Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Thumbprints

Prep Time: 25 minutes           Chill Time: 30 minutes           Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings: 24 bites

Ingredients:

• 4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• ½ c. honey
• 2 eggs
• ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 c. Edwards Mill Yellow Cornmeal
• 1 ½ c. whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. ground nutmeg
• ⅛ tsp. cayenne pepper
• Student-Made Pepper Jelly, as needed

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the butter and honey until they are well blended. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. (At this point the batter will look curdled - that is normal. It will come together when the cornmeal and flour are added.)
2. Mix the cornmeal into the honey mixture. In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, paprika, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne until the spices are well dispersed. Beat the flour mixture into the honey mixture at low speeds until the dough comes together. Once the dough comes together, place it in the fridge and chill for about 30 minutes until firm, but not so long that the dough is difficult to scoop.
3. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. Drop rounded teaspoons of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, about 1 in. apart or scoop the dough into 1 in. balls using a small scoop.
4. With your thumb or middle finger, make an indent deep into the cookie ball. You may need to dip your finger in flour to keep the dough from sticking to your finger.
5. Fill indents with Student-Made Pepper Jelly
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookies are light golden brown.