Cornmeal Lime Shortbread Fans

Published Dec. 2, 2020

Cornmeal Lime Shortbread Fans
Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich. Prop Stylist: Randi Brookman Harris.
Total Time
45 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
5(765)
Comments
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Buttery and crisp, with an appealing texture from the cornmeal, these shortbread cookies are baked in a round tart or pie tin, then cut into wedges to resemble slim fans. The lime juice in the glaze cuts the sweetness and echoes the zest in the dough. (You can also use lemon, orange or grapefruit — or a combination instead of lime, if you prefer.) The cookies keep for up to two weeks when stored airtight at room temperature, and freeze very well.

Featured in: How to Make the Perfect Cookie Box

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Ingredients

Yield:1 dozen cookies
  • 2limes
  • cups/190 grams all-purpose flour
  • cup/60 grams fine cornmeal
  • cup/130 grams granulated sugar
  • 1teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1cup/225 grams cold, unsalted butter (2 sticks), cut into 1-inch chunks
  • ½cup/60 grams confectioners’ sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

276 calories; 16 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 33 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 16 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 155 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the limes. (You can usually get 1 teaspoon from 1 lime, but you may need to grate some zest off the other.) Add to a food processor.

  2. Step 2

    Add flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt and pulse once or twice to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don’t overprocess the dough. It should be somewhat crumbly and not form a ball. (Alternatively, you can mix this in a bowl using two knives, or use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour.)

  3. Step 3

    Press the dough into an even layer in an ungreased, fluted 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or in a 9-inch pie pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Using a butter knife, cut the shortbread into 12 wedges while still warm.

  5. Step 5

    Make the glaze: Halve the zested lime and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice into a small bowl. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar and, if you like, more lime juice to taste. (More lime juice will make the glaze thinner and more tart, while less lime juice yields a thicker, sweeter glaze.) Drizzle glaze over the cooled shortbread, then zest the second lime over the icing before it sets. (Use a citrus zester, if you have one, or a regular zester, if you don’t.)

Ratings

5 out of 5
765 user ratings
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Comments

From Pooja: Tis the season... for cookies. These are @clarkbar's cornmeal lime shortbread fans but with a few edits: I used cornflour instead of cornmeal and added one egg yolk to give them a more sablé-like texture — sandy and crisp to the bite, tender to the chew.

Just made these cookies. I was careful to not over process the dough. Pricking the dough with a fork disrupted the dough so I used a skewer instead which worked out better. A toothpick might be even better. The cookies have excellent flavor and texture and look lovely as well.

These are easy and delicious. But I couldn’t get the fans out of the pie pan in one piece. Next time I’ll form the dough in a disc on a flat tray and bake with parchment paper.

I’ve made these a couple of times now, and I absolutely love them. The only change I make is that I crank up the lime flavor. I use 1 1/2 times the zest and I use way more juice in the glaze. Here’s my helpful tip: after cutting them in the pan (I use a 9 inch pie dish for these), to get them out, I grab another, identical dish, put it on top (so the bottom of it is on the cookies) and then flip the whole thing over. Lift the bottom pan off and then move the cookies to a plate. They come out so easy that way.

Double corn! I replaced the flour with the same amount of blue corn masa harina (masienda brand) and added an egg yolk. The corn meal gave it great texture and the masa harina gave it that funky complexity -- the combination was absolutely mouthwatering!

I made the scrumptious shortbread today and still marveling at how good it is. A couple things are important. Cold butter, a springform pan and refrigerate the pan of shortbread after it has cooled on the counter for 10 min. I left it refrigerated for about 20 min and it released like a dream. Because of the crumbly nature of this shortbread you need a long sharp knife to slowly cut your wedges. If you hurry it’s more likely to crumble. So delicious!

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