Chop ginger smaller than 1/8 inch so slices do not tear around chewy pieces.
Fine cornmeal adds a grainy crunch beneath a sparkling sugar crust and crystallized ginger pieces.
The recipe card lists measured ingredients, numbered steps, storage guidance, and a nutrition estimate when available. Total time includes the listed preparation, rest, baking, and cooling periods for this recipe.
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Cornmeal Ginger Sugar-Crust Shortbread Recipe
Follow the tray sizes, portions and baking intervals in the instructions below.
Total time includes hands-on preparation, required chilling or resting, whole-batch cooking, cooling and finishing.
Kitchen tools you’ll need
- mixing bowl
- mixer
- kitchen scale
- two 13 x 18-inch half sheets
- parchment
- sharp knife
- ruler
- plastic wrap
- wide spatula
- cooling rack
Ingredients
US measures are approximate. Gram weights help keep portions consistent; spice weights vary with density.
Instructions
Mix the dough
- Mix the dough: Beat butter and granulated sugar until smooth. Add flour, fine cornmeal, salt and ginger; mix until cohesive.
Shape and manage temperature
- Shape and manage temperature: Make two 6-inch logs about 1 1/2 inches wide. Roll in coarse sugar, wrap and chill 90 minutes. Slice each into twelve 1/2-inch rounds for 24 cookies.
Bake the whole batch
- Bake the whole batch: Heat oven to 325°F (165°C) conventional or 300°F (150°C) fan. Arrange cookies on two parchment-lined 13 x 18-inch half sheets, 12 cookies per tray, with at least 1 inch between edges. Bake one tray at a time on the middle rack, keeping the waiting tray refrigerated for 20–24 minutes, rotating front to back once, until the edges and bases are lightly golden and the centers look dry. Whole-batch cookie baking is 2 trays x up to 24 minutes = 48 minutes.
Cool and finish
- Cool and finish: Rest 10 minutes on each tray, then cool 20 minutes on a rack before serving or packing. Cooling includes the tray rest.
Timing and scaling
- Timing and scaling: Active preparation is 20 minutes; required chill/rest is 90 minutes; whole-batch oven baking is 48 minutes; cooling/setting is 30 minutes. Cooling allowance runs from the final tray; earlier trays may cool during later baking and that overlap is not counted again. Start with butter at the stated consistency; ingredient warm-up and frozen-dough thawing are extra. Oven preheating can overlap shaping or chilling. Scale every ingredient weight but keep piece dimensions, oven temperature and per-tray bake range unchanged; extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Chef’s Science & Pro Tips
Ingredient science
Fine cornmeal gives deliberate granular crunch; coarse polenta stays unpleasantly hard in this short bake.
Technique & texture
Chop ginger smaller than 1/8 inch so slices do not tear around chewy pieces.
Finishing & serving
Press sugar onto the logs before chilling so it adheres without an egg wash.
Storage and make-ahead
| Method | How long | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Room temperature | 5 days | Up to 5 days. Store completely cooled cookies airtight in a cool, dry room, with parchment between layers. Keep away from moist filled cookies. |
| Refrigeration | up to 7 days | Unnecessary; up to 7 days if needed. Baked refrigeration is unnecessary for these unfilled cookies and may soften the crumb. If the room is warm, seal airtight and bring to room temperature while still covered. |
| Raw freezing | 1 month | Up to 1 month. Freeze tightly wrapped logs airtight. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator until a knife can cut without cracking; slice cold and bake using the stated per-tray range. Allow additional thawing time beyond the fresh-batch timings. |
| Baked freezing | 2 months | Up to 2 months. Freeze fully cooled cookies airtight with parchment between layers. Thaw in their sealed container at room temperature for about 1–2 hours. |
| Restoring | As described | Serve after thawing; optional 3–5-minute refresh. For plain unfilled cookies only, refresh at 300°F (150°C) conventional or 275°F (135°C) fan for 3–5 minutes, then cool 20 minutes before sealing. This is extra time beyond the fresh recipe. |
Notes
- Scale ingredients, including US measures, without changing cookie size or oven temperature. Extra trays increase whole-batch time.
Nutrition
Approximate values per portion from the listed ingredient weights divided into 24 equal portions. Includes required fillings and finishes. Brands, unused coatings and actual portion size affect the estimate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can polenta replace fine cornmeal?
No; use the specified fine grind for a crunchy rather than hard crumb.
Why sugar the log before chilling?
The softened surface holds coarse sugar, while a fully cold log sheds it.
How small should ginger pieces be?
Under 1/8 inch, so a knife can cut through the 1/2-inch cookie slices cleanly.
Browse more cookie ideas in the Christmas Shortbread Cookies collection.
