Lemon Polenta Pistachio Buttons

There is nothing therapeutic than baking for me.  My daughter is lately showing interest in baking.  She baked her own chocolate soufflé last week.  It’s a joy to watch your kids follow your footsteps.  My Mom used to bake varieties of cookies and cakes when we were little.  The crunchy coconut cookies she used to bake were my favorite among all.  Good traits are meant to be inherited and I feel proud of it.  So now when my daughter goes to the library with me she finds time to stop at the cooking books aisle and recommends some baking books for me to try.  She bookmarks the recipes she would like me to try.

Lemon Polenta Pistachio Button is a gorgeous yellow button shaped cookie with the crunch from the pistachios and flavor from the lemon zest.  These yellow cookies are soft inside and crunchy at the outside.  They are delicious melt in mouth kind of cookies apt for tea time snack.

Recipe source - Baking With Less Sugar by Joanne Chang 
Ingredients:
1/2 cup - unsalted butter softened
1/4 cup - granulated sugar
1 - egg
1 tbsp - grated lemon zest
2 tsp - pure vanilla extract
1 cup - all purpose flour
1/4 cup - fine corn meal/Polenta
1 tsp - baking powder
1/2 tsp - salt

Dipping mix to roll
2 tbsp - granulated sugar
1/4 cup - finely chopped roasted salted pistachios
1 tbsp - grated lemon zest

Directions:

• Cream the softened butter, egg and sugar together in a mixing bowl using stand mixer or hand mixture.  Add vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix well.
• Sift together flour and baking powder.  Combine the flour, baking powder, corn meal and salt to form a sticky dough.
• Cover the dough in a plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Preheat over to 350°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Combine the ingredients of the dipping mix in a bowl.
• Roll the refrigerated dough into small balls and roll into the dipping mix.
• Place the cookie dough balls on the parchment paper and bake for 8 to 10 minutes.  These cookies will expand as they are baked, so make sure to keep them apart before baking.
• Cool them on wire rack and store them in air tight container.