Makes 12 cookies

Make the dough

To prep, bring 1 stick butter and 1 egg to room temperature.

1. In a stand mixer, combine 1 stick butter, 80g sugar, 40g brown sugar, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 tsp kosher salt. Cream with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy.  

2. Add 1 egg. Mix to combine.

3. Add 120g flour, 60g cornmeal, 18g cornstarch (2 tbsp), and 25g corn powder. Mix until well combined.

4. Chill the dough for 30 minutes until firm enough to handle.

5. Roll the dough into 12 balls, about 42g each. Cover in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. You can store the dough in the refrigerator for a couple days before baking, or put the dough balls in the freezer to keep longer.

Bake the cookies

1. Place the dough balls on a parchment lined tray, with up to 6 balls per tray so they have space to spread.

2. Bake at 325° convection (or 350° regular) for 15-16 minutes. For frozen cookie dough, bake 17 minutes. The cookies should be beginning to brown on some of the edges.

3. The cookies do spread slightly, so you can do a "cookie scoot" to bring everything in tighter again. While optional, this technique will make the cookies perfectly round and a bit thicker. Take a cookie cutter or large glass that is bigger than the diameter of the cookie. Place it around the cookie while still hot, and swirl it around. It should nudge the hot cookie into a perfectly round shape. Watch the video from the originator, Cloudy Kitchen, if this makes no sense.

4. Let cool completely.

Make french-ish buttercream

To prep, bring 2 sticks of butter to room temperature.

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk 1 whole egg, 1 yolk, 3 tbsp water, 100g sugar, and a pinch salt, .

2. In a small pot that the mixer bowl can sit fully on top of, bring an inch of water to a boil to create a double boiler. Heat the egg mixture on the double boiler, whisking frequently, until it reaches 160-165°. 

3. Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Beat to a fluffy foam, 3-5 minutes. Mixture should be cooled. You can apply ice to the outside of the bowl while whipping to help it cool down.

4. Switch to the paddle attachment and beat in 2 sticks of butter. The mixture may appear to curdle, but continue to beat until it emulsifies into a smooth buttercream.

5. On a piece of parchment, spread enough buttercream to cover an 8x8 inch square, at least 1/4 inch thick. Reserve extra buttercream for another use. Alternatively if you wish to use all the buttercream for making "butter pats", transfer all the buttercream to a 1 gallon ziploc. Zip the top and smooth the buttercream into an even layer in the bag, squeezing out large air pockets.

6. Place flat in the freezer until hardened.

Finish

1. Remove the frozen buttercream. Use a knife to trim the edges and cut it into 1" squares. (If you used the ziplock bag, cut off the edges of the bag with scissors so you can easily peel it open to remove the sheet of butter cream.)

2. Place a square of buttercream on each cooled cookie.

3. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper and flaky salt.