Orange Cornmeal Sandies
Cornmeal is the “sandy” ingredient in these flavorful orange cookies. When cooled, dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate. This recipe was published in the Oregonian FOODday December 5, 2006.
Recipe type: Dessert | Rolled and Cutout Cookies | Chocolate
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Recipe Notes
Pan: Two Large Baking Sheets Pan Prep: Parchment Lined or Lightly Greased Oven Temp: 350° Yield: 3 Dozen Storage: Airtight Container, Room Temperature
Help: Cookie Hints and Tips, Melting Chocolate, Chocolate Types, Toasting Nuts and Seeds
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Help: Cookie Hints and Tips, Melting Chocolate, Chocolate Types, Toasting Nuts and Seeds
TheBakingPan Recommends: The BEST instant read thermometer I’ve used for cooking and baking; the ThermoWorks Splash-Proof Super-Fast Thermapen Thermometer is incredibly fast,
accurate, and well worth the investment. I use my Thermapen Thermometer for checking room temperature ingredients, tempering chocolate, baking bread, making pastry creams, sugar syrup, caramel, and candy, cooking meats and fish, and deep frying. Thermapen Thermometer available here.Ingredients
Dough:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for work surface
- ½ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (1 orange)
- 1 teaspoon pure orange extract
- ¼ cup finely ground toasted walnuts or pecans
Topping:
- 6 to 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped into small pieces
Instructions
Dough:
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar; cream together until mixture appears light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly. Add egg yolks, orange zest, and orange extract; beat until thoroughly mixed. Add flour mixture and nuts; stir to mix.
- Divide dough in half, form each half into a flattened disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 large baking sheets; lightly grease with shortening, or line with parchment paper, or line with a non-stick baking mat.
- On a lightly floured pastry mat or pastry board. and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll one of the discs to a ¼ inch thickness. Cut dough into circles with a floured 3 inch-round cookie cutter or drinking glass. Cut each circle in half.
- Bake: Place cutout dough 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake 15 minutes or until cookies are set and the edges are just barely browned. Remove cookies from baking sheets with a metal spatula and place on a wire cooling rack to cool.
- Remove remaining dough from refrigerator, and repeat.
Topping:
- In In top of a double boiler over hot water, Melt the semi-sweet chocolate. Tip: Create a double boiler by filling a saucepan with 2 inches of water and bringing it to a simmer. Turn the heat off and place a stainless steel, ceramic, or glass bowl on top of the simmering water, the upper pan should not touch the water.
- Holding each cookie by the straight side, dip the points and rounded side of the cookie into the melted chocolate, leaving most of the cookie exposed. Lay on a parchment lined baking sheet and let sit 1 to 2 hours, or until chocolate hardens.