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Still looking for something a little different to make this holiday season when it comes to baking cookies? How about these sweet and crispy Christmas Cornmeal Cookies!
Our Christmas Cornmeal Cookies are a classic recipe that we’ve adapted from an old classic edition of the Joy of Cooking Christmas Cookies
cookbook that my sister-in-law Pam recently gave to us! These cookies are reminiscent of a sugar cookie but with a wonderfully surprising and crispy texture thanks to the addition of fine corn meal (we recommend using either white corn meal or a really fine yellow corn meal to ensure that the cookies are not gritty in texture) and some extra crunch from the pine nuts on top.
We followed the basic recipe from the cookbook – but decided to roll out the dough and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. But if you prefer, you can simply roll these into balls and then roll them in the pine nuts before baking.
These Christmas Cornmeal Cookies are incredibly addictive – perfectly sweet and crispy.
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Christmas Cornmeal Cookies
Note – The yield will vary depending on the size and shape of your cookie cutters.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup white or fine yellow corn meal
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup pine nuts
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and creamy, about one minute.
- Add egg yolks one at a time with mixer running on low.
- Add vanilla and salt and mix to combine.
- Add corn meal and flour slowly while mixer is running and mix to combine.
- Pour out onto a floured board or counter and knead for one minute by hand.
- Place a sheet of waxed or parchment paper on the counter (standard sixe 12X16 ½).
- Place the dough on the paper and flatten as much as you can to match the size of the paper. Cover with a second sheet of parchment or wax paper and with a rolling pin, roll out to the size and shape of the paper (12X16 ½).
- Remove top sheet and cover the rolled out dough with the pine nuts. Place the top sheet back on and press with your hands or the rolling pin so the pine nuts are pushed into the dough.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Using Christmas cookie cutters, cut out shapes and place on parchment lined cookie sheets and bake for 15-16 minutes until lightly browned. Do not over bake and bake one pan at a time.
- The remaining dough can be re-rolled and cut again into shapes with the pine nuts already embedded in the dough.
- Cool on racks and enjoy.
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A cup of tea and a few of these would make me a very content girl!
These cookies look amazing! Such a fun way to use up pine nuts.
Very adorable and I love that you seem to take a pignoli cookie and do an update on it with the cornmeal.
Oh, cornmeal and pine nuts – these are so beautifully rustic!
Such gorgeous cookies! Love the addition of pine nuts!
What an interesting cookie. Love the cornmeal in the dough plus the pine nuts on top! Fantastic.
I love cornmeal in cookies though I don’t use it as often as I should. It gives the cookie such an interesting texture.
I love how different these are! I’ve made pignolia cookies before so I know these will be delish with the pine nuts!
Ashley – I think you need to come to my house for a visit and we’ll bake our way through both of our Italian Christmas cookie recipe collections!! 🙂
These Christmas cookies are so pretty, I love them!
I’ve never made cookies with cornmeal before, but I’m intrigued! They look awesome. And I LOVE pine nuts.