Cornmeal Sparkle Cookies
Isn’t ”sparkle cookie” a great term of endearment? As in, “Ohhh my little sparkle cookie!” When I’m a grandmother, I’m absolutely calling my granddaugher that and making this recipe for her all the time.
Until then, I occasionally refer to my friend Kat as “Sparkle Cookie,” and I made her a batch when she was feeling sick. Can’t you tell I’m gonna be a good grandma?
Anyway, these cookies are a cross between a corn muffin and shortbread. They aren’t too sweet, which I always appreciate. Although I don’t drink coffee, I bet they’d be nice with a cup. So, from now until I’m someone’s favorite grandma, I’ll be having mine with tea.
Cornmeal Sparkle Cookies
Recipe from Cook Think. Originally by Jess Thomson who called them Cornmeal Sparklers. Adapted only slightly to increase the cornmeal content.
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces each
- 1/2 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 large egg
- About 1 cup of extra sugar to roll the cookies in. Original recipe suggests turbinado sugar (large crystal raw sugar) but I just used plain white
Pulse the flour, cornmeal, salt, and sugar together in the food processor until blended. Add the butter, and pulse 20 times, or until the butter is the size of small peas. Whisk the water, sour cream, and egg together in a measuring cup (it should total about a cup of liquid). Turn the machine on, and add the liquid in a slow, steady stream; the dough should ball up almost immediately.
Dump the dough onto a large piece of wax paper (the dough will seem quite wet), wrap, and chill until firm, about 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and line two baking sheets with silicon baking mats or parchment paper.
Working quickly, roll tablespoon-sized piece of dough into balls, roll the balls in the turbinado sugar to coat on all sides, and place on the baking sheets about 1 1/2” apart. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cookies are firm in the center and barely beginning to brown on the bottom.
Cool cookies 5 minutes on pans, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Category: Recipes | Tags: cookies, cornmeal, dessert 8 comments »
August 14th, 2009 at 1:53 am
They’re so pretty! I’m happy just looking at them.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Holy cow, these look wonderful. I’m imagining them with that melon ice just below. I’m imagining them on the deck with that melon ice and a sunset to boot. I better get busy.
August 18th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I would adore these cookies! I used to eat polenta with plum jam and sugar when I was a child. Weird, I know:)
September 1st, 2009 at 3:14 pm
What a great combo! I often think I’m already a grandma. hahah. Love feeding people, but people love us for it too, I am sure.
September 1st, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Kasey — Food is definitely a way into people’s hearts. And yes, I’ve recently realized how much a part of why I love cooking is the chance to share it with people who enjoy it. I’ve been alone in Argentina for a little over a week and haven’t been inspired to cook much of anything. Hopefully I find some new friends to cook for or some self-motivation so I can get back to blogging soon.
September 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I love the way these cookies look! they make my mouth just buy looking at them!
January 15th, 2010 at 11:49 am
Thank you for posting these. I made them for my workmates and they were devoured very quickly (I went to two meetings and came back to a nearly empty box).
January 15th, 2010 at 2:27 pm
Amy — Thanks for coming back to tell us. Glad to hear everyone enjoyed them, but I hope you had enough for yourself too!