Reflecting back on our Signature Bar Cookie Challenge on The Great American Baking Show, I made a Honey Corn Blackberry Basil Crumb Bar Cookie. My inspiration for this cookie came from mixing two things I LOVE into a cookie-- cornbread and pie! I'll have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of bar cookies but fell in love with this flavor combination of corn + fruit compote. Since I prefer eating regular flat crispy and/or chewy cookies, I made a new version today! Boy, were the results FANTASTIC!
I am in love with the look of these cookies with the beautiful color swirling through them and large chunks of cherries peeking through. Couple of tips while making these-- 1) Make sure you use an ice cream scooper since it will be too soft to handle. 2) When you add in the cherry compote, stir with a spatula by hand and only a minimal amount of times so it's only a nice swirl of fruit on each cookie. The more you mix the fruit in, you'll lose that contrast.
This is a super easy recipe that can be done from start to finish in about 2-2.5 hours. These also yield very delicious crispy edges with a chewy center type cookies. You get the sweetness from the corn and then a bit of tartness from the cherries which make for a yummy cookie unlike you've had before. Hope you enjoy these guys as much as my hubby does!
Cherry Corn Cookie
Makes 22 cookies (using a 1 3/4 inch ice cream scooper)
Dark Cherry Compote:
- 1/2 cup frozen dark rainer cherries
- 1/8 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Corn Cookie Dough:
- 1 1/4 cup of granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick, room temp)
- 1/2 cup of salted butter (1 stick, room temp)
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup corn flour
- 2/3 cup freeze-dried corn powder (I'll just throw freeze dried corn into a food processor)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1. Add frozen cherries, lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan and place over a medium heat. Cook for about 5-7 minutes until cherries have broken down. Add in corn starch and continue to cook until mixture has thickened. Set aside in a separate bowl and allow to come to room temp. (Or you can put in the fridge if you don't want to wait to get started on the rest of the cookie dough.
2. In a bowl of a stand mixer, add butters and sugar then cream together on medium high for 2 minutes until mixture is light and well mixed together. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula then add the egg and beat again for another 5 minutes. The mixture will get very fluffy with the egg.
3. In a separate medium bowl, add flour, corn flour, freeze dried corn powder, baking powder and baking soda. Whisk ingredients together.
4. With the stand mixer on low, add in the dry ingredients to the creamed butter, sugar and egg 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until everything comes together. You may need to keep mixing a little more by hand.
5. Remove bowl from the mixer since the next part you should only mix with a spatula in hand. Add half of the cherry compote and mix in with about 5 strokes in the batter. Add in the rest of the compote depending on how much cherries you want per cookie. Remember, you want this to be a swirl and not fully mixed in. Have a gentle hand during this part of the mixing and be aware of how many time you're folding the compote in the dough.
6. Portion out the dough using an ice cream scooper and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I like to use a 1 and 3/4 inch scooper which results in about a 3 inch cookie. Chill in the fridge for a minimum of 1 hour and up to 1 week. These cookies need to be fully chilled before baking.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Arrange 6 cookies on each baking sheet and bake two sheets at a time. See my post on Kona Mac Nut Cookies for how to space out the cookies. Bake for 14-17 minutes, rotating the pans once half-way through the bake time. Cookies will spread a good amount. They are done when the edges are browned and middle is still light colored.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool on the baking sheet. Do not move them early since they need time to harden as they come to room temp. After 8 minutes, move cookies to a cooling rack and allow to come completely to room temp. Store cookies in an airtight container for about a week.