Cornmeal Cookies or ‘d Melia…
Once offered at baptism celebrations, they were then called “Fe batie” in Piedmontese.
Or cornmeal cookies = meliga = corn
They began to be baked when the wheat harvest was poor, prices rose, and to make some cookies, flour was mixed with finely ground corn
Today they are highly appreciated cookies known everywhere; they are buttery and very crumbly, even just out of the oven you have to be very careful due to their delicate structure, once cooled they pose no problems.
In the Piedmontese territory, corn has played an increasingly important role in traditional cuisine since the 1700s. This cereal gradually replaced wheat cultivation in the mountainous region, becoming the basis of local nutrition. Families often prepared “polenta,” a hearty dish that replaced bread and was a nourishing and substantial food. Moreover, corn was used in sweets, cookies, and bread, offering a cheaper alternative to wheat and other minor grains.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Cornmeal, flour, eggs, sugar, and butter
- 1 3/4 cups cornmeal (very fine)
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 14 tbsp butter
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 lemon zest (Finely grated)
Tools
Mixing bowl, pastry board, rolling pin, and oven for baking
The tools I use and recommend can be found Here
Steps
In a bowl combine all the ingredients…
Including butter and egg yolks
Place on the pastry board and finish the dough; Roll out not too thin and cut into desired shapes, I chose to make corn cobs
Bake in a preheated oven at 340°F and remove as soon as golden, do not touch them! They need to cool down, otherwise, they will break. They are very crumbly and delicate.
Your cornmeal cookies are ready! Try enjoying them with a good dry white wine!
They keep well for a few days. A very appreciated gift idea for small gestures. You can optionally cover them with dark chocolate on half of the cookie.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Cornmeal cookies or melicotti, also called michette depending on the area of origin, are an example of how corn has influenced Piedmontese gastronomy. These traditional cookies have been appreciated over the centuries and are still popular today. It is not certain in which area they originated, but they have become an integral part of the Piedmontese culinary culture.
Cornmeal cookies are a sweet snack prepared with corn flour, eggs, butter, and sugar, baked in the oven. Their shape resembled that of a horseshoe or a doughnut, hence the name “Chiapini” or “Ciapin” in Piedmontese dialect. This ancient recipe has been passed down over time and the art of making cornmeal cookies was also described in the “Il confetturiere piemontese del 1790”.
“Take cornmeal eight ounces, and wheat flour one pound, butter one pound, six egg yolks, half an ounce of cinnamon, another half ounce of cloves, and two egg whites, mix everything well together, and when the dough is ready, shape it into a chiapino, then take the yolk of one egg with some water, mix well together, then brush it on top; then place them on the leaves.”
Cornmeal cookies are an example of culinary creativity that arises from necessity and tradition. Thanks to corn, a versatile and nutritious food, Piedmontese cuisine has been able to create unique and appreciated dishes that are part of the region’s gastronomic heritage.
From “The Melicotti of Pianezza and other Cornmeal Cookies of Piedmont” by G.P. Spaliviero.
