Nacho Cookies - BONUS RECIPE

Masa Harina Shortbread, Cheddar Royal Icing, 20% off a yearly subscription, oh my!

Long time no see!

I recently attended the annual Grossy Pelosi Holiday Cookie Party and brought these cookies to share and swap. They were so popular that when I posted a photo of them online I soon knew that I had to share the recipe.

This was my second time attending the cookie party and I remember last year being anxious about bringing a cookie that would stand out in a room of talented professional and home bakers. I took inspiration from Dan’s (Grossy Pelosi) Italian American background and made these pasta inspired cookies:

Semolina Thumbprint Cookies with Tomato Jam and Basil Drizzle

This year I wanted to keep with the savory to sweet theme and decided after much thought that a nacho cookie could be both delicious and adorable. I love using corn in baking, most often cornmeal, but I knew in order to get the distinct corn flavor I was after in my shortbread, I would need to use masa harina. Masa harina is corn that has gone through a process called nixtamalization before being ground into a very fine powder and dried. It’s used in fresh tortillas that are made into tortilla chips and also in tamales.

The cheddar royal icing was the component that I thought would turn off the most people from these cookies but what are nachos without the cheese?? It had to be done. In the states, we don’t have a huge history of combining sharp salty cheeses in our desserts like they do in the Philippines and Mexico. I mixed the icing and tasted with hopeful caution. The result was delicious. A sweet, snappy icing with a beautiful cheesy color and a mild cheddar flavor than lingers nicely at the very end.

To bring these nachos across the finish line, I knew I would need to utilize some candying techniques that i’ve recently become obsessed with since reading

Camilla Wynne

’s book, Nature’s Candy. I love the combination of spicy & sweet so I happily landed on the idea of candying some jalapeños and bell peppers to adorn my nachos. I recently made a nacho inspired cake for a dear friend and I loved the reaction of each person as they hesitantly nibbled a candied jalapeño before being delighted by the combination of flavors and sensations they provide.

I hope you have fun with this recipe. It’s playful and different. The masa harina shortbreads are so good on their own if you don’t want to go through with the cheddar icing and jalapeños. They would be great finished with a regular royal icing or drizzled in some melted chocolate. If you’re not interested in the candied jalapeños, you can take spiced gumdrop candies and cut them into small squares that resemble peppers.

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Masa Harina Shortbread (an adaptation of

Dorie Greenspan

‘s Sablés recipe)

Makes 15 to 18 shortbread depending on size of each cookie