This weekend, the Boston Globe magazine featured an article about pastry chef, Joanne Chang and her Flour Bakery empire. She’s a force to be reckoned with, in the pastry world. I had the opportunity to meet her years ago when she was a chef instructor at my culinary program, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. She recently published her third cookbook, a low sugar baking book. I made the absolutely delectable Lemon-Polenta Pistachio cookies. The recipe calls for only 1/4 cup of sugar for the whole batch of cookies and a standard chocolate chip cookie recipe has at least 1 1/2 cups of sugar, that is significantly less! Zesty and nutty, you don’t even miss the sugar. These cookies are a thoughtful and healthy holiday gift idea!

Cookie dough:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup finely ground cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Dipping mixture:

• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silicone pad (Silpat) or with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and pour it into a medium bowl along with the sugar, lemon zest, vanilla and eggs. Stir the mixture together with a wooden spoon.

In a large bowl combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. Add the butter mixture to the dry ingredients and mix it until combined. Wrap the dough well and refrigerate it for at least an hour. It can be stored overnight. The dough comes together nicely after a rest in the refrigerator.

In a small bowl combine the sugar, pistachios and lemon zest, for the dipping mixture. Roll the cookie dough into small balls and roll each ball in the dipping mixture.

Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets about 2 inches apart and flatten with your hand. Bake for 12-16 minutes or until golden brown on the edges. The cookies can be stored for up to 2 days in an airtight container.  Makes about 1 dozen cookies.

Source: Baking with Less Sugar