Cornmeal cookies are a favorite all over northern Italy: the Veneto has its zaletti, in Friuli we have gialetti. In Piemonte, you will find crumiri, piped into distinctive crescent-moon shapes. They are deliciously crumbly and just sweet enough.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 30 cookies

　　1 cup yellow polenta, medium-grind

　　1 cup all-purpose flour

　　2/3 cup sugar

　　Pinch of salt

　　6 ounces (12 tablespoons) soft butter, plus some for the baking sheet

　　4 large egg yolks

　　1 teaspoon vanilla extract

　　

Recommended Equipment

A food processor fitted with the metal blade

　　A 12-by-18-inch half–sheet pan or other large baking sheet

　　A pastry bag with a 1/2-inch star tip

　　

Step 1

Put the polenta, flour, sugar, and salt in food-processor bowl, and process to blend.

　　

Step 2

Drop in the soft butter, and process continuously until the butter is completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

　　

Step 3

Stir together the egg yolks and vanilla, pour over the dry mixture, and process briefly, until a soft dough forms.

　　

Step 4

Arrange a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350˚. Lightly butter the sheet pan.

　　

Step 5

Fill the pastry bag with crumiri dough, and pipe U-shaped cookies 3 inches wide in rows, filling the pan.

　　

Step 6

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the cookies are firm and golden, with a hint of brown on the piped ridges. Cool on a wire rack, and store for up to a week in an airtight container.

　　From Lidia's Italy by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Copyright (c) 2007 by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Published by Knopf.Lidia Bastianich hosts the hugely popular PBS show, "Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen" and owns restaurants in New York City, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. Also the author of Lidia's Italian Table and Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen, she lives in Douglaston, New York.