Learn how to make perfect Cornmeal Cookies, with crispy edges, soft centres and the taste of buttery corn in every bite. Made with polenta, these are my fave Corn Cookies!
Perfect Cornmeal Cookies 💙
And I’m talking p-e-r-f-e-c-t. With crispy golden edges, a soft centre and the taste of buttery corn in everrry single bite. Made with polenta or cornmeal, these Corn Cookies are hands down, one of my favourite cookies ever.
Flavour, texture and a little crunch – this cookie has it all.
I have to credit my husband for the inspiration for this recipe. He asked me to make him a Corn Cookie. I first thought, what in the world is a Corn Cookie? But I went to work with a fresh bag of polenta in one hand and my kitchen mixer in the other.
My first batch went in the oven as 6 individual cookies and emerged as one giant one. Not exactly what I was intending. But the flavour was there.
So over the coming days I tried again. And again. And again. I was up to my ears in Corn Cookies. I had ones that were so thin they were see-through, then ones that were so fat, they were like whoopie pies. And then there was the flavour. I made them too sweet, too salty, not corn-y enough.
Then, I struck gold – in the form of the perfect Cornmeal Cookie. One with crisp golden edges boasting the perfect amount of chew, a light and fluffy centre and a sweet corn flavour that’s reminiscent of a good piece of cornbread.
FYI I am now completely hooked on cornmeal cookies.
So I dedicate these to my husband, who randomly sent me on a wild ride, but helped me discover my new favourite cookie. If you have a bag of polenta in your cupboard, you need to try these cookies!
HOW TO MAKE PERFECT CORNMEAL COOKIES
- These Corn Cookies are so easy to make. You will need an electric mixer or beater.
- Start with room temperature butter – it needs to be softened so not fridge cold, but not melty by any means.
- We use a combination of brown sugar for extra flavour and caster sugar for crispness. You can swap caster sugar with granulated sugar if you like. Read more about caster sugar here.
- We add a little bit of honey to the cookie batter which means these cookies reminiscent of honey cornbread – amazing!
- The cookies call for part plain or all purpose flour and part polenta or cornmeal. It means the cookies have a lovely soft texture but also a little crunch and flavour from the polenta.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes, or until the cookies have spread out in the oven and gone slightly golden on the edges. They will be very soft when they first come out of the oven but will firm up as they cool.
MORE COOKIE RECIPES TO TRY
- Honey Cookies
- Lemon Cookies
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Chocolate Chocolate Cookies
- Snickerdoodle Cookies
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter for more amazing recipe ideas.
Print
Perfect Cornmeal Cookies
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 52 minutes
- Yield: Makes 12 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy Corn Cookies made with polenta or cornmeal and honey.
Ingredients
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 100 grams (1/2 cup) caster sugar
- 45 grams (1/4 cup) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 175 grams (1 and 1/4 cup) plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 120 grams (3/4 cup) cornmeal or polenta
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line two baking trays with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla, egg and honey and mix again until combined.
- Sift in the plain flour and baking soda. Add the polenta and salt and stir until combined. Roll balls of cookie dough using your hands, approximately 1.5 tablespoons each, and place on prepared trays.
- Bake for approximately 12 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 237
Keywords: Corn Cookies, Cornmeal Cookies, Polenta Cookies
This recipe was first published on Sweetest Menu in May 2017.
Just made this because I was craving cornbread, but also cookies. So I googled it and here we are. They are fantastic. If cornbread and cookies had children. I did as another reviewer recommended and did 1/4 baking powder 1/4 baking soda and they came out deliciously puffy and soft. The batch won’t last the afternoon!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed these cookies Marie! I love them too! ❤️
Oops something didn’t go right. They stayed round balls & did not flatten out. I rarely have problems. Altitude maybe? Positive got ingredients correct.
Hey Mickey, I haven’t had that problem myself but it’s most likely you perhaps added more flour and polenta. Cookies rely on that careful balance of butter and flour to ensure they spread correctly. I recommend using a kitchen scale rather than cups if you can. In saying that I don’t have any experience with altitude baking so not sure how that might play a factor as well?
I made these at home today and they tuned out PERFECTLY. I think these might be my favourite kind of cookie now. the only thing I altered was that where the recipe calls for, “1/2 tsp baking soda”, I used a 1/4 tsp of baking powder AND a 1/4 tsp of baking soda. In my opinion this gives the cookie a better rise and makes for a chewier cookie.
★★★★★
Awesome to hear Nick! So glad you enjoyed them! And love the tip for baking soda and baking powder – I’ll have to try that one!
they came out perfectly, very easy recipe…would probably use finer cornmeal next time. thank you for sharing!
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them!
Just finished making these and they are a big hit in our house! Wonderful, thank you for sharing the recipe.
A question, mine definitely didn’t flatten like yours in your photos. My only variation was not using a room temp egg (just forgot to take out ahead of time!). Could that have been cause?
★★★★★
So glad you enjoyed them Mary! If they didn’t flatten, my best guess would be that you may have added a little too much flour and it polenta? I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure if you can! Or your butter wasn’t softened enough. Hope that helps!
That could be. Thank you for the quick reply!
Mine also didn’t flatten (I weighed out the flour and polenta). for the second tray into the oven, I just pressed them like an oatmeal cookie and dropped the cooking time to 10 minutes and good to go from there.
Delicious!
★★★★
Hi…i have just baked them a couple of hours ago and they turned out very nice..i added a few choc chips too to some for the kids…i had cornmeal at home and didn’t know how to use it and this was the best recipe ever.
Thank you so much for posting and sharing.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that! It’s so nice when you can make something delicious with ingredients you already have at home!
Need help with ingredients list.
Self-rising or plain cornmeal?
Thank you so much!
Hi, just plain cornmeal for these cookies.
I made these cookies an hour ago, and my son and I have already eaten a third of them… we cannot get enough! I’ll have to double my morning jog tomorrow but it is SO worth it! They are absolutely fabulous, the texture is divine, the chewy-crunchy combination makes for hands down the best cookies I personally have ever made, or tasted for that matter. We are hooked!
★★★★★
What lovely feedback! I’m so pleased you loved them – they’re one of my favourites too! ☺️
Subbed a combo of maple sugar/natural crystals for the caster sugar…no probs. I used fine cornmeal instead of the medium-grind I more often use. Also good. Recently got some super-non-stick pans, so didn’t bother with the parchment paper. Couple of other minor differences how I did it. Anyway, great results and easy to make.. The cookies are on the sweetish side but not overly so. And way tasty! I like their texture much more than the “other” cornmeal cookie recipe I have used. Winner.
★★★★
Thanks for the feedback Bruce! So glad you enjoyed them ☺️
I plan to make these, since I adore cornbread and am getting more into making all kinds of cookies lately. But if each cookie is a heaping teaspoon, is the calorie count REALLY that high for a single cookie? (Say it ain’t so! I never eat just one!)
Hi Terry! Thanks for your comment. To be fair, a heaped teaspoon is probably on the conservative side. This batch makes 12 decent sized cookies (the calorie count is right) but you can make them as big or small as you wish!! Enjoy! ☺️
These are my favourite cookies!
★★★★★
So glad to hear that Josh! They’re one of my favourites too.
Wanting to make these cookies today but I have a few questions! How big do these come out? It says to roll into teaspoons before baking but that seems very small. Also, do you use dark brown or light brown sugar? Thanks, I’m excited to try these! I want to make icecream sandwiches with them.
Hi Monica, thanks for getting in touch! Excited you are going to try these – especially to make ice cream sandwiches! Yum! I rolled these using a heaped teaspoon of dough, around a size 40 cookie scoop, but its really up to you how big or small you want them. You could even try cooking one or two and see how big they are. I would recommend light brown sugar. We only have one type of brown sugar in Australia but I believe it is most similar to light brown sugar. Hope that helps, would love to see a photo of your creation! x
OMG, I saw cornmeal cookies and couldn’t get to the recipe fast enough. YUM! I love cornmeal pancakes and cornbread, so what a great idea. Can’t wait to give these a shot!
I’m so intrigued!! These sound amazing. I love me a good cornbread, so I bet these would be just like that, but even better, because: COOKIE!
Oh if you love cornbread, you would love these Lynn!!