Rhode Island Jonnycake Cookies
Buttery and rich, these crispy oatmeal jonnycake cookies (so named for their inclusion of Rhode Island whitecap flint cornmeal) are a sweet treat.
Rhode Island Jonnycake Cookies
Photo Credit : Aimee TuckerButtery and rich, these crispy oatmeal jonnycake cookies (so named for their inclusion of Rhode Island whitecap flint cornmeal) are a sweet treat.
In 2014, I had the pleasure of meeting Bob and Diane Smith, operators (and former owners) of the Perry Grist Mill in Perryville, Rhode Island, for a Yankee feature. Since then, I have since become a big fan of their stone-ground jonnycake meal, a nutty cornmeal made from native Rhode Island whitecap flint corn.
This cornmeal cookie recipe, a favorite of Diane’s, combines old-fashioned oats with jonnycake meal and just a touch of Britain’s beloved Lyle’s Golden Syrup. Diane (who was born in the U.K.) says the cookies taste best when made with Lyle’s, but light corn syrup works, too.
Yield:
About 3 dozen cookiesIngredients
14 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 3/4 sticks), room temperature
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Lyle’s Golden Syrup or light corn syrup
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons jonnycake meal or cornmeal
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment.
In a large bowl, beat together the butter, water, and syrup until light and fluffy. Add the baking soda.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, sugar, jonnycake meal or cornmeal, and salt.
Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix until thoroughly combined. The batter will be very stiff. Add vanilla.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tops are barely set and edges are beginning to crisp.
Remove baking sheets and allow cookies to cool for a moment before gently transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Aimee Tucker
Aimee Tucker is Yankee Magazine’s Home Editor and the Senior Digital Editor of NewEngland.com. A lifelong New Englander and Yankee contributor since 2010, Aimee has written columns devoted to history, foliage, retro food, and architecture, and regularly shares her experiences in New England travel, home, and gardening. Her most memorable Yankee experiences to date include meeting Stephen King, singing along to a James Taylor Fourth of July concert at Tanglewood, and taking to the skies in the Hood blimp for an open-air tour of the Massachusetts coastline.
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