Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Cups

Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Cups (from Better Homes & Gardens, Total Time: 1 hour +, Total Servings: 96 cookies)

Ingredients

·         1 cup butter, softened

·         1 cup packed brown sugar

·         ½ tsp. baking powder

·         2 egg yolks

·         1 tsp. vanilla

·         2/3 cup yellow cornmeal

·         2 cups all-purpose flour

·         ¼ cup red and/or green jalapeno jelly

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2.      In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugar and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla until combined. Beat in cornmeal. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour.

3.      Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Lightly press the tip of your thumb into the center of each ball of dough. Fill each center with about 1/8 teaspoon of the jalapeno jelly.

4.      Bake in the preheated oven about 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for 1 minute. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

This was another dessert that I made for the Progressive Dinner in my neighborhood.  I think that this is one of the first “rolled” cookie recipes that I have found where I didn’t need to refrigerate the batter!  Excellent!

I have a homemade strawberry jalapeno jelly that people have loved, so I thought that this would be a great way to share it with my neighbors.  My husband loves these cookies, but I think that are a little on the dry side.  Even with the jelly, which adds a touch of moisture, they were still dry – almost like a normal cornbread muffin.  I think that additional butter or using whole eggs might counteract the dryness.  Other than that complaint, I was happy with the outcome – small cookies that satisfy a savory dessert hunger.