 1 c + 1 Tbs Butter, slightly softened
- 1 1/2 tsp Lime zest, finely minced
- 2 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 7/8 c Powdered sugar
- 3 Tbs Lime juice, strained
Directions
Position one rack in the top third of the oven, one rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line the cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, add the all-purpose flour, cornmeal, bread flour, salt and baking soda and whisk together.
In another bowl, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the sugar, butter and lime zest together on medium speed for 2 minutes, or until light and fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. Gradually add the eggs and egg yolks, mixing until every thing is well combined.
With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the dry ingredients in stages. Mix only until everything is well combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl frequently. There should not be any pockets of dry flour left in the dough.
Using a large soup spoon, a metal ice cream scoop, or your clean hands moistened with water, scoop out big balls of dough, placing 6 balls on each cookie sheet. Each ball of dough should weight approximately 90g/3.2oz. If you don't have a scale use a scant 1/2 c to estimate the size. The dough balls should be about 2 1/4 inches in diameter. This dough will be soft, so don't flatten the dough balls at all before baking. Bake the cookies for about 18 minutes, rotating the cookies sheets halfway through the baking time. The cookies should be lightly browned on the edges and baked all the way into the center. They should be soft, but be careful not to underbake them or the centers will collapse and be doughy.
Cool the cookies on the sheets for 5 minutes, then move them to a rack and cool completely before glazing.
Whisk together the confectioner's sugar and the lime juice to make a loose glaze. Use a 2 inch pastry brush to frost the top of each cookie, leaving an unfrosted 1/4 inch border around the edge. Let the glaze dry completely before storing the cookies in an airtight container.