Lemon Cornmeal Shortbread Recipes

LEMON CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, lemon peel and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed 2 minutes. Gradually add flour and cornmeal, beating just until blended. Divide dough in half. On waxed paper or plastic wrap, shape half of dough into 6-inch square. Repeat with remaining half of dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm.
• Heat oven to 325°F. On lightly floured surface, cut each square of dough into 6 rows by 3 rows. On ungreased cookie sheets, place rectangles about 1 inch apart. Prick with fork.
• Bake 17 to 19 minutes or until set and edges begin to brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

ROSEMARY-CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• 1. Lightly grease a 9 1/4-inch (23 cm) fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, cornstarch, and salt in a medium bowl until well blended. 2. Put the butter and confectioners' sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer fitted with wire beaters). Beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the rosemary and vanilla and beat on medium until blended and fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough forms moist clumps. Dump the dough into the prepared pan. Using lightly floured fingertips, press the dough into the pan to form an even layer. Make sure to press the dough into the scalloped edges to form a clean edge. Sprinkle the fleur de sel or sanding sugar, if using, evenly over the top. 3. Using the tip of a knife or a bench scraper, score the dough all the way through, forming 16 wedges. With the tines of a fork, prick each wedge twice all the way through, starting at the widest part of the wedge and spacing them about 1/2 inch (12 mm) apart. Lightly flour the tines of the fork as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Slide the pan into the freezer or fridge for about 10 minutes while the oven heats. 4. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C/gas 2). 5. Bake the shortbread until the top looks dry and very pale brown, 39 to 41 minutes. Move the pan to a rack. Using a small paring or serrated knife (I don't use a bench scraper for this because it compresses the cookies' edges), immediately recut the wedges using the scored lines as a guide. Let the shortbread cool completely before removing them from the pan. 6. Serve the cookies with a dusting of confectioners' sugar.
• Instead of the rosemary, use one of the following combinations: Double ginger: 2 tsp. finely grated fresh ginger + 1/3 cup (1 3/8 oz./39 g) finely chopped crystallized ginger (add both with the vanilla). Cinnamon toast: 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon added to the flour + 1 Tbs. granulated sugar mixed with 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon sprinkled over the shortbread and pressed lightly into the dough before baking. Espresso chip: 1/2 tsp. instant espresso powder (dissolved in the vanilla extract) + 1/3 cup (2 oz./57 g) finely chopped bittersweet chocolate.
• To make rectangular cookies: Line the bottom of an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan (the straight-sided type makes for a cleaner-looking cookie) with parchment. Prepare the dough as directed. Using lightly floured fingertips, press the dough into the pan to form an even layer. Using the tip of a knife or a bench scraper (my tool of choice), score the dough all the way through, forming 1 x 2-inch (2.5 x 5 cm) bars. With the tines of a fork, prick each bar two or three times all the way through, spacing them evenly and on the diagonal. Lightly flour the tines of the fork as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Proceed as directed.
• To make round cookies: Have ready two cookie sheets lined with parchment or nonstick liners. Prepare the dough as directed. Arrange a large piece of parchment on the work surface and scrape the dough onto the center. Cover with another piece of parchment and press down on the dough to flatten. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between the parchment to a 1/4-inch (6 mm) thickness, turning, lifting, and repositioning the parchment and lightly flouring throughout the rolling. Slide the dough onto a cookie sheet and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes. Remove the top piece of parchment from the chilled dough. Using a 2 1/2-inch (6 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out rounds. Using the end of a straw, punch out three holes in the center of each round. Arrange about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart on the prepared cookie sheets. Stack the scraps, gently press together, reroll, chill, and cut as directed. Slide the cookie sheets into the fridge while the oven heats (at least 15 minutes). Bake, one sheet at a time, until the tops look dry and very pale brown, 26 to 28 minutes.

CITRUS CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, grated orange peel and grated lemon peel with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. On medium-low speed, beat in flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal and the salt until blended. Stir in candied orange and lemon peel.
• Shape dough into 2 (8-inch) logs. Roll logs in 2 tablespoons cornmeal. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.
• Heat oven to 350°F. Unwrap dough; cut each log into 1/4-inch slices. On ungreased cookie sheets, place slices 2 inches apart.
• Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the powdered sugar and mix in. Add the vanilla extract and mix in. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended.
• Roll into 1 1/2-inch logs and roll in cornmeal to coat. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill at least one hour or overnight.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
• Slice shortbread dough thinly and bake on a silpat or parchment paper for 12 to 15 minutes. The shortbread will still be blonde, and they will crisp once cool.

CLASSIC LEMON SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Beat butter until fluffy in a large bowl.
• Beat in sugar, egg, lemon extract and lemon rind.
• Combine flour, cornmeal and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well.
• Shape dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 3 hours. (Can also freeze at this point. Frozen dough keeps for 3 months).
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease cookie sheets.
• Cut dough into 1/4 inch thick slices.
• Bake on greased cookie sheets until cookie just begin to brown at the edges, about ten minutes.
• Remove from pan and cool on wire racks.
• For glaze, beat butter, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle over cooled cookies.

ALMOND, LEMON AND CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Blanch the almonds in boiling water for approximately 1 minute. Drain in a sieve and peel the skin off, by squeezing between your thumb and finger. (be careful not to shoot them across the room, they become slippery) Place them in a food processor and chop them finely by pulsing. Add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt and lemon zest. Pulse a couple of time to combine. Add the 4 oz. of softened butter and pulse to combine. The dough will just look crumbly. Take the 1 tablespoon of butter and grease a 9" springform pan (just the bottom and 1 " up the sides. Spread the dough in the pan. The dough will just barely stick together, so you will need to pat it down, to an even layer. Bake for approximately 30 minutes. (check after 20). The shortbread should be just light golden, not brown. Take out of the oven, let cool for 5 minutes. Remove the bottom of the springform pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into small manageable pieces. Let cool completely and dust with powdered sugar. If you double the recipe, you can bake this in a jelly roll pan, and cut triangle shapes of shortbread.

CORNMEAL LIME SHORTBREAD FANS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the limes. (You can usually get 1 teaspoon from 1 lime, but you may need to grate some zest off the other.) Add to a food processor.
• Add flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt and pulse once or twice to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don't overprocess the dough. It should be somewhat crumbly and not form a ball. (Alternatively, you can mix this in a bowl using two knives, or use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour.)
• Press the dough into an even layer in an ungreased, fluted 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or in a 9-inch pie pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Using a butter knife, cut the shortbread into 12 wedges while still warm.
• Make the glaze: Halve the zested lime and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice into a small bowl. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and, if you like, more lime juice to taste. (More lime juice will make the glaze thinner and more tart, while less lime juice yields a thicker, sweeter glaze.) Drizzle glaze over the cooled shortbread, then zest the second lime over the icing before it sets. (Use a citrus zester, if you have one, or a regular zester, if you don't.)

CITRUS CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and zest. Mix until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, 2 tablespoons cornmeal, and salt; mix until well combined, about 3 minutes. Halve dough; shape each into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Place remaining 1/4 cup cornmeal on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll log in cornmeal to coat. Cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, and space them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until pale golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on sheet on a wire rack.

CORNMEAL SHORTBREAD DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, cornmeal, and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Whisk together yolk, cream, and vanilla in a small bowl; set aside.
• Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in yolk mixture and orange zest until combined. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Shape dough into a disk; wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes or up to 1 day, before using.