Yield: 32 cookies
Recipe: 99/200
“Back to Baking”, pp. 26
Two weeks ago I realized that I had no dessert or snacks at home, so I decided to make these vanilla cornmeal wedges to have something to munch on. The result was a funny but sad turnout. As I went to take out the pan 20 minutes after putting it in the oven, I touched it and thought that it would benefit from several extra minutes of baking. I repeated this two times. Turns out that my oven died on me that very day! So the dessert that I had so lovingly prepared was just sitting in a broken oven that wouldn’t turn on. Quite sad indeed. It wasn’t fixed for another week, so last weekend I repeated the recipe to, finally, have a snack on hand.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract *
- 1/3 cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
This recipe was easy to do (both times) and although simple these wedges taste very good. I used two teaspoons of vanilla extract as well as all the seeds from a vanilla bean, so not only were the wedges sprinkled with delicious black vanilla seeds everywhere, but the vanilla flavour was enhanced and very fitting with the shortbread. At first bite I was surprised by the crunch of the cornmeal, as I had never baked with cornmeal and didn’t know what to expect. However, after eating many of these wedges I came to appreciated this little surprise crunch in every bite. This is a simple, fast yet satisfying recipe!
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pans and set the pans in a baking tray.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, beat the butter for 2 minutes.
- Add the sugar and beat for another 2 minutes.
- Stir in the vanilla (either paste, extract and/or beans).
- * I supplemented 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract with the seeds of a vanilla bean. Simply scrape them in the batter prior to baking.
- Stir in the cornmeal, cornstarch and salt. Mix until well blended.
- Add the flour in two additions, blending well between each.
- Divide the dough between the two pans, then press the dough using floured fingers so that it covers the bottom of the pans. Cut each pan of dough into 16 wedges.
- Note: the dough will be soft.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, until just the edges of the shortbread begin to brown. Remove the pans from the oven and while still warm, cut each pan of shortbread into 16 wedges again. Cool completely in the pan before serving or storing.
Valerie
Valerie 
