Lavender and Cherry Cornmeal Cookies

Lavender and Cherry Cornmeal Cookies (Adapted from The Italian Baker via David Lebovitz)

For the cherry mixture

3/4 cup dried cherries
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the dough

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup dry (coarse) polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons dried lavender blossoms
3/4 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons (5 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

To prepare cherry mixture

Finely chop dried cherries, then toss them together with 2 tablespoon flour in a small bowl

To prepare dough

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, polenta, baking powder, lavender and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing until well combined after each. Mix in vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined - stir in the cherry mixture.

Divide dough in half, then shape each into a 7" x 2 3/4" rectangle, roughly 1 1/4" thick. Wrap well in plastic wrap, then store in the freezer until ready to bake.

When ready to make cookies, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Working with one dough rectangle at a time, slice the cookies into 1/4" thick slices and place them onto parchment-lined baking sheets. If the dough is too firm to slice well, let the rectangle sit out for a few minutes to soften slightly.

Place baking sheets into the oven and bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cookies are a very light brown on top, about 10 to 12 minutes. Remove and place sheets onto a wire rack to cool for two minutes before transferring cookies to another wire rack to cool completely.

Makes several dozen cookies.

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