Several years ago, my husband and I spent Easter week in the Italian village of San Gimignano. Each morning we woke to a deserted village, but by afternoon, the pedestrian streets were impassable with visitors. I know they came to see the famous towers, but I think many also came to buy the golden cornmeal cookies from the little bakery across from our hotel. The super-crunchy cookies were piled in huge bins that held cookies with nuts, apricots, or currants. My favorite was the one with little bits of chewy currants and crisp nuts.
makes 14 cookies • cookie making 15 minutes • cookie baking 350 degrees, two baking sheets for about 15 minutes each
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup plus 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup dried currants
½ cup chopped pecans, plus 14 pecan halves (optional)
Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter, ¾ cup of the sugar, and the lemon zest until smooth and creamy and the color has lightened slightly, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg yolks and vanilla and mix until blended, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just until it is incorporated. Mix in the currants and chopped pecans.
Spread the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar on a large piece of parchment or wax paper. Using an ice cream scoop or measuring cup with a ¼-cup capacity, scoop out portions of dough. Roll each one between the palms of your hands into a smooth ball, then roll each ball in the sugar, flatten it to about a 3½-inch circle, and place the cookies 2 inches apart on the baking sheets. Press a pecan half into the center of each cookie, if desired.
Bake one sheet at a time until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days.