Pillsbury Bake-Off Countdown: Triple Ginger-Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

CakeSpy Note: OMG! It's getting to be that time of year again. The Pillsbury Bake-Off is coming in November! Since I so deeply loved attending the 45th Bake-Off as well as the 46th Bake-Off, I thought I would get you excited the 47th one early by sharing all of the sweet recipes in the running. You can follow them by clicking the bakeoff tag below to see the recipes posted so far (as well as recipes from previous Bake-Off events).

Thanks to enterprising bakers such as Amy's Bread and Momofuku, cornmeal in cookies is no longer a strange thing--in fact, it's an anticipated and delicious thing. You've probably even heard of them.

But you've never seen cornmeal cookies like these. Jennifer Gentry of Steamboat Springs, Colorado takes the concept several steps further with the zing of three types of ginger (!) and lemon. With a rich, sugar cookie dough base, these cookeis are a sweet treat indeed. Good luck at the Bake-Off!

Triple Ginger-Lemon-Cornmeal Cookies

  • Prep Time: 20 Min
  • Total Time: 1 Hr 5 Min
  • Makes: 16 cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough
  • 1/2 cup stone-ground or yellow cornmeal
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup (about 3 oz) finely chopped crystallized ginger
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped gingerroot
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground Ginger

Procedure

  1. Heat oven to 350°F. Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Line 2 cookie sheets with Reynolds® Parchment Paper.
  2. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Add remaining ingredients. Mix with wooden spoon, or knead with hands until well blended.
  3. Shape dough into 16x2-inch log. Cut dough into 1-inch slices with sharp knife. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheet.
  4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until center is set and edges are dry to the touch. Cool 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 10 minutes. Store covered.