Recipe: Cornmeal Maple Pecan Twists (cookies)

CORNMEAL MAPLE PECAN TWISTS


1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup sugar, divided use
1 1/4 cups flour
1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup stick margarine or butter, softened
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
Confectioner's sugar for dipping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the pecans in a food processor with a few spoonfuls of the sugar, and pulse until finely ground.

Transfer to a large bowl and add the remaining sugar, flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. Add the margarine and mix until you have a coarse meal; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the egg white and maple syrup. Add to the flour mixture and stir just until combined.

Pinch off 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces of dough and roll into 4 to 5-inch long ropes. Shape each rope into an "S" shape and place about 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden on the bottoms. As soon as they come out of the oven, dip cookies in icing sugar to coat before placing on a wire rack to cool.

Per cookie: 85 calories, 3.5 g fat (0.4 g saturated fat, 2.2 g monounsaturated fat, 0.6 g polyunsaturated fat), 12.7 g carbohydrates, 0 mg cholesterol, 55.2 mg sodium, 0.4 g fiber. 36% calories from fat.

Makes 2 dozen cookies
Source: One Smart Cookie by Julie Van Rosendaal