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Makes
1 9 inch square pan
Author Notes
Loving citrus as I do, I prefer it not as a whisper, but as a robust brightness. In looking for a way to achieve that without the use of lemon oil, I developed this technique of pureeing sugar with lemon zest until wet. In addition, I prefer cookies that are moist and have some texture. This recipe, inspired by the work of Betty Fussell and Carol Field, makes cookies that are grainy with cornmeal and ground almonds,very lemony and unusually moist for a cornmeal shortbread type cookie. —LeBec Fin
Test Kitchen Notes
These coarse cookies are crumbly and moist at the same time. The bright lemony flavor is complemented by the almond extract, a favorite around these parts. Grinding the lemon zest with the sugar really enhances the citrus flavor. These are easy to throw together and take no time to cook -- our diamonds were finished cooking in 20 minutes. We liked these so much we finished them off right after they cooled. —The Editors
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Ingredients
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1 cup
unskinned raw almonds, ground fine and divided in half
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1/4 cup
grated lemon zest
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1/2 cup
white sugar
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1/2 cup
finely ground fresh yellow cornmeal *
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1/2 cup
all purpose flour
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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4 ounces
unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and frozen
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2
large eggs, lightly beaten
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1 teaspoon
vanilla extract
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1 tablespoon
lemon juice
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1/4 teaspoon
almond extract
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2 tablespoons
white sugar for topping
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1/2 cup
reserved ground almonds for topping
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4 ounces
raw pine nuts
Directions
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Butter or Pam 1 9" square metal pan.
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In small processor, grind 1/2 cup sugar with lemon zest, scraping down the sides a few times, until pureed and wet but not soupy( This method really extracts a lot of lemon flavor.)
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Into a standard food processor, combine the ½ cup of almonds, flour, cornmeal and salt. Pulse twice to combine. Add butter. Pulse until butter is pea sized, as if making piecrust.
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Combine eggs through almond extract, add to processor along with sugar lemon zest mixture, and pulse til barely mixed. Press into pan, smoothing top with graduated cake spatula.
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Score mixture lightly into 2 inch tall diamonds, and put a pine nut in the center of each diamond, pressing down to adhere. For topping, combine 1/2 cup ground almonds with 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and mix well. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the pan. Press down to adhere.
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Bake 350 degrees F, 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. Cool , chill til firm, and cut into diamonds. (If you try cutting before it chills, mixture will crumble.)
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* Fresh bulk yellow cornmeal or packaged organic cornmeal is far preferable in flavor to prepackaged supermarket cornmeal.
My eating passions are Japanese, Indian, Mexican; with Italian and French following close behind. Turkish/Arabic/Mediterranean cuisines are my latest culinary fascination. My desert island ABCs are actually 4 Cs: citrus, cumin, cilantro, cardamom, and GARLIC! I am so excited by the level of sophistication that I see on Food52 and hope to contribute recipes that will inspire you like yours do me. I would like to ask a favor of all who do try a recipe of mine > Would you plse review it and tell me truthfully how it worked for you and/or how you think it would be better? I know many times we feel that we don't want to hurt someone's feelings, but. i really do want your honest feedback because it can only help me improve the recipe.Thanks so much.
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