Rosemary Lemon Cornmeal Cookies
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This recipe makes a batch of pretty, easy-to-make glazed lemon cookies made with Italian polenta (or cornmeal), fresh rosemary and pine nuts.
My favorite homemade cookies are the ones that are simple and unfussy, but at the same time they have to deliver that “Wow, it’s so good!” factor.
As much as I tend to have an all-in spirit in the kitchen, I also have a serious lack of patience when it comes to decorating or otherwise fussing over food. If you’re one of those people who can spend hours perfecting the finer details of beautiful desserts, I am in awe of you!
I love baking, though, so during the holiday season these delectable buttery cookies are an absolute favorite. If you love the rustic crunch of cornmeal, you’ll really enjoy these cookies.
Along with that irresistible cornmeal texture, the cookies have a lovely fresh lemon scent, backed up with a hit of piney rosemary. As a finishing touch, the cooled cookies get a simple creamy lemon glaze topped with a pine nut and rosemary garnish.
They’re pretty and look festive on a holiday cookie plate, as a bite-sized dessert or alongside a cup of tea.
The procedure for making these cornmeal cookies is easy — just mix, scoop, drop, and bake. I also briefly chill the dough before scooping, which helps the cookies keep their cute button shape. I’ve also baked them straight from the mixer and they turn out just fine.
You can use either Italian polenta or stoneground cornmeal that has a coarser texture than fine cornmeal — either will work perfectly.
Rosemary Lemon Polenta Cookies
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons (140 g) butter, softened
- ¾ cup (180 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) freshly grated lemon zest
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract, optional
- 1 ½ cups (210 g) all purpose flour
- ¾ cup (120 g) coarse ground cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus a few sprigs for garnish
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup pinenuts, plus extra for garnish
Glaze:
- 1 cup (100 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
Equipment
Instructions
- Beat the butter and sugar in a standing mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium high speed. Add the lemon zest and the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Stir in the lemon extract, if using.
- Mix the flour, cornmeal, rosemary, baking powder and salt in a bowl until blended together.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter on low speed in 2 parts, just until the dough comes together. Stir in the pine nuts. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for an hour or two, until the dough is firm and scoopable.
- Heat the oven to 325 (160 C) degrees and line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Scoop the dough into tablespoon-sized balls (I like to use a cookie scoop) so they come out even) and arrange on the cookie sheets about 2-inches apart.
- Bake 12 minutes, or until the cookies are puffed and slightly golden on the edges. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, stir together the powdered sugar, cream, lemon juice and zest until smooth. Spread some glaze on each cookie. Put a few rosemary leaves and a pine nut on the top.
Notes
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition facts are calculated by third-party software. If you have specific dietary needs, please refer to your favorite calculator.
Sounds delicious, but why lemon extract instead of lemon juice?
Hi Deborah – Lemon juice would add extra moisture to the dough, but not much real flavor that you’d be able to taste after the cookies are baked. Using extract is just a way to double-down on the lemon flavor because it’s much more concentrated. The glaze does have fresh lemon juice, though, and you can really taste the tang!
Thank you!!
I’m excited to make these cookies!
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy them 😍
Made these yesterday -will definitely be going in my Christmas cookie boxes! I was looking for a more ‘adult’ cookie to add – perfection!
These look delicious. How well do they freeze?
Hi Judy – they will freeze just fine, but don’t glaze them until you’re ready to serve.
Baking these this morning! They remind me of Nancy Silverton’s amazing cookies at Pizzeria Mozza.
These look delicious. So happy to have found your blog (through pinterest). Everything looks delicious!
Mmm, these are all of my favorite ingredients! I once made a lemon corn-flour cake and it was outstanding, I can’t believe I didn’t even think to add rosemary (my all time favorite herb)!
These cookies looks beautiful and intriguing! I can’t wait to try them. I like the sounds of the refreshing combination of rosemary and lemon. Thank you!