When I make my weekly batch of ghee, I use some of it to bake cookies. These cookies are ideal for cooler autumn days because the combination of browned butter (ghee) and cornmeal gives them a delicious, deep, and rich flavour, reminiscent of the best cornbread but in cookie form. Just so you know, these cookies are not crunchy.
I enjoy cookies, but I don’t bake them often because if I do, I’ll eat them, and I don’t need to eat cookies all the time! That’s why these small-batch cookies by Edd Kimber are perfect. They yield 6 – 7 cookies at a time, which suits the two of us perfectly for a sweet treat after a meal.
tips
- For a perfectly round cookie, use an ice cream scoop that is perfect for portioning out equal balls of cookies.
- When the cookie comes out of the oven, it is soft and still pliable. If you scoot a cookie cutter or a deep lid slightly larger than the cookie, it will neatly round the edges, turning into a perfectly round cookie!
brown butter cornmeal cookies
makes 7 cookies
preparation 30 minutes
ingredients
⅓ cup/75g ghee or unsalted butter
¼ cup/50g granulated sugar
1 heaped Tbsp/25g maple syrup
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp/7g ground flax seeds + 3 Tbsp/30g hot water
½ cup + 1½ Tbsp/75g all-purpose flour
⅓ cup + 1 Tbsp/60g fine cornmeal (polenta)
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp fine rock salt
preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180C (160C Fan) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
- If you haven’t just made a batch of ghee, then we need to brown the butter. Add the butter to a small saucepan and place over medium heat. The butter will splutter and splatter as the water content cooks out, but once settled, it will start to foam. Watch carefully for the milk solids to turn the butter a nutty brown.
- Pour the butter into a bowl with the sugar, maple syrup, flax egg and vanilla, mixing briefly to combine. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.
- Add the dry ingredients to the brown butter mixture and mix to form a uniform cookie dough.
- Using a 3 Tablespoon cookie scoop, form the dough into seven equal balls on the prepared baking sheet. If you don’t have an ice cream scoop, scoop with a spoon, then roll with your hands.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 minutes, rotating halfway through baking until set and edges are lightly brown. Remove and set aside for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
