A benefit of working from home during COVID-19 is the ability to move my office outdoors when the weather’s agreeable. The climate, this week, has been extremely fine and, today, I find myself perched at my patio table, under the sailcloth, bare feet propped on a nearby chair, listening to the mocking birds shout their heads off nearby. This time of year in LA is lovely.

The downside of this COVID-19 quarantine is that I’m baking desserts madly through the pandemic – and gorging my way through the results. I’m lamentably watching the number creep up on my bathroom scale. I know I shouldn’t be so hard on myself, but it’s times like these that I really wish my culinary forte was low-cal, low-carb, healthy meals.

I managed to share these cookies with my guy so I didn’t eat the ENTIRE batch, but pretty darn near close to it. When you bite into these thin, crisp cornmeal cookies, your mouth is filled with fresh lemon (yes, 2 Tablespoons of zest is correct!) followed by the spicy tingle from fresh ginger. They’re so addictive, I’m ready to bake another batch!

*Recipe adapted from Lori Longbotham’s lemon-black pepper cornmeal cookies.

Lemon Ginger Cornmeal Thins

• Servings: Approximately 3 dozen
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These cookies are best when pressed as thinly as possible to ensure maximum crispness. When you bite into these thin cornmeal cookies, your mouth is filled with fresh lemon followed by the spicy tingle from fresh ginger.

Ingredients

• ½ cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• Pinch of salt
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• ½ cup sugar
• 2 Tablespoons finely grated lemon zest
• ½ teaspoon (generous) finely grated fresh ginger
• 1 large egg yolk
• Additional sugar for shaping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. Beat the butter, sugar, zest, and ginger in a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beginning on low speed and increasing to medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat until combined. Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture, and beat on low speed just until blended; the dough will be crumbly.
3. Scoop teaspoonfuls of dough and roll into balls. Place on silpat or parchment-paper lined baking sheets. Dip the bottom of a glass in sugar and press each ball into a very thin disk – about ⅛” thick.
4. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are golden brown, switching sheets half-way through baking. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and let cool. I have no doubt these would be fabulous sandwiched with white chocolate ganache.