Best Corn Cookie Bake Off

Looking for the best corn cookie recipe? I tested 9 different recipes in search of the best!

When I imagined the search for the best corn cookie recipe on the internet, I imagined a brilliantly yellow cookie with a chewy center, crisp edges and a sandy texture that somehow burst with the flavor of juicy fresh corn. In reality, I was confronted with the fact that “juicy” is not an adjective that’s going to make it into most cookie recipes, period. The flavor of corn is surprisingly hard to parlay into a cookie!

In the end, most of the recipes I found were cornmeal cookies that have a bit of corn flavor and a distinct grit to the texture. Honestly, I still enjoyed them–this bake off just took a bit of a turn from what I was initially hoping for. Let’s dive into all 9 recipes that I tested!

Methodology

• I baked all 9 cookies in one day (the same day of tasting for freshness)
• 38 total tasters rated samples of all 9 cookies
• Each taster rated each cookie on a scale from 0-10 for flavor, texture and overall as a whole (see Results section below for the ratings)
• Ingredients were measured by weight according to King Arthur (unless the recipe specified weights)

Ingredients

• Gold Medal bleached all-purpose flour
• King Arthur unbleached cake flour
• Kirkland unsalted butter
• Crisco butter-flavored shortening
• Indian Head cornmeal
• Bob’s Red Mill masa harina
• Bob’s Red Mill corn flour
• Freeze dried corn from Kalustyan’s
• Kirkland vanilla extract
• Diamond Crystal kosher salt

What is a corn cookie?

I had a few people respond to me on Instagram saying that they’d never heard of a corn cookie. Which, fair! I think Milk Bar/Christina Tosi was the first to put a corn cookie on the map. Christina’s signature use of freeze-dried corn powder spawned a wave of corn-flavored desserts.

I think corn cookies are still a relatively new concept. While there’s now a decent variety of corn cookie recipes online, there aren’t SO many that you can define exactly what a corn cookie should taste like. For the purposes of this bake off, I defined a corn cookie as any recipe that featured a prominent corn ingredient: cornmeal, corn flour, masa harina, freeze-dried corn powder, corn cereal, etc.

Results

This was an interesting bake off in that several clear categories of corn cookies emerged upon tasting them:

• Cornbread cookies (thicker and doughier): Reddit, Lifestyle of a Foodie
• Thin and (very) chewy cornmeal cookies: Delish, Typefoodie
• Thin, chewy and crisp cornmeal cookies: Easy Gay Oven, King Arthur
• Medium-thick, chewier corn cookies: Milk Bar, Constellation Inspiration, Alexis Dunlap

But after asking 38 tasters to rank each of the 9 corn cookie recipes, a clear winner emerged! Easy Gay Oven wins the average overall rating and flavor rating (but notably, Milk Bar takes top honors in texture rating).

An interesting outlier is Alexis Dunlap–with the second highest texture rating, this recipe was pulled down by a lower flavor rating. As we’ll discuss below, the molasses in this cookie pulled it outside the realm of what most people consider a corn cookie flavor profile. But this would be a great candidate to retest without the molasses!

As always, everyone has different flavor preferences. These ratings are very specific to my pool of tasters and the way these cookies came out of my kitchen. One person’s clear favorite might be another person’s least favorite. For that reason, I always encourage you to read through the entire post and try the recipe that sounds like it will fit your ideal preferences.

Factors

Butter lends the best flavor while still allowing the corn to shine

The main fat used in all the recipes was butter. Just a couple recipes used oil, and Reddit uses a mix of butter, butter-flavored shortening and oil.

Notably, Easy Gay Oven won with a brown butter cookie base–and yes, I do think that the brown butter gave this cookie a strong edge. It’s hard to compare a regular butter-based cookie against the toasty notes of a brown butter cookie!

Because shortening is 100% fat (vs. butter, which typically contains around 18% water), cookies made with shortening tend to be more tender and have a more sandy, short texture. The higher melting point of shortening also means that cookies tend to spread less, so I was curious to see how the shortening would play into Reddit’s cookie. Ultimately, I definitely think the shortening helped with the doughy texture, but it didn’t do this cookie any favors flavor-wise. I don’t think most people prefer to use shortening anyway, but just know if you want a cakier texture, you can try subbing in half shortening into any recipe!

I’m still not exactly sure why Lifestyle of a Foodie and Reddit include a small amount of oil in their recipes. This addition of pure fat may lend the cookies a bit of extra tenderness, but it’s in such a small amount that I’m not convinced this made a huge textural difference.

My conclusion: like with most cookies, butter is the way to go for the generally preferred flavor and texture. While brown butter lends delicious toasty notes, plain butter might be the way to go if you want the flavor of corn to really shine.

Freeze dried corn does lend the strongest corn flavor

After trying many different corn-based ingredients across 9 different recipes, I can see why Christina Tosi landed on freeze-dried corn powder for her cookies. It definitely leant the purest corn flavor with a grittiness that was slightly more subtle than cornmeal.

Only two recipes (Alexis Dunlap and King Arthur) used masa harina, which imparts a more subtle, earthy corn flavor that can easily get lost under stronger ingredients like molasses in Alexis’ case.

Meanwhile, cornmeal imparts what I feel is a very distinct flavor that immediately reminds me of cornbread. I think it’s great for a heartier texture, but it feels distinctly cornmeal-y to me rather than corn. I used the Indian Head brand of cornmeal specifically because Easy Gay Oven noted the finer grind is more desirable than Bob’s Red Mill’s coarser grind.

Constellation Inspiration uses Corn Pops in conjunction with freeze-dried corn and while this was an interesting addition, the flavor of Corn Pops wasn’t my favorite rendition of corn flavor.

Lastly, corn flour only made a small appearance in Milk Bar’s cookie, so it’s hard to say what effect this really had. However, corn flour is reportedly less flavorful compared to masa harina so if you’re going to invest in one for corn baking explorations, I would start with masa harina. (Note that the absorbency of masa harina is very different from all-purpose flour, so don’t try to sub them 1:1!)

Use granulated sugar for the purest corn flavor

Of the recipes I tested, only 4 recipes used granulated sugar alone (Milk Bar, Constellation Inspiration, King Arthur, Alexis Dunlap) while the rest used a combination of brown and white sugar.

While I typically love the caramel notes from brown sugar, I found that I preferred the way granulated sugar allowed the flavor of the corn ingredients to shine. Just a consideration if you want more focus on the corn flavor. (Though keep in mind that using granulated sugar only can lead to a more crisp cookie while brown sugar tends to add more moisture for a softer texture).

Liquid sweeteners

I’m always intrigued by the use of an alternative sweetener. In this bake off, the alternative sweeteners all consisted of invert sugars: Alexis was the only recipe to use molasses while three other recipes used honey (Lifestyle of a Foodie, Reddit, Typefoodie). As you’ll see below, I wasn’t a fan of the molasses primarily because it overpowered the corn flavor.

However, I did like honey as a compliment to the corn flavor. Typefoodie uses a whopping 1/4 cup of honey, which led to an interestingly soft and bendy, chewy texture. This amount of honey also overpowered the corn flavor to me, but it’s feels like a more complementary ingredient to consider if you want a chewier corn cookie.

Cream of tartar

I was curious why not one but two recipes used cream of tartar in the dough–Alexis Dunlap and Lifestyle of a Cookie. In my mind, cream of tartar is primarily used in snickerdoodles to give that classic tangy flavor. Turns out the acid in cream of tartar also enhances leavening agents. It can help cookies rise quickly, then fall–which results in a crinkly top and a more cake-like texture. Per Tasting Table, “Cream of tartar prevents the sugar in cookie dough from crystallizing when cooking.”

Both of these explanations explain why Alexis’ cookie is so crinkly on top and why both cookies have a relatively cakey texture. Personally, I’m not aiming for a cakey texture in my corn cookies, but this is a good ingredient to consider if you desire cakiness or a crinkly top!

Analysis

Lifestyle of a Foodie: a slightly drier, pasty-textured cookie that feels like cornbread

This recipe is one of two Crumbl copycat cookies–so to be fair, the desired texture is more thick and cakey to begin with. The corn flavor here mainly comes from the cornmeal. I was also intrigued by the use of butter and oil, brown and white sugar, vanilla and butter extract, cornstarch as well as cream of tarter. Note: I omitted the honey buttercream for consistency with the other cookies.

These cookies baked up into cute, soft pucks that needed a few extra minutes to bake (after 8-9 minutes, they were still looking wet on top). It’s actually surprising that these didn’t have any masa harina or corn flour, because the texture gives a corn flour vibe. These have an unusually soft bite that turns a little pasty and dry in the mouth. Somehow, these manage to be both cakey yet a little dry. To be honest, I didn’t like these the day of tasting, but they somehow seemed to get a little more moist and less pasty on day 2 and 3.

I’ve never had a corn Crumbl cookie so it’s hard for me to say how accurate these are, but there’s definitely a bit of an aftertaste from the butter extract that I didn’t enjoy. I imagine the slightly dry texture would be helped by the frosting, but overall neither the texture nor the flavor were a big hit for me. I also used the optional roll in cornmeal prior to baking and didn’t really like the nubbly texture this gave the cookies–I’d go for a cornmeal + sugar roll next time.

Taster comments:

• I like the texture and flavor tastes more vanilla forward. Soft cakey texture, extremely fine crumb, basic sweet flavor.
• Flavor reminded me of a supermarket frosted sugar cookie, not in a bad way! I think if I were in the mood for that in particular, this would get 10s! I think texturally it was too fragile.
• Texture I could get behind—not much of a chew but it was very tender and melted in my mouth. Not my usual cookie preference but I appreciate it! But it does fall apart in the hands. Flavor had almost a like artificial candy-like start? Which was not my fave
• The texture is also a bit too cakey for my taste and turns into a powder in your mouth kind of. It tasted kind of artificial to me, can’t really pinpoint it but it’s not for me.
• The soft texture of this sample was quite appealing, integrating the cornmeal nicely, but there was almost no corn flavor. This tasted like a holiday sugar cookie.
• Super soft, cornbread like vs. cookie, strong shortening flavor. Super sandy, a little crumbly.
• Driest so far, with crumbly texture that wasn’t the most pleasant. Taste is very funfetti cake mix like with not too much carmelization or corn flavor coming through.
• Very dry and crumbly. The cookie disintegrates and breaks into pieces the moment you touch it. Quite powdery. Very light corn flavor. On the sweeter milkier side in terms of taste.

Typefoodie: a honey-forward cookie with an almost fudgy chewiness

In the photos, Typefoodie’s cornmeal cookies look SO perfectly fudgy in the center. These are a pretty standard butter-based cookie with a mix of white and brown sugar along with a generous 1/4 cup of honey, an egg yolk and tiny bit of butter extract. They get rolled in a mixture of sugar and cornmeal before baking. Most recipes that get chilled seem to operate by the assumption the longer the better–however for this recipe, Hanna says she doesn’t recommend chilling for longer than a few hours.

I refrigerated the dough for a little over an hour before baking, and the final cookies came out a bit thinner than the photos. The honey gave these a really uniquely bendy, chewy texture–if you tried to break one in half, it will almost tear instead of having a clean break. I kept going back for bites of this one, though I would have loved a slightly thicker texture. My main gripe with this cookie: the flavor of the honey really overpowered most of the corn flavor. However, if you’re looking for a honey cornbread type of cookie, these would be great (and the soft, chewy texture lasts for days)! I’d love to try these again but with a longer chill time or possibly more flour to see if I can get a thicker texture.

Taster comments:

• Very attractive, good caramelization, chewy, good chew, most complexity, right sweetness, “not too much of anything, all of the nice things together” said the six year old and I agree
• I thought the texture of this cookie was great. The chew was really lovely and I liked the immediate flavor. I felt that it tasted more like a brown butter cookie than a corn cookie – it didn’t have any of the cornmeal or corn flavor that I associate with a corn cookie.
• Nice brown butter flavor and pleasant but felt a little too carmelized on bottom and texture was a little too chewy for my liking
• Super chewy, good sugar cookie flavor, but not much corn flavor. Tastes like a good brown butter sugar cookie. Really enjoyed this one, but the overall is lower than the other ratings because it doesn’t taste like corn at all.
• A bit too sweet but tasted like corn which I really liked but the texture was a little mealy
• Chewy initially but then kind of gritty but not in a nice way. Texture had a coarseness to it from the corn, but not a very corny flavor.
• Texture was gummy followed shortly by grainy oat like texture. Taste was solid, good sweet corn. Overall felt like a corn snickerdoodle.

Reddit: a thick, moist and cakey chunk of cornbread disguised as a cookie

I debated eliminating this recipe because it’s quite similar to Lifestyle of a Foodie (and to A Palatable Life–I suspect it was adapted from the latter). However, I was curious to see what the combination of shortening, butter and oil would look like compared to LoaF. I was also curious to see how including 1/4 cup of buttermilk would affect this cookie. Again, I omitted the frosting for consistency with the other cookies, but I did choose to brush the final cookies with the honey butter glaze.

As you might guess, the extra liquid in this batter led to cookies that were also quite cakey, similar to Lifestyle of a Foodie. However, these were significantly more moist with a texture that was more like, well, cake. While LoaF is extremely fine-crumbed and a bit pasty, these had a slightly airier texture that’s still quite soft and a little powdery, but feels like a more normal cakey-style cookie. The flavor from the honey butter glaze was nice, but otherwise flavor was lightly sweet but a bit bland besides a hint of the cornmeal. I can see how these would be a nice cakey base for a flavorful frosting. I kept going back for bites of this cookie, but that might be because I love cornbread in all forms.

Taster comments:

• Disclaimer: Loved this because it is exactly like cornbread. The texture was dense but bready and the taste was spot on. Love this but unsure if I would call it a pure cookie. Went in for seconds. And thirds.
• I love this it feels like fluffy cornbread/corn muffin in cookie form! Very well done. The flavor was just right, an excellent balance of corn and sugar
• Lovely and obvious corn flavor. Fluffy soft texture which is nice, just not my preference
• The thickest cookie of them all! Almost like cornbread in texture and consistency. The corn flavor wasn’t as prominent in this cookie. Is there vanilla?
• Very cornbready/floury, with a pleasant corn flavor but missing depth, texture nice and cakey but leaves floury feeling in mouth
• Light, dense cookie which isn’t my favorite style. What stood out most is the flavor. It immediately reminded me of savory cornbread. A bit mealy, not very sugary, and buttery.
• I found this cookie so cakey and grainy, as well as dry. The texture had nothing that I want from a cookie. The flavor also was not great. It tasted like a boxed sugar cookie mix – both bland and very vanilla heavy. I would not choose to eat this again.

Delish: a thin and chewy, almost lacy cookie imbued with the sweetness of corn

June, the author of this recipe, notes that she set out to develop a corn cookie that doesn’t use freeze-dried corn. Instead, she reduces the liquid from a can of creamed corn into a corn caramel along with sugar and heavy cream. This golden elixir gets creamed into the rest of the ingredients for a super soft dough that remains soft even after an overnight chill PLUS an hour+ chill in the freezer (I chilled these closer to 2 hours in the freezer vs. the recommended 1 hour).

These baked up with a similar flatness and texture to Typefoodie. They also share a similar chewiness, though Typefoodie has more of a fudgy, sticky chewiness whereas Delish has a bendy but breakable chewiness. Though these are described as having crisp edges, I found that mine had a very thin crisp edge, but the dominant texture is chewiness.

There’s a mellow, almost fresh corn-y sweetness to these that the other cookies lacked, but it’s relatively subtle. The dominant flavor is mostly sweetness, though I wouldn’t call them overly sweet. Overall, I could eat a lot of these, but I personally want a cookie with a more satisfying heft and in-your-face corn flavor. These were definitely best the same day they were baked (after day 1, they lost the subtle corn flavor and chewy centers).

Taster comments:

• Popcorny in the best way, texture is great for those who love the flatter softer type of cookies but a very pleasant and developed corn flavor with a hint of salt and buttery goodness
• Nice chew, very thin cookie, flavor is deep and brown buttery
• Great chewy texture. I love how it tastes a bit more savory. Good corn flavor. Slightly prefer [Typefoodie] because it has a good brown butter note to it, but this one tastes more like corn
• Dense and chewy but not super buttery/moist. Flavor was nice but short-lasting/subtle. Yummy just not memorable
• This one has a really good chew and nice corn flavor. The corn is subtle but there and I really enjoyed the cornmeal texture. I wish there was a bit more complexity. It reads a bit one note.
• Toasty corn flavor, almost malted. The thin, chewy texture doesn’t do it for me though.
• Good sugar cookie. Not a corn cookie though. Would be nice with tea!

Alexis Dunlap: a molasses-forward cookie with a delightfully hefty chew

Alexis’ sweet corn sugar cookies had the look of the corn cookies of my dreams–soft, doughy centers and golden ridged edges. Her cookies use a trifecta of corn ingredients: masa harina, freeze dried corn powder and cornmeal (in addition to regular flour). This was another recipe that used cream of tartar, egg yolks and the only recipe to use molasses and vanilla bean paste. The recipe calls for cultured butter (which I did use) but I think you can use regular butter if that’s all you have. I didn’t use the optional jam for consistency with the other cookies, but I did roll them in a cornmeal sugar before baking.

Made as directed (baked as 3 oz dough balls), these cookies baked up enormous–lots of spread and a nice thick texture with ripply edges. You top these with lots of salt and I was beyond excited to try them. The first bite was full of mixed emotions–the texture was my corn cookie dream, thick and hefty with a substantial bite, fudgy middle and perfect amount of chew. But I found the flavor of molasses dominated the entire cookie so that I could barely taste the other corn flavors. I would love to try this recipe again sans molasses. But I actually think this would make a great ginger molasses cookie base if you’re looking for a new one!

Taster comments:

• I like how the salt balances, the sweetness, and the texture was very easy to chew on and break apart! I honestly have to rate this a 9.5 because I liked it a lot! It felt new and some reason it reminded me of “kitchen sink” cookie from Panera (which is more sugary in my opinion) this was like a nice balance!!
• The texture of this cookie was delicious, especially for a thin cookie, firm with a perfectly doughy center, but the flavor was indescribable. It did not taste like corn at all and almost had a molasses-y flavor, not bad, just completely unlike the other samples and not a corn cookie.
• Ok I love this cookie, but it doesn’t taste anything like corn. It looks like a soft gingerbread cookie, tastes like toffee and brown sugar, and the only thing that gives it away is that corn crunch (which is very subtle). Ranking it high because it’s delicious but it’s not really a corn cookie in the classic sense.
• Great texture! But the flavor was lacking in corn flavor and not a fan of the molasses flavor. Very pretty with the ripples on top though.
• Texture was really beautifully soft and had a nice cracked top with a soft inside. The flavor was really subtle and while it tastes corn-like, the salt level wasn’t quite there despite having the flaky salt on top. A really solid cookie but not quite the favorite
• This cookie is good but not a corn cookie. It almost has a wheaty taste? It really confused my tastebuds. I love the flaky salt and think that would improve some of the other cornier cookies but ultimately it just didn’t taste like corn at all. I also thought the cookie was very one note in terms of texture – all quite soft.

King Arthur: a thin and crisp corn-kissed sugar cookie

King Arthur notes that their cookies were inspired by Milk Bar’s cookies. However, instead of using the harder-to-find freeze-dried corn powder, they rely on masa harina and cornmeal for corn flavor. This was one of the simplest recipes with creamed butter and granulated sugar, leavener, salt, egg, and the corn ingredients along with regular flour.

Accordingly, it makes sense that these cookies taste basically like sugar cookies that have been lightly kissed by corn. Made with 1/4 cup dough balls, these had quite a bit of spread and baked up into the flattest, crunchiest cookies of the bunch. I’d be curious to try making them as the smaller option (a heaping tablespoon instead of 1/4 cup) and chilling the dough to see if I can get a thicker, softer middle with the same crisp edges. Overall, these were delicious–they just felt a nicely sweet and crunchy sugar cookie rather than a distinctive CORN cookie. Similar to Delish, these felt like they staled relatively quickly given the lack of moisture.

Taster comments:

• Similar to [Easy Gay Oven]. Thin and crispy. Quite good toasty corn flavor. Not too sweet either. Runner up to !
• The texture of this one was fine but the cookie just tasted like a sugar cookie. I don’t think I would be able to tell that this was supposed to be a corn cookie. Good sugar cookie but doesn’t fit the brief!
• Buttery classic sugar cookie vibes from texture and flavor. I wouldn’t market this as a plain corn cookie, but a sugar cookie with corn to enhance it, as the corn doesn’t really hit til the end.
• What originally tastes just like a sugar cookie eventually reveals a secondary corn flavor, which was a welcome surprise. The texture is average, somewhat chewy, somewhat tough, not memorable.
• Tastes like a sugar cookie or Danish butter cookie
• If it wasn’t for the slight crunch of corn, I’d be convinced this was a classic sugar cookie. But it still tastes great. Wish it was a little thicker.
• Love how thin and chewy, the bland light color is a bit unappetizing, flavor is simple and extremely sweet

Constellation Inspiration: a crinkly Corn Pop-forward cookie with lots of texture

Amy’s recipe is a closely adapted version of Christina Tosi’s recipe for Milk Bar, but with one key change–she uses Corn Pops cereal instead of corn flour. Unlike Christina Tosi’s recipe, Amy only calls for a 30 minute chill before baking the cookies off. She does offer a bruleed corn garnish option (which looks amazing), but I skipped this to be consistent with the other recipes.

Looking at the photo of all the cookies, you can see the clear relation between this cookie and Milk Bar’s cookie. They both have the brightest yellow hue and a kind of craggy, beautifully rippled surface. Both had a nice thickness (not too thin or thick) with crisp edges, a moist, chewy middle and kind of an airy mid-ring. This definitely had more of a cereal flavor to it (I wasn’t familiar with Corn Pops, so this was a new flavor to me) which isn’t exactly what I wanted in a corn cookie, but I still really enjoyed the texture!

Taster comments:

• My winner! Moist, buttery texture with some flakiness. Found it less sweet than some of the others.
• What a delicious crunchy yet loose texture, with the cornmeal (?) bits just distinguishable. Very buttery and the corn flavor gave it a little savory somethin somethin. Wish there was more complex flavor but overall amazing cookie.
• Fluffier texture with a good amount of chew with a salty toasted almost savory corn punch!
• Very tender and moist, some attractive cragginess on top. VERY sweet. Overwhelming green taste to it which was was first off-putting then odd but interesting.
• The unappealing lumpy and dry texture of this cookie took center stage, although the crispier bottom offered some redemption. There was a lack of corn flavor, but as a sugar cookie, the flavor would have been decent.
• Texture was solid with good chew in the middle, not too sweet, breakfast cereal esque (capn crunch specifically) and very corn forward but not sweet enough.
• Like the texture. Chewy but buttery. Flavor is a little off? A whisp of corn but not a fully landed flavor. Wonder what flour is used.
• Still too sweet but has corn flavor. there’s also something unusual about the flavor of this cookie that I can’t identify – not sure if I like it.

Milk Bar: a chewy/crisp/sandy cookie with full corn flavor

This is the cookie that inspired this entire bake off. If you search “corn cookie recipe,” Christina Tosi’s recipe for Milk Bar will be the first result, and for good reason. Christina’s innovative use of freeze-dried corn powder changed the game for corn-flavored baked goods. She also uses a bit of corn flour in addition to all-purpose flour and a generous amount of salt. This is otherwise a straightforward creamed sugar cookie base with both baking soda and powder that gets chilled for at least 1 hour (I chilled the dough balls overnight).

These looked picture perfect coming out of the oven–perfectly round, medium thick and craggy-topped. And the texture was just as delightful! There’s a kind of sandy airiness to the crumb with a perfectly moist middle and crunchy outer ring. These were probably my ideal thickness. Tasters were torn between loving the flavor and thinking there wasn’t enough corn flavor.

To me, the corn flavor was definitely more present and “corny” compared to most of the other recipes–no honey, molasses, or other overpowering flavors. However, I still think it could stand to have even more corn flavor, though I don’t have any amazing ideas on how to accomplish this (perhaps throwing fresh corn into the dough??). This is a classic recipe for a reason!

Taster comments:

• Flavor was the best by far, the corn taste feels fresh. The texture is how I prefer my cookies but if it had a lil more crunch it’d be perfect
• Wow! This was surprisingly corny, in a good way. The flavor skews more towards fresh corn than corn meal, and the texture is close to an ideal cookie texture, with a crispier exterior and a lovely doughy center.
• Yum! Corn Corn Corn which is what I want. It tasted like Corn at its purest, I really liked the craggly texture and chew to it.
• One of the cookies with a floral note but not as pronounced as others. Buttery which is good for corn. A nice yellow and I like the appearance of the texture on top, a little like a peanut butter cookie. The chew is like a chewy chips ahoy, almost like it has some kind of emulsifiers or something. But seemed to have a hint of baking soda taste.
• Texture was spot on with soft middle and crunchy exterior, flavor was vaguely savory almost resembling a pizza crust with the cornmeal base but a really enjoyable corn cookie with a lot of depth and carmelization flavor to it
• This cookie was good and had the tiniest hint of corn flavor. I appreciated the salt that came through but ultimately it just wasn’t very distinct. I liked the texture and the slight graininess but it didn’t blow me away like others did.
• Love the chewy firm texture!! But mostly tastes like a lemony sugar cookie not like corn. Great cookie just not a great corn cookie
• Very pretty cookie. You can see the rippled textures on top. Amazing texture that’s very chewy cookie-like. Flavor was a letdown. Not much corn flavor.

Easy Gay Oven: a thin and chewy, crisp-edged, brown buttery cookie with cornmeal

Eric’s recipe stood out for two main reasons: it’s the only recipe to use brown butter, and it’s the only recipe that uses a higher ratio of cornmeal than all-purpose flour. Once you brown the butter and let it cool, making the dough is a straightforward affair and then you chill the dough for a bit before scooping dough balls and chilling those overnight. I omitted the lime zest sugar for consistency, but I did roll the cookies in plain sugar before baking.

I was curious whether any recipe could possibly unseat Milk Bar’s very popular corn cookie recipe and I’m thrilled to find one that’s just as strong (albeit very different). These cookies baked up quite flat with crisp ripply edges (thanks to a pan-banging technique) and an almost underbaked, chewy center. The corn flavor comes through nicely via the cornmeal, and the slightly gritty texture makes the cornmeal known! My only quibble: these remind me of a really good sugar cookie that just happens to have cornmeal rather than a CORN-first cookie. However, they’re an incredible cookie either way.

Taster comments:

• I loved this cookie!! It had such a lovely complex, toasty corn flavor that was perfectly balanced by the salt amount. The texture was also perfect with a nice chew and the perfect amount of graininess from the cornmeal. I love how the flavor changes throughout the bite as well.
• LOVE this. Need the recipe asap. Super different than the other cookies flavor and especially texture wise. Crumbly and chewy in a good way. The most corn forward tasting of all the cookies. An incredibly unique cookie that hit all the notes for me
• YEAH!! YUM!!! Tastes like the edges of a cornbread muffin top but everywhere, and you get lots of corn mealy texture. The edges of the cookie itself are so caramelized and nutty which is always a bonus. I like the formidable chew on this one, like wish it wasn’t as flat to experience the cookie at different heights.
• The first sample where the flavor makes a stronger impression than the sample, deliciously sweet, with a strong corn flavor. The texture is just slightly too tough, but it somehow suits the flavor overall.
• Thin and crispy cookie! What it lacks in chew, it makes up for in flavor! You can really taste the toasted corn notes almost like popcorn!
• Texture reminds me of a Tates cookie! Less malleable compared to [Delish]. Texture is a bit gritty but I like how toasty the flavor is. Like a corn flake cookie!
• Love love the corn flavor!! The texture was chewy which was nice but may border on too chewy? It looks like the batter spread a lot as it baked and maybe that’s why?
• A fan of the texture but honestly a little too sweet in general and I have the feeling it gets stuck in my teeth. The flavor is good and definitely has corn at the forefront, but [Milk Bar] had more of a fresh corn taste.

Recommendations

• Erika’s picks: Easy Gay Oven, Milk Bar (I also enjoyed but would like to try modifying Reddit, Typefoodie and Delish)
• Crowd favorite: Easy Gay Oven
• Best corn flavor: Milk Bar
• Best thin/crispy/chewy cookies: Easy Gay Oven, King Arthur
• Best soft and chewy cookie: Alexis Dunlap, Typefoodie
• Best doughy, cornbread-like cookie: Reddit