The season is upon us for indulgence, especially when it comes to food! Our Gluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies have just the right amount of crunch in every bite and are loaded with vanilla beans and fresh citrus zest. Honestly, these cookies have been a holiday favorite in our house for quite some time. They are great with tea or coffee, perfect for packing in the lunchbox, and are a real show stopper on a festive, dessert inspired cheese board!
What is an Italian Polenta Cookie?
Italian Polenta Cookies are traditionally sandy in texture; sort of like a spritz cookie, but with a little added oomph from the polenta mixed into the batter. I love the way the polenta breaks between my teeth while the rest of the cookie sort of melts away.
What is polenta?
Polenta is essentially ground cornmeal. When shopping look for packages that say either "polenta" or "ground cornmeal" in your grocery store. It's normally in the baking aisle and is sold in both boxes and bags. Typically, polenta retails for less than $5, but for some reason Amazon tends to mark the price up.
What do Gluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies taste like?
This cookie has two major flavor components, vanilla and citrus. One doesn't really overpower the other they just work in harmony bouncing around your taste buds until they fade away.
Do I need any special equipment to make Gluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies?
You'll need the basic cookie combo of a stand mixer and a few cookie sheets, but for this recipe you will also need a large piping bag. I prefer to fit mine with a large star tip to create those beautiful ridges in the dough.
If you’ve tried this Gluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies Recipe, I would be so grateful if you would rate it. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I just love hearing from you, and your reviews and comments really help others that visit This Mess is Ours!
PrintGluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies
Don’t forget to rate the recipe, and let me know what you think about these Gluten Free Italian Polenta Cookies in the comments below. I just love hearing from you. Your reviews/comments really help other people that visit This Mess is Ours!
- Yield: 2 ½ dozen 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Holiday
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup gluten free all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Italian polenta or coarse yellow cornmeal
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Whisk together the flour, polenta, and salt in a bowl.
- Place the butter, sugar, and orange zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes or until pale and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add the egg and beat until combined then add the yolk and beat until combined. Mix in vanilla. Gradually add the flour mixture, and beat until the batter is juts combined. Transfer the batter to a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. **See notes!
- On parchment lined baking sheets pipe S shapes about 3 inches long and 1 inch wide with about 1 ½ inches of space between each cookie. Transfer the baking sheet to the freezer for 30 minutes until the dough is chilled and firm.
- Preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the chilled cookies in the oven for 15-18 minutes, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges of the cookies are golden. Cool the cookies on the sheet pans set on wire racks for about 5-10 minutes before transferring the cookies to the racks to cool the rest of the way. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Notes
The batter is very thick so use a large open star tip, like an Ateco #825, that way you can push the batter through easier.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 122
- Sugar: 4.5 g
- Sodium: 25.6 mg
- Fat: 6.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 14.7 g
- Protein: 1.2 g
- Cholesterol: 28.6 mg
Keywords: Christmas cookies, gluten free cookies, polenta cookies, Italian polenta cookies
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What are the health benefits of polenta?
Polenta is a gluten free, low fat, low calorie alternative to other fattier cooked grains. Made with corn, polenta is full of antioxidants that help reduce the risk of many age-related illnesses, such as eye disease, heart disease, and diabetes.
Click here for more information about the health benefits of polenta.
Emilie says
Hi
Can i make these cookies in advance and freeze them for a week ???
Thank you
Meg says
Emilie, I have never tried that, but I don't know why it wouldn't work since you freeze them anyways. When I freeze them for baking they only get firm, not frozen solid, You ma have to increase the bake time a bit.
Kristin says
YEAH! Looking fwd. to seeing all of these awesome cookie recipes! 😀
Pinned!
K-
Meg says
Thanks Kristin!!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
So many beautiful cookies! I adore polenta cookies but it's been so long since I had some! I need to try your recipe! They look fantastic!
Meg says
Anna, I had totally forgotten how much I love them until I made these. You must make some 🙂
Gaby says
This is the best time of year for baking!! They all look wonderful!
Meg says
Thanks Gaby!!
Feni says
What kind of gluten free all-purpose flour did you use? Store bought (what's the brand?) or self mixed?
meg@thismessisours says
Hi! I have used both King Arthur Flour gluten free flour & Pamela's gluten free all purpose flour. The KAF was easier to work with, I found that the Pamela's flour absorbs more liquid than others, so while the results were still good the lighter KAF gluten free ap flour created a lighter, crispier cookie!