Adventures in cookies with whole wheat, cornmeal

[Apocalypso]

I got some dinky little leaf plunger cookie cutters at the craft store, and was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with them

Decided to look for some recipes using whole wheat flour, as I have some in the freezer but had to pull it out to make room for ice blocks before the hurricane, and it made me want to use some of it up. Also, I'd heard someone talking on a podcast about a delicious cookie made with cornmeal. And I've had this bag of cornmeal for a while for which I have only used it to put on the bottom of bread.

So, yesterday I made two doughs. One was for Gemma Stafford's homemade graham crackers: https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-smores/

The cornmeal cookie recipe I took from Epicurious (Kay Chun recipe): https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cornmeal-cookies-352855

I should note that I love that Gemma's recipes give both US volume measurements, as well as weights in grams for the dry ingredients, and I'm converting to that as it's just so convenient to weigh and not guess whether I packed the brown sugar adequately, etc.

I made one modification to the graham cracker recipe, in that I was on my last tablespoon of vanilla extract and didn't think I should sub vanilla paste in a dough. So I used a tablespoon of bourbon, which I've had leftover from pumpkin bourbon cheesecake a couple winters ago. I don't know if the bourbon changed it that much, but I am in LOVE with the flavor of those guys. They did spread a little bit, though the leaf vein imprints are still pretty clear. When I do these again I will definitely keep things colder, both before and after I press out the leaves, and i might cut the baking soda in half.

The cornmeal recipe I didn't sub anything, but because I already had the food processor dirty from the grahams, and because I wanted to get more cookie-like and less cake-like results, I didn't use the stand mixer but the processor. This dough wasn't really right for cutout cookies, and I had to add a substantial amount more flour as I worked the dough. I finally let it rest overnight and finished them today. Those I did keep quite cold while rolling, cutting, and after being placed on the tray.

I tried to get a little color on the cornmeal ones. They are a little bland as a cookie, they're more like a slightly sweet shortbread cracker, but I have to admit this plateful I photographed is now an empty plate.

When I make the grahams again, I may make some into s'mores sandwiches with a small marshmallow and chocolate smushed between. For the cornmeal, perhaps pumpkin butter. I'm looking for an almond cookie recipe that would be workable with cookie cutters (most I'm seeing are drop or batter cookies).

 

[ChesterV]

Mmmmm.........cornmeal anything is fine by me!!!!

Those look really nice!!! I think the light colored cookies would work for a kids project. Give them some food coloring and some brushes and they can paint their own fall leaf cookies! Or you could make royal icing "paint" and have them use that to brush on the cookies like paint.


If you are wanting cookies you can use these types of cutters on, then I would suggest finding a nice, basic sugar cookie or shortbread cookie recipe. They are firm and you can use and abuse the dough pretty well.

Anytime I want to make a shaped cookie and have it keep its shape, I use a sugar cookie recipe I like. I just doctor up the mix when I'm making it, if I want a flavored cookie, or if I want egg cookies, or even add a bit of ground nuts to the dough.

This way, you can make the dough how you want it, and they will stay shaped when baking, and you can still have the flavors you want.

 

[Apocalypso]

Thanks! I don't have kids, and most of my friends either don't have kids or they're grown. But I had thought about doing an egg-yolk paint, or tinted royal icing to make some rich fall colors on them if they worked out OK.

I have to say, I am really digging the flavor of the homemade grahams. They are darker than the usual graham crackers, and they have a great complex flavor. I'll be doing those again. I think that by the time I made the cornmeal cookie pressable, it ended up being a little bland and floury, though not bad.

I do note that occasionally the cookie dough stuck to the little lines on the plunger, and the maple leaf was the biggest culprit in this regard, so it seems that keeping it firm and cold, and also brushing the inside of the cutter with flour occasionally, seems essential. I thought I'd end up with clumps of white flour on the tops of the darker cookies, but it seems to have blended in.

Do you have a favorite sugar cookie recipe? There are tons about, but I'd love a recommendation if you have one.