Cornmeal Lime Cookies

Difficulty: easy
Time consuming: no

Cinco de Mayo was almost a month ago, and was the perfect reason to make cornmeal lime cookies with a sweet lime glaze.  I meant to get these posted the week of Cinco, but then the number of IEP's and ETR's I had to write for school EXPLODED and unfortunately, posting was put on the back burner.  So sorry, y'all. Anyways, I first read about the recipe in the book Flour.  It sounded unusual but had a really intriguing description.  The cookie is soft and cake like, and just a little bit chewy.  The edges are crispy.  The lime flavor is tangy and front stage, but not over powering.

For a "margarita"-style cookie, substitute tequila for the water in the glaze.  Tequila and I have not gotten along since I was 19 and studying abroad in London.  A friend of mine was hitting on this middle age British man who kept buying us shots of tequila.  To say that was a bad night would be an understatement.  But really, if you don't hate tequila or if you like margaritas, that subtle change in the glaze is just enough to make the cookie a little more festive.

I brought these cookies to share with some teachers I saw on Cinco while we practiced for this awesome flashmob we did at Prom (I know, the coolest chaperones, lol) and they were devoured.  The little cookies got mad praises.  The link to the FlashMob video goes to Facebook, so you'll have to be logged in to see it.

Ingredients
cookies
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon course salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime zest (from 2-4 limes)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

glaze
1 cup powdered sugar
juice from 1 lime
zest from 1 small lime
+/- 1 teaspoon water or tequila

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2.  In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the lime zest and mix to combine.  Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

3.  Add the flour mixture to the stand mixer and mix until just combined.  (Note: my dough was pretty sticky at this time, but I just let it be)

4.  Roll cookie dough into 1" balls (I used my 1-tablespoon-sized cookie scoop) and place 1-2" apart on baking sheet.  Gently press each ball with the palm of your hand to flatten slightly.

5.  Bake for 16-20 minutes, until the bottoms are golden and mottled brown, and the tops are still pale.  DO NOT OVER BAKE.  Let cool on the sheet pan for 15 minutes (this helps maintain a chewier texture), then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

6.  In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lime zest, and lime juice.  Add water or tequila 1 teaspoon at a time until you reach a consistency you want (for me this was only 1 teaspoon of water).  The glaze should be thin enough to spread over the cookies.

7.  Place a spoonful of glaze over the cookies and let it run down the sides.  (Note: I put wax paper under my cooling rack and glazed the cookies on that).  Let the glaze harden before serving (I gave it about 1 hour)

Cookies taste great day of, but can be stored in an airtight container for a few days (if they even last that long).

From Completely Delicous