Thursday, January 20, 2011

Delightful Drunken Cranberry Lemon Cornmeal Cookies

I swear I don't live on a movie set. At least, I'm pretty sure I don't. However, as I walked home last night from the subway, I noticed that my whole street was blocked off with movie trailers.
I could tell it was a big budget film compared to the last movie filmed on my street: Rolo Pretzel & Pecan Bites (and a Bollywood Movie!) I found out that it was the "next Megan Fox film" which I have deduced from imdb.com to be Friends with Kids. I didn't see Megan Fox, but I did walk by Maya Rudolph. At least I'm pretty sure it was her.
As exciting as all of this is (read: not very), I was glad to wake up this morning and find the trailers gone. Their generators were very noisy!

Good thing I had these delightful cookies to keep me company along with the noise of the generators. The idea of these cookies might seem strange, but don't be scared. The combination of rum soaked cranberries, lemon zest, and cornmeal makes for one yummy cookie. Seriously, everyone agreed that these cookies were very good and very delightful. Bake them and see for yourself. :)
Drunken Cranberry Lemon Cornmeal Cookies (adapted from 6 Bittersweets)
Makes about 32 cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/3 tsp salt
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cup dried cranberries soaked in rum and hot water. (About 4:1)
Powdered sugar, to garnish (optional)

Soak the dried cranberries in rum and hot water for at least 2 hours. They should be completely covered in liquid (about 4 parts rum, 1 part hot water.) Feel free to soak for longer if desired. Strain the cranberries before using.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest and salt, then egg yolks. Beat in cornmeal, then flour. Stir in cranberries. Knead dough just to combine; divide in half transfer each to a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Form dough into two 1 1/2 x 6-inch logs. Refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or up to 1 day.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice dough log into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Arrange rounds on prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart and reshaping into rounds if uneven.

Bake cookies until golden at edges, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer to rack. Cool completely, and dust with powdered sugar if desired. Store airtight at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Erika's Extras: This recipe can be made without rum. Just use the dried cranberries as is. If they are a little too dry, soak in hot water until plump.
Bake well and prosper!

UPDATE! I've just done something new for me in the world of blogging. I was invited by Lisa to be apart of her Sweets for a Saturday via Linky. It's the first time I heard of Linky. Check out what else is going on over on her blog for Sweets for a Saturday: Sweet As Sugar Cookie

21 comments:

  1. You are so lucky to live in NYC. You get to be in the middle of all the action. BTW, I checked out that bollywood movie and Sharul Khan (spelling?) is a HUGE bollywood star!!!
    Cookies sound wonderful, very Italian :) The corn meal must give it a nice crunch.
    *kisses* HH

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  2. I can only wonder what you did with all the rum that was left in the bottle. hehehehe

    Looks yummy!!

    Ron

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  3. They are truly delightful. Cranberry is always my fav and in these cookies, they look so delicious.

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  4. Ooooh, those do sound delightful! :D I'm all chocolated out.

    They filmed many things, including the college years of 90210, on my college campus. It was a big huge PITA! Our campus was on a hill. Walking uphill to the dorms was bad enough; having to take twice as long to get there, just to circumnavigate the filming, was just cruel.

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  5. I'm so glad you liked these Erika! Thanks for stopping back by my blog to let me know. Megan Fox, eh? I hear that girl's got a bad attitude, so it's probably better you didn't run into her ;).

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  6. That is such a neat experience to be able to see all that. These cookies also sound really good. I've heard that cranberries and lemon go really well together and I'm sure that cornmeal adds a nice crunch to them. I'm starting a new linky on my blog this Saturday called "Sweets for a Saturday," and I'd like to invite you to stop by if you have a chance and link these up.

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  7. HH - I know. I research the Bollywood star too. I'm surprised there wasn't more security around. lol

    PRR - Unfortunately it was just a mini bottle. :(

    Zoe - Dried cherries can work in these cookies too.

    FWK - Yes. I agree. It's cool to have something filming around your home, but at the same time it's really annoying!

    Xiaolu - Yeah. I am not much of a Megan Fox fan.

    Lisa - Thanks for the invite. I will definitely stop by. :)

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  8. yumm....rum soaked cranberries and cornmeal! how creative...i shall be adding this to my ever growing list of cookies-to-bake...
    haha i guess of novelty of living in a 'movie set' wears off after the first ones huh!

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  9. Thank you so much for linking these up. Hope to see you again next week.

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  10. These look absolutely wonferful! Can't wait to try your recipes!

    I'm having the very first GIVEAWAY on my blog. Please stop by to submit an entry. Good Luck!

    http://utry.it/2011/01/happy-birthday-to-meand-very-first.html

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  11. Oh my....yo had me at drunken! :) Glad Lisa shared her blog so I could see yours! Go check out my spice cake! (all the way in the middle of nowhere Indiana!) Have a sweet weekend!

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  12. wow, rum soaked cranberries! that sounds delicious<3

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  13. Hi Erika! Followed you over from the brand new sweets for saturday link up! I was intrigued by your tagline, the messy chef because I too am a chef that cooks with passion and abandon, translate--it gets messy! :) I also live in NY, but out on the island now...Movies and NYC go hand in hand and I can't even tell you how many times they affected my lifestyle! These cookies are divine and I love the idea of giving the cranberries a bit of a kick! I am now following your blog and tweets and I hope you stop by a moderate life for a visit! All the best! Alex

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  14. Aren't movies a hoot? The generators going all night take all the romance out of it... that and the cornea burning lights shining in the windows!

    Cookies look great and comforting... can you believe more snow and cold... I give!

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  15. I found you through Lisa's linky. Now I'm your newest follower. http://moogieland.blogspot.com/

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  16. I love the idea of a cornmeal, cranberry and lemon cookie.

    Ann

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  17. Hi
    Very nice blog Have a look my blog.
    http://cookingwithme-a.blogspot.com

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  18. Visiting from Lisa's Sweet as Sugar Cookies blog. Very nice recipe! I'm now following you. My culinary adventures are at http://culinary-adventures-with-cam.blogspot.com/

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  19. Thanks everyone for the comments! I have to say that these cookies ARE super good. Go make them right now. :)

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  20. I can so taste these with a steaming cup of coffee. Lovely!

    Kristi

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Thanks for taking time to leave a message! xo - EB