It snowed here in southern Wisconsin on Monday. Heavily enough to see it swirling through the air. Heavily enough to turn on the car wipers while driving. Heavily enough that the only way to cope with this first snow sighting was to spend the afternoon in the kitchen making cookies.
I've been obsessed with sweets that use cornmeal since I first tasted Zaletti at Pane e Salute, a small bakery cum restaurant in Woodstock, Vt. Zaletti are just one of the subtle Italian treats — along with Meino (cornmeal buns like scones) and Ciambelline (crunchy anise cookies) — that were lined up in the bakery cases on my memorable visit. I immediately added the restaurant's cookbook, “Pane e Salute: Food and Love in Italy and Vermont,” to my shelf alongside Carol Field’s “The Italian Baker” and a bulging folder of cornmeal recipes clipped from magazines.
Italian cornmeal cookies: Zaletti (left) and Meini.
Most Italian cornmeal cookies are easy to make but “they’re cookies for grown-ups,” as a friend put it. They have a subtlety that is a world away from American baked goods. According to the Il Fornaio baking book, cornmeal cookies are often made in the fall, particularly around the remembrances for All Saints Day and All Souls Day at the beginning of November because fewer fresh ingredients are available then.
If it’s getting
cold where you live, turn on the oven and give these cookies a try. Otherwise,
crank the AC and bake away!
ZALETTI
¾ cup dried
currants, soaked in rum to cover
½ pound unsalted
butter, softened
¾ cup sugar
3 eggs
1¾ cups cornmeal
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2¼ cups all purpose
flour, sifted
½ cup flour for
dusting currants
About 30 minutes before you begin: put the currants in a medium bowl and add just enough rum to cover them. Let them soak for at least 30 minutes then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
In a mixer: cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix the cornmeal, salt and baking powder together. Add 1/3 of the cornmeal mix to the butter-sugar mix and combine well. Repeat with the rest of the cornmeal until the two mixtures are thoroughly combined. Add sifted flour to the dough, mixing thoroughly.
Drain the currants. In a dry bowl, toss them with the extra ½ cup of flour until coated. Remove them from the flour and add them to the dough. Divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces and roll them into thick logs. Wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or overnight.
Line a cookie sheet with parchment. Slice the cookies about ¼” thick. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes until golden. Make 4-5 dozen cookies.
Italian cornmeal cookies: Meini (foreground) and Zaletti (rear and partly munched).
MEINI
In some areas of Italy the word “un meino” is slang for money; in this case a round, gold coin similar to the cookie.
1½ cups all-purpose
flour
2 teaspoons baking
powder
1 cup fine-grind
yellow cornmeal
1½ sticks unsalted
butter at room temp
½ cup sugar
2 Tablespoons honey
2 egg yolks
¼ cup whipping
cream
¼ cup milk
1½ teaspoons
freshly grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon vanilla
extract
For the tops:
½ cup granulated
sugar
½ cup powdered
sugar
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Sift flower, baking
powder and cornmeal together into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and honey until fluffy. Continue beating while you add egg yolks one at a time. On a slower speed, add half the flour mix and beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in cream, milk, lemon rind and vanilla. Add remaining flour mix and beat until a soft dough forms.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. It’s sticky, so I dust my hands with flour while I divide the dough into about 30 equal pieces. Roll each one into a sphere and press with the center of your hand into a rounded — not flat — shape about ¾ inch thick.
Brush the tops lightly with water and dip them into the granulated sugar. Place them on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. Then sprinkle the powdered sugar over the tops. Bake about 15-18 minutes until the edges are golden and the tops begin to crack.
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