Lime Cornmeal Cookies

Name: Lime Cornmeal Cookies
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 cup coarse cornmeal; 1 cup unbleached bread flour; 1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/4 cup sugar; 1 cup plus one tablespoon unsalted butter, softened; 1 1/2 teaspoon lime zest, finely minced; 2 large eggs; 2 large egg yolks; 2 cup confectioners sugar; 3 tablespoon lime juice, strained

Amy Scherber|Nov. 25, 2015 8:51 am EST

4 (2 ratings)

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The inspiration for these luscious cookies happened one day when the roommate of our former daytime pastry chef, Molly, brought home a cookie for her to taste: a crisp little cornmeal wafer that had a light coating of lime-flavored glaze on the top. Molly loved how the combination of buttery sweet corn and zesty lime tickled her taste buds. When she worked on the idea in the bakery pastry kitchen, this recipe was the result. Instead of a small crisp wafer, she made a big, soft, voluptuous cookie with crunchy bits of coarse cornmeal and flecks of lime zest scattered throughout. Topping it off is a light glaze made with confectioner’s sugar and freshly squeezed lime juice. The whole combination is irresistible.

Servings

1

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup coarse cornmeal
1 cup unbleached bread flour
1 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 cup plus one tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoon lime zest, finely minced
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 cup confectioners sugar
3 tablespoon 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 F. Line the cookie sheets with baking parchment.
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 everything 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 prepared cookie sheet. Each ball of dough should weigh approximately 90 g/3.2 oz. If you don’t have a scale, use a scant 1/2 cup 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 cookie 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 under bake 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.