Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread

Do you like crumbly cookies? Or do you prefer the soft melt-in-your-mouth kind? I love both but you know what? There's a certain cookie/biscuit I like better. I really don't know why it's called shortbread when it's not bread at all. Whatever it is, I love how it dissipates slowly in my mouth, at the contact of my tongue. Delightful I say! I have been searching for a good shortbread recipe and I think I might have found it. It's also interesting because it calls for yellow cornmeal:



I got this recipe from the Martha Stewart Holiday Cookies edition. I want to make this for Chinese New Year. So people, if you want to come visit my house, do expect to see lots of these shortbread ya :)

I'm going to plan my list for CNY soon. Any ideas or recipes you want to recommend? Email or leave a comment ya? I'm also looking for a kick ass pineapple tart recipe - the open faced kind, not the 'pillow' one. Thanks guys!

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Citrus Cornmeal Shortbread

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 and 1/2 tsp orange zest
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 plus 2 tbsp yellow cornmeal
1 tsp coarse salt

1. Put butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and zest. Mix until combined, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour, 2 tbsp cornmeal, and salt; mix until well combined, about 3 mintues. Halve dough; shape each into a log about 1 and 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap each in plastic, and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 300 degrees Farenheit (150 degree celcius). Place remaining 1/4 cup cornmeal on a sheet of parchment paper. Roll in cornmeal to coat. Cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds, and space them 1 inch apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake until pale golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on sheet on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Taken from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookie Edition 2005.