A sweet, buttery, not-too-sweet cookie inspired by the Indiginous wisdom of the Southwest.
Jump to RecipeA little jar of blue corn flour has been speaking to me for months from the bottom of my pantry drawer. The last of an edible souvenir haul from Paonia a few springs back, I really wanted to make something special with this little quantity. Because I am in my “snack era,” these Blue Corn Cookies were my answer. A very tender, buttery, sweet-but-not-too-sweet, very special treat to be sure.
Did you know that in addition to being an absolutely gorgeous grain, blue corn is sacred for the Hopi Native American tribes that first cultivated it in the Southwestern United States? I didn’t either until I did a bit of digging into how to use this beautiful ingredient. Intrigued by the gorgeous color, sweet flavor and creamy texture of this gorgeous grain, I had purchased it (frankly) because it was pretty, and felt exotic. But once I started learning how indigenous peoples have eaten this food for centuries, I became completely addicted to it’s simplicity and it’s symbolism as one of the first “superfoods.”
Traditionally, blue corn is ground up into a fine cornmeal for blue corn mush, for tortillas or traditional breads. First, it’s roasted to enhance it’s flavor. THEN, the meal is mixed with juniper ash. Why juniper ash? Juniper ash is an alkaline substance, and exposing it to corn initiates a process called “nixtamalization.” Nixtamalization breaks down the outer shell of the corn, enhancing flavor and increasing the amount of bioavailable (absorbable) calcium, niacin, and vitamin B3. (Brain explosion, commence!) Every gram of juniper ash itself contains 280-300 milligrams of calcium – about the same as a glass of milk. This primitive “supplement” was also used in flavoring different foods, and it was used in traditional ceremonies, healing rituals, made into tea, and consumed for diarrhea and stomach ailments and thus has always been very helpful for the indigenous peoples whom depend on blue corn as an ingredient; without dairy products present in their diet, this was a critical “spice” in the medicine cabinet.
How did these tribes come to know the superpowers of juniper ash without modern technology to “measure” it’s positive impact? I don’t know the traditional story, but I do know that this incredible cascade of facts made me sit back, smile and take a new level of trust in the notion that nature has a wisdom we can’t possibly measure. Whole ingredients, combined in season and in context, have tremendous power. And I love that we can enjoy this wisdom in cookie form.
I originally created this recipe to fuel a mountain bike adventure to the Southwest a couple of years back, then tucked the recipe into my notebooks and the cookies into my fanny pack pockets. My friends and I LOVED the just-sweet texture of these pretty, simple little cookies and they came to mind the other day when I was plotting (more) snacks to fuel our full days here.
Corn is a perfect grain to enjoy in the spring; it’s more drying than wheat or other grains that contain gluten and thus helps to reduce water retention and stabilize blood pressure – both critical goals during the kapha season when we’re trying to clear the body of congestion. When nixtamalized, corn is quite digestible and has high levels of potassium, calcium, niacin and B3, making it an exceptional food for athletes on the go.
I adore the tender, short-bread-like texture of these cookies. I love that they’re sweet, but not SO sweet. I love their color, their unexpected butteriness, their packability, and that they aren’t the same old cookies I can find everywhere else.
I’ve included a few bits in the recipe notes below on how to make these your own – I hope you love them as much as I do!
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