Pepper Jelly Cornmeal Thumbprints

Ingredients: 

4 oz (1 stick) unsalted, butter, softened

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup Student Made Cornmeal

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon real salt

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Student Made Pepper Jelly, as needed

Instructions:

1- In a large bowl, using 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 in the cornmeal. Whisk the flour, paprika, salt, nutmeg and cayenne in a bowl until the spices are well dispersed. Beat into the butter mixture until the dough comes together. Scrape into a bowl and let chill for about 30 minutes. But not so long that the dough is difficult to scoop.

3- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. 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 inch apart. Or scoop the dough into 1 inch 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 Pepper Jelly

6- Bake 15-20 minutes, until the bottoms of the cookies are light golden.