Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
that isn't what I got, twice LOL.

Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
1/2 cup granulatedsugar
3 tbs light corn syrup
1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
paper.

Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
Let cool completely.

Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
to racks to cool,

Makes 22--25 cookies.

Arri London wrote:
> Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> that isn't what I got, twice LOL.

What DID you get, then? There's not a lot of dry to wet ingredients in
the recipe, so I need to know what the cookies actually turn out to be
for you before I can guess what happened.




> Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
>
> 1/3 cup all purpose flour
> 1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> 1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> 1/8 tsp salt
> 1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> 1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> 3 tbs light corn syrup
> 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> paper.
>
> Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> Let cool completely.
>
> Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> to racks to cool,
>
> Makes 22--25 cookies.

Pennyaline wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> > Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> > the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> > that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
> What DID you get, then? There's not a lot of dry to wet ingredients in
> the recipe, so I need to know what the cookies actually turn out to be
> for you before I can guess what happened.

Very thin, flat and lacy cookies. More like the classic brandy snap.
Adding more flour made the biscuits thicker but the texture was still
wrong. Thinking there is too much sugar in the mix. Made some 'real'
shortbread (from a different recipe) and that turned out properly.


> > Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
> >
> > 1/3 cup all purpose flour
> > 1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> > 1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> > 1/8 tsp salt
> > 1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> > 1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> > 3 tbs light corn syrup
> > 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> > 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
> >
> > Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> > paper.
> >
> > Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> > butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> > heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> > stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> > Let cool completely.
> >
> > Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> > on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> > the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> > to racks to cool,
> >
> > Makes 22--25 cookies.

On Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:22:30 -0600, Arri London >
wrote:

>Hot and spicy cornmeal

doesn't sound right. I would pass on the recipe instead of trying to
fix it.

Billy wrote:
>
> On Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:22:30 -0600, Arri London >
> wrote:
>
> >Hot and spicy cornmeal
>
> doesn't sound right. I would pass on the recipe instead of trying to
> fix it.

Made some 'proper' shortbread from a different book and flavoured it
with chile and lemon. Turned out just fine and what was expected.

Arri London wrote:
> Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
> Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
>
> 1/3 cup all purpose flour
> 1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> 1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> 1/8 tsp salt
> 1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> 1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> 3 tbs light corn syrup
> 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> paper.
>
> Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> Let cool completely.
>
> Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> to racks to cool,
>
> Makes 22--25 cookies.

My only, perhaps ignorant, comment is that I don't think that is
how shortbread cookies are formed. So, not having seen the photo,
I wouldn't expect that as a result.

--
Jean B.

"Jean B." wrote:
>
> Arri London wrote:
> > Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> > the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> > that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
> >
> > Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
> >

<snip>
>
> My only, perhaps ignorant, comment is that I don't think that is
> how shortbread cookies are formed. So, not having seen the photo,
> I wouldn't expect that as a result.


Shortbread can be formed into balls and flattened onto a sheet just
fine, although it isn't always made that way.

These turned out thin and flat, while the photo shows balls of
shortbready-looking cookies. Definitely not thin or lacy, which is what
happened twice.

On Sep 7, 9:22*pm, Arri London > wrote:
> Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
> Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
>
> 1/3 cup all purpose flour
> 1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> 1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> 1/8 tsp salt
> 1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> 1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> 3 tbs light corn syrup
> 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> paper.
>
> Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> Let cool completely.
>
> Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> to racks to cool,
>
> Makes 22--25 cookies.

Hard to imagine that this appealed to you for some reason ;-) There's
not even enough liquid in the recipe to moisten the 1/3 C. flour, let
alone the additional cornmeal. I wonder if there's some milk or other
liquid left out by mistake.

And what is "preseasoned"-type chili powder?

Strange recipe, all in all. I'd forget it and make Chess Pie or
Johnny Cakes or Hush Puppies or something.

N.

Nancy2 wrote:
>
> On Sep 7, 9:22 pm, Arri London > wrote:
> > Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> > the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> > that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
> >
<snip>

>
> Hard to imagine that this appealed to you for some reason ;-) There's
> not even enough liquid in the recipe to moisten the 1/3 C. flour, let
> alone the additional cornmeal. I wonder if there's some milk or other
> liquid left out by mistake.

Because I like chile and lemon! Dunno if something has been left out of
the printed recipe. I measured everything as correctly as non-lab
kitchenware allows

>
> And what is "preseasoned"-type chili powder?

Pure chile powder with cumin and other spices added. As opposed to the
chile-only powder normally kept in our kitchen.
>
> Strange recipe, all in all. I'd forget it and make Chess Pie or
> Johnny Cakes or Hush Puppies or something.
>
> N.

LOL don't like any of those.

Not interested in making it as such, but having a recipe fail so
thoroughly is unusual for me and that is being said without any
arrogance on my part. People pay me to cook and to cook well.

On Sep 8, 9:26*pm, Arri London > wrote:
> Nancy2 wrote:
>
> > On Sep 7, 9:22 pm, Arri London > wrote:
> > > Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> > > the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> > > that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
> <snip>
>
>
>
> > Hard to imagine that this appealed to you for some reason ;-) *There's
> > not even enough liquid in the recipe to moisten the 1/3 C. flour, let
> > alone the additional cornmeal. *I wonder if there's some milk or other
> > liquid left out by mistake.
>
> Because I like chile and lemon! Dunno if something has been left out of
> the printed recipe. I measured everything as correctly as non-lab
> kitchenware allows
>
>
>
> > And what is "preseasoned"-type chili powder?
>
> Pure chile powder with cumin and other spices added. As opposed to the
> chile-only powder normally kept in our kitchen.
>
>
>
> > Strange recipe, all in all. *I'd forget it and make Chess Pie or
> > Johnny Cakes or Hush Puppies or something.
>
> > N.
>
> LOL don't like any of those.
>
> Not interested in making it as such, but having a recipe fail so
> thoroughly is unusual for me and that is being said without any
> arrogance on my part. People pay me to cook and to cook well.

Then I'd go back to the original source and find out if something is
missing. (How can one not like hush puppies?)

N.

On Tue 09 Sep 2008 12:39:02p, Nancy2 told us...

> On Sep 8, 9:26*pm, Arri London > wrote:
>> Nancy2 wrote:
>>
>> > On Sep 7, 9:22 pm, Arri London > wrote:
>> > > Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us
kn
> ow
>> > > the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread,
> but
>> > > that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>
>>
>> > Hard to imagine that this appealed to you for some reason ;-) *There'
> s
>> > not even enough liquid in the recipe to moisten the 1/3 C. flour, let
>> > alone the additional cornmeal. *I wonder if there's some milk or othe
> r
>> > liquid left out by mistake.
>>
>> Because I like chile and lemon! Dunno if something has been left out of
>> the printed recipe. I measured everything as correctly as non-lab
>> kitchenware allows
>>
>>
>>
>> > And what is "preseasoned"-type chili powder?
>>
>> Pure chile powder with cumin and other spices added. As opposed to the
>> chile-only powder normally kept in our kitchen.
>>
>>
>>
>> > Strange recipe, all in all. *I'd forget it and make Chess Pie or
>> > Johnny Cakes or Hush Puppies or something.
>>
>> > N.
>>
>> LOL don't like any of those.
>>
>> Not interested in making it as such, but having a recipe fail so
>> thoroughly is unusual for me and that is being said without any
>> arrogance on my part. People pay me to cook and to cook well.
>
> Then I'd go back to the original source and find out if something is
> missing. (How can one not like hush puppies?)
>
> N.
>

Some people don't like anything made with cornmeal. Go figure!

--
Wayne Boatwright

*******************************************
Date: Tuesday, 09(IX)/09(IX)/08(MMVIII)
*******************************************
Countdown till Veteran's Day
8wks 6dys 10hrs 2mins
*******************************************
A cat is domestic only as far as it
suits its own ends.
*******************************************

Nancy2 wrote:
>
> On Sep 8, 9:26 pm, Arri London > wrote:
> > Nancy2 wrote:
><snip>
> > > And what is "preseasoned"-type chili powder?
> >
> > Pure chile powder with cumin and other spices added. As opposed to the
> > chile-only powder normally kept in our kitchen.
> >
> >
> >
> > > Strange recipe, all in all. I'd forget it and make Chess Pie or
> > > Johnny Cakes or Hush Puppies or something.
> >
> > > N.
> >
> > LOL don't like any of those.
> >
> > Not interested in making it as such, but having a recipe fail so
> > thoroughly is unusual for me and that is being said without any
> > arrogance on my part. People pay me to cook and to cook well.
>
> Then I'd go back to the original source and find out if something is
> missing. (How can one not like hush puppies?)
>
> N.

Boron kindly solved the problem for me!

Nothing against hush puppies as such but they rarely seem to be made
well. Most of the ones we've had were tough or greasy or both. Never
tried making my own though. Could be the next project

Arri London wrote:
> Boron kindly solved the problem for me!

The ratios are kind-of different though.
>
> Nothing against hush puppies as such but they rarely seem to be made
> well. Most of the ones we've had were tough or greasy or both. Never
> tried making my own though. Could be the next project

--
Jean B.

"Arri London" > wrote in message
...
> Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
> Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
>
> 1/3 cup all purpose flour
> 1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> 1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> 1/8 tsp salt
> 1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> 1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> 3 tbs light corn syrup
> 1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
>
> Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> paper.
>
> Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> Let cool completely.
>
> Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> to racks to cool,
>
> Makes 22--25 cookies.

I wouldn't make a shortbread type recipe by melting the butter. Also, I'd
leave out the corn syrup.
Try putting all the ingredients (except the seeds) in a food processor, the
butter straight from the fridge, and process to "fine breadcrumb" stage, mix
in the seeds and then form balls.
Graham

On Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:22:30 -0600, Arri London >
wrote:

>Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
>the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
>that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
>
>Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
>
>1/3 cup all purpose flour
>1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
>1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
>1/8 tsp salt
>1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
>1/2 cup granulatedsugar
>3 tbs light corn syrup
>1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
>1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
>
>Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
>paper.
>
>Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
>butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
>heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
>stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
>Let cool completely.
>
>Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
>on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
>the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
>to racks to cool,
>
>Makes 22--25 cookies.


I'd say your cookies turned out exactly as they were supposed to. The
recipe is on Epicurious and it is called Cornmeal, chile, and pumpkin
seed lace cookies.

It is from a recipe in Gourmet in 1998.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...-COOKIES-15142

http://tinyurl.com/5qmuxe

1/2 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
Preparation
In a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan bring sugar, butter, and corn
syrup to a boil over moderate heat, stirring, and boil 1 minute.
Remove pan from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until mixture
is smooth. Cool dough to room temperature. Form and bake cookies as
directed below.

To form and bake lace cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment
paper.

Roll level 1/2-teaspoons dough into balls and arrange 4 inches apart
on baking sheets. Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of
oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, 10 minutes,
or until cookies are flat and golden. Transfer parchment with cookies
to racks to cool. Cool baking sheets and line with fresh parchment
between batches.

Boron Elgar wrote:
>
> On Sun, 07 Sep 2008 20:22:30 -0600, Arri London >
> wrote:
>
> >Would someone please try this out (if it sounds edible) and let us know
> >the result? The photo accompanying the recipe looks like shortbread, but
> >that isn't what I got, twice LOL.
> >
> >Hot and spicy cornmeal cookies (from: Reader's Digest Cookies)
> >
> >1/3 cup all purpose flour
> >1/4 cup finely ground yellow cornmeal
> >1 1/2 tsp ground hot pure chile powder (not the preseasoned sort)
> >1/8 tsp salt
> >1/4 cup (2 oz) butter, cut p
> >1/2 cup granulatedsugar
> >3 tbs light corn syrup
> >1 tbs fresh lemon juice (I also added a little grated rind)
> >1/2 cup hulled pumpkin or sunflower seeds (or pinon nuts)
> >
> >Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment baking
> >paper.
> >
> >Sift flour, cornmeal, chile powder and salt into a medium bowl. Melt the
> >butter with the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium
> >heat until the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove from the heat and
> >stir in the dry ingredients, lemon juice (and peel) and the seeds/nuts.
> >Let cool completely.
> >
> >Form the dough into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart
> >on the prepared sheets. Bake for 8--10 minutes or until just golden at
> >the edges, rotating the sheets halfway through for even baking. Transfer
> >to racks to cool,
> >
> >Makes 22--25 cookies.
>
> I'd say your cookies turned out exactly as they were supposed to. The
> recipe is on Epicurious and it is called Cornmeal, chile, and pumpkin
> seed lace cookies.
>
> It is from a recipe in Gourmet in 1998.
>
> http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...-COOKIES-15142
>
> http://tinyurl.com/5qmuxe
>
> 1/2 cup sugar
> 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
> 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
> 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
> 2 tablespoons cornmeal
> 1 1/2 teaspoons chile powder
> 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
> 1/2 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
> Preparation
> In a 1- to 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan bring sugar, butter, and corn
> syrup to a boil over moderate heat, stirring, and boil 1 minute.
> Remove pan from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until mixture
> is smooth. Cool dough to room temperature. Form and bake cookies as
> directed below.
>
> To form and bake lace cookies:
> Preheat oven to 350°F and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment
> paper.
>
> Roll level 1/2-teaspoons dough into balls and arrange 4 inches apart
> on baking sheets. Bake cookies in batches in upper and lower thirds of
> oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, 10 minutes,
> or until cookies are flat and golden. Transfer parchment with cookies
> to racks to cool. Cool baking sheets and line with fresh parchment
> between batches.


TYVM for that! Now I can sleep in peace nights
Wondering who put together the recipe first, Epicurious or Reader's
Digest (not especially noted as an authority on cooking)?

On Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:59:21 -0600, Arri London >
wrote:

>
>
>Boron Elgar wrote:
>>

>>
>> I'd say your cookies turned out exactly as they were supposed to. The
>> recipe is on Epicurious and it is called Cornmeal, chile, and pumpkin
>> seed lace cookies.
>>
>> It is from a recipe in Gourmet in 1998.
>>
>> http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/fo...-COOKIES-15142
>>
>> http://tinyurl.com/5qmuxe
>>

>TYVM for that! Now I can sleep in peace nights
>Wondering who put together the recipe first, Epicurious or Reader's
>Digest (not especially noted as an authority on cooking)?

You are most welcome.

I'm betting that it was tested at some point if it was in Gourmet at
any point.

Reader's Digest may have just put the wrong photo with it and even if
they tested the recipe, the photo goof would have thrown it all off.

Boron