Things are looking rosy this week, and a little nuts too! Today my son turned 4, hooray, and it looks as if the craziness will continue through this saturday, we are having a "jump party" - um, I'm a little nervous.
In addition to the normal hub-bub in The House of Soffritto, I was challenged to make a Valentine's Day sweet treat for the DDC. Instead of creating something new, I launched my Epicurious iPad App and looked for inspiration. On hand I had local corn meal, flour & butter. Aha - corn meal cookies! Here's my adaptation of the Epicurious Cornmeal Cookie, recipe by by Kay Chun, published in Gourmet Magazine - May 2009.
Cornmeal Cookies 1 cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground) 3/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat) 1/2 teaspoon salt 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/3 cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Whisk together cornmeal, flour, and salt. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla with an electric mixer at medium speed, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in egg and yolk until combined well. Reduce speed to low and add cornmeal mixture in a slow stream, mixing until just combined. Form dough into a 5-inch square and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 30 minutes. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 7-inch square (1/2 inch thick). Instead of ----> [Score dough in one direction with tines of a fork. Following scored marks, cut into 8 equal strips, then cut strips in half to form rectangles.] I just rolled out the super sticky dough and used fun cookie cutters! Bake on an ungreased baking sheet until bottoms of cookies are pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
The whole wheat flour definitely bought some texture into play. Making these agin for the DDC, I'd bake them twice and make biscotti. Now - if I make these again just because, I might slather a little nutella on and make a sandwich cookie...I might.
What do you have planned for Valentine's Day? I heard a rumor that my husband and son are cooking...(hint, hint...)