Some people (usually those of us from the southern states) prefer a saltier, savory cornbread, without a trace of sugar. My husband, like many non-Southerners, prefers a sweeter cornbread. I've had cornbread that is so sweet and tender that it tastes more like cake than bread. These slice-and-bake cookies are like that - sweet and dessert-like, and soft with a bit of crunch. The toasted coconut and lime add a nice sweet/sour touch.
These cookies are very good on their own, but a bit of glaze really makes them special, and helps to keep them soft. Use finely ground cornmeal for these cookies. Yellow masarepa (precooked cornmeal for making arepas) works very well too.
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: About 20 cookies.
Ingredients:
- For the cookies:
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/2 cups finely ground yellow cornmeal, or masarepa
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pinch of salt
- 3 tablespoons coarse sugar
- ____
- For the glaze:
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut flavoring
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Spread coconut out on a baking sheet and toast in the oven, stirring often, until lightly toasted and golden brown. Remove from heat and let cool.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter with the sugar until creamy. Add the egg, 1 tablespoon lime zest, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon lime juice, and mix well.
- Gradually stir in the flour and 3/4 cup of the coconut.
- Roll dough into a log about 1 1/2 - 2 inches in diameter. Mix the remaining tablespoon of lime zest with the remaining toasted coconut and the coarse sugar. Roll dough log in the lime/coconut/sugar mixture until coated all the way around. Wrap dough with wax paper or saran wrap and chill until firm.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Slice the dough log crosswise into 1/3 inch wide slices, and place cookies on baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until cookies are just turning golden brown around the edges.
- Remove cookies from oven and let cool on a rack.
- Prepare glaze: Melt the butter, and gently whisk the powdered sugar into the butter. Add the coconut flavoring and pinch of salt. Add the lime juice and mix well. Glaze should have a slightly runny consistency. If it's too stiff, add more lime juice. If it's too runny, add more powdered sugar.
- Drizzle glaze over cookies while they are still warm.
- Store cookies in an airtight container.
