Recipe

Lemon Almond Cornmeal Diamonds

Community Pick!

 Lemon Almond Cornmeal Diamonds

Photo by James Ransom

  • This recipe was entered in the contest for Your Best Citrus Recipe
  • A&M's Testing Notes: These coarse cookies are crumbly and moist at the same time. The bright lemony flavor is complemented by the almond extract, a favorite around these parts. Grinding the lemon zest with the...

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  • Chef

    LE BEC FIN's Notes: Loving citrus as I do, I prefer it not as a whisper, but as a robust brightness. In looking for a way to achieve that without the use of lemon oil, I developed this technique of pureeing sugar...

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Makes 1 9 inch square pan

  1. Butter or Pam 1 9" square metal pan.

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  2. In small processor, grind 1/2 cup sugar with lemon zest, scraping down the sides a few times, until pureed and wet but not soupy( This method really extracts a lot of lemon flavor.)

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  3. Into a standard food processor, combine the ½ cup of almonds, flour, cornmeal and salt. Pulse twice to combine. Add butter. Pulse until butter is pea sized, as if making piecrust.

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  4. Combine eggs through almond extract, add to processor along with sugar lemon zest mixture, and pulse til barely mixed. Press into pan, smoothing top with graduated cake spatula.

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  5. Score mixture lightly into 2 inch tall diamonds, and put a pine nut in the center of each diamond, pressing down to adhere. For topping, combine 1/2 cup ground almonds with 2 Tablespoons of sugar, and mix well. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the pan. Press down to adhere.

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  6. Bake 350 degrees F, 20-25 minutes until lightly browned and toothpick comes out clean. Cool , chill til firm, and cut into diamonds. (If you try cutting before it chills, mixture will crumble.)

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  7. * Fresh bulk yellow cornmeal or packaged organic cornmeal is far preferable in flavor to prepackaged supermarket cornmeal.

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11 Comments on Lemon Almond Cornmeal Diamonds

Smokin_tokyo Reply

These were really wonderful- full of lemon's brightness! You Rock!

Photo_squirrel Reply

so glad they worked for you! saw your canned seafood recipes just now- boy you sure do continue to push the envelope there!! hey, plse let me know what you think of my inari recipe i just entered!
best,
mindy

Img_7818 Reply

Oh my, these are awesome! I made them this morning for a dinner party tonight, and I just ate two straight from the pan. Cook's taste, right? I love the texture and the bright lemony flavor. I'm going to serve them alongside my orange sherbet (http://food52.com/recipes/12224_fizzy_orange_sherbet_cooler)...can't wait for dessert! Thanks for posting a recipe I'm sure to make again and again.

Photo_squirrel Reply

emily, you def made my day! heck, after feeling TOTALLY bummed yestday after hours of flailing and failing w / " the vodka pie crust "( ref my Hotline question), I'd say you helped considerably to restore my self confidence, so thank you!

p.s. you know what might be neat if you decide to do them again with your sherbet? add some thyme to them>>the herbal note of one of the 2 citrus- might help add a different dimension to their pairing.

Img_7818 Reply

I like the thyme idea! I've enjoyed leftovers for my 'second breakfast' two days in a row now...they keep beautifully.

Img_1958 Reply

These are wonderful! I made and brought them to a gnocchi making lesson and lunch today. They were the perfect ending to a simple but amazing meal. Everyone enjoyed them and many asked for the recipe. Thank you for the recipe, LBF!

Photo_squirrel Reply

wow, ginger, you just made my day! i am new to 52 and just learning the 'habits of the site' so to speak. (as in: my other 6 recipes for this citrus contest got a max of maybe 30 hits, but because this was a CP, it's had nearly 400 hits so far !)For me, the whole reason to post recipes is so others will try them and hopefully use them and spread the joy. And you're the first (non staff) 52er to try one of mine; so I am 'wicked psyched' as we say here in MA.!!thanks so much for sharing your experience w/ the recipe.

btw, i lived in Honolulu in 1969 for my senior yr of high school. hoping to visit again some winter.
Hanama Bay; what a trip!

Dsc00859_2 Reply

Congrats, LBF! Lovely recipe!

Img_7818 Reply

Oh yum -- I'm definitely making these, hopefully very soon!

Shamrock-medal Reply

Great recipe! These are on my list of things to try!

Summer_2010_1048 Reply

Love the sound of these!

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Eugenia Bone

Eugenia is the author of the book Well-Preserved and writes about homemade food preservation for the Denver Post's Well-Preserved blog.

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