Cornmeal Recipes

Kelley's Cornmeal Cookies

Cornmeal enhances the texture and flavor of these golden cookies. These easy drop cookies have a hint of lemon.

For 2 1/2 dozen cookies you will need:

1/2 cup butter 1 tsp. baking powder 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 tsp. salt 1 egg 1 cup flour 1 tsp. lemon extract 1/2 cup raisins or craisins 1/2 cup cornmeal

Preparation:

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Mix in the egg and lemon extract. Blend. In a separate bowl, combine the cornmeal, baking powder, salt and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in the raisins. Drop batter by teaspoons onto a lightly buttered cookie sheet. Bake at 375° F. for 10 to 12 minutes until bottom of cookies are browned. Remove. Let cookies cool a minute before placing on a rack to complete cooling.

Tip: Freshly ground cornmeal gives more texture and nutrition to these cookies. A common mistake is to grind corn too coarsely. When grinding, take a pinch between your thumb and index finger. It shouldn't feel like sand. You should be able to tightly squeeze a pinch between your fingers and have it stick together in a thin cake when you open your fingers.

Civil War Cornbread

They claim one smell of this freshly baked corn bread ended the civil war ! Every one got homesick and went back home -- in this case it was Mississippi.

In a bowl (or helmet), combine the following ingredients:

¾ cup flour 1 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp salt 1½ cup corn meal 2 eggs 1¼ cup milk ¼ cup vegetable oil

Preheat oven and a greased pan, preferably cast iron, to 425 degrees. Carefully pour mixture into hot pan and return to oven.

Bake until golden brown and toothpick comes out clean. This will take 35 to 45 minutes .

Biscuits In A Tube

Those biscuits that come in the pressurized cardboard tube sure are tasty, and the tube is a lot of fun to pop open. Still, they're not something you want to eat every night.

For an interesting variation, take the individual biscuits and roll them gently in a bowl of cornmeal until they are lightly covered.

Make sure you follow the corn grinding suggestion in the recipe for Kelley's Cornmeal Cookies.

Bake as specified in the directions.

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