Cornmeal Shortbread Cookies

As you know, I send a lot of the things I bake to work with Shane.  Often, though, I won't have them completely made, photographed & wrapped for transport until after Shane heads to bed.  A few months ago we came up with a plan so he'd know whether I intended for him to take something to the office with him in the morning since I don't usually wake up until after he leaves (yep, we're on somewhat opposite schedules).  We have an island in the center of the kitchen, and if I leave a treat on the edge nearest the door that's a sign it's for him to share with his coworkers.  Sounds simple enough, right?

Well, it should be.  I made these cookies on Sunday but didn't photograph them.  I stuck them on a plate with some plastic wrap on top intending to deal with them on Monday.  I woke up yesterday, stumbled downstairs and began reading my emails.  There was one from Shane, and as I'm rubbing my eyes trying to wake up I do a double take upon seeing this line:

"You said those cookies were shortbread, right? I couldn’t remember what else to call them when I sent out the email about them at work."

Ooops.  Guess I accidentally left them in the "bring to work" spot.  Totally my fault, but I really didn't want to make them again so I responded with a request for him to pick out 3 or 4 of the pretty cookies and set them aside.  Fortunately it was barely 8 am so there were plenty left.  As luck would have it, he'd forgotten his lunch so I drove to his office to drop it off and pick up the cookies.  Crisis averted, or so I thought.  I took some great shots of the cookies while I was prepping/baking them and as I sat down to write this post last night realized I'd accidentally erased those shots from the memory card earlier in the day.  It gave me the same sick feeling (though to a much lesser degree) as the time I decided to format the memory card on our camera midway through a vacation.  Apparently "format" is another word for erase.  Learned that lesson the hard way :)



These cornmeal shortbread cookies were selected by Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie.  I used lime zest and almond extract in my cookies and halved the recipe.  Dorie uses a great trick for rolling out shortbread dough in a resealable plastic bag and a half recipe fits perfectly in a quart-size bag.  The dough was delicious, but I wasn't quite as enthusiastic about the cookies once baked.  I loved the almond flavor and the hints of lime, but the cornmeal gave the cookies a bit more crunch than I generally prefer in my shortbread.  Shane's coworkers were big fans though.

Many thanks to Valerie for hosting.  You can find the recipe on her blog or on page 130 of Baking: From My Home to Yours.