This past week I was in a cookie baking mood and I was trying to come up with an idea for another gluten-free cookie {so my husband wouldn’t feel left out} and my thoughts wandered to corn. I had never tasted, seen, or even heard of a corn cookie before…but the idea intrigued me! I started to look online for recipe ideas for corn cookies, and I kept running into a recipe for Momofuku Milk Bar’s Corn Cookies. I have never been to Momofuku Milk Bar {probably because I have never been to New York. If I ever do go to New York, it will probably be one of my stops!}, but from what I read it seems to be a restaurant with some pretty yummy and quality food! Every post that I read piqued my interest a little more and I knew that I had to try to make these cookies! They aren’t difficult to make, but what makes them unique is a special ingredient {again, something that I had never heard of} called corn powder. How corn powder is made is by grinding up freeze-dried corn. Apparently, this is not something that should be substituted in this recipe or the final product just won’t be the same. But, who on earth carries freeze-dried corn?! Amazon to the rescue!

Now, I will warn you – this stuff isn’t cheap! I got a large can of freeze-dried corn from Honeyville Farms {1.25 pounds – which doesn’t sound like a lot, but all of the moisture has been zapped from the corn, which takes the majority of the weight out of what it would normally weigh}. I think the can has about 10 cups of the freeze-dried corn in it. If you are worried that you won’t end up using that much freeze dried corn just to make these cookies, have no fear! The kernels can also be rehydrated and used in cooking, or eaten straight out of the can as a super-sweet, crunchy snack. They are pretty tasty, if I do say so myself. So, I ordered a can, and I had to wait a couple of days for it to get shipped to me.

So, while I waited for the special ingredient in the mail, I ended up making up a batch of Gluten-Free Sugar Corn Cookies, which turned out great as well! I will have to post that recipe soon. Since I am home by myself today, the recipe that I am sharing with you today is not gluten-free, but very yummy to my tummy at least!

Once these cookies cool, they are slightly airy and crunchy on the outside edge, and chewy in the middle – which is an awesome combination! I paired these with a cold glass of milk and it made a great breakfast for me {shhh…don’t tell my kids}! I made the recipe as I found posted on www.thekitchn.com . They are delicious as is, but I think next time I make them I will cut down on the amount of salt it calls for. The original recipe calls for 1 1/2 teaspoons, but I think that 1 teaspoon will be more than sufficient for these cookies. If you like a distinct sweet/salty combo, leave it at the 1 1/2 teaspoon mark {everyone I worked with liked the ratio of sweet to salty}…so apparently I needed a second opinion. Besides that, it seems to have worked for Momofuku Milk Bar! It’s personal preference, really. Either way, if you try these out, let me know how you like them! Enjoy! -Shelley.

*The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post…

Corn Cookies

Before mixing begins, make the freeze-dried corn powder by grinding up about 1 slightly heaping cupful of freeze-dried corn into a blender or food processor until it is a fine powder. Measure to make sure it is the right amount, and then set aside until ready to use.

I used my WonderMill Grain Mill on the “Pastry” setting to grind popcorn kernels into corn flour. I like to grind a large batch, and then place it in the freezer to keep it fresh!

In a large mixing bowl combine bread flour, corn flour, freeze-dried corn powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together to combine well. Set aside.

Start off by beating room temperature butter and sugar for 3 minutes on medium high, until light and fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary to make sure everything is incorporated.

Next, add the room temperature egg and beat on medium-high an additional 7 minutes. Yes, you read that…7 minutes! It’s worth it…trust me! You will want to scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary to get the ingredients mixed evenly. When the mixture is done beating, it will be light and fluffy, and will have almost doubled in size.

Add flour mixture to butter/sugar/egg mixture and mix until everything comes together, no longer than one minute. Do not over mix!

Using a 2 3/4 ounce scoop {or a 1/3 measuring cup} portion out dough onto a cookie sheet.

Flatten the domed part of the dough lightly with the palm of your hand. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate anywhere from 1 hour to 1 week. It is important not to bake these right away, the final product will not be the same!

When ready to bake, pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place cookie dough disks 4-inches apart onto a cookie sheet and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until slightly golden on the outside edges of the cookie, and yellow in the center. These were done right at 15 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes, and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once cooled, store in an air-tight container.

Mind you, these cookies are HUGE if you use the 2 3/4 ounce scoop to portion them out. You will get about 12 cookies with this measure. If you want smaller cookies, feel free to use a smaller scoop or measure when forming them. If you make smaller cookies you will just have to keep an eye on them for the cooking time. These corn cookies will keep approximately 5 days at room temperature or will freeze well for about a month. Enjoy!

Here is the printable recipe…

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