Before starting the festivities, several trays of some of our most traditional Christmas sweets have passed through our ovens, such as almond polvorones and mantecados, and in various versions. And now that we almost have Christmas Eve on, we want to try new variants, like these corn and walnut polvorones which are also gluten-free, perfect for those with celiac disease at home.
We wrote the recipe a long time ago from the blog of Biscayenne, the gourmet and popularizer Ana Vega Pérez de Arlucea author of the great book ‘Cocina viejuna’. The domain is no longer available online, but luckily we had the good idea of writing down the elaboration in a notebook years ago, waiting for the opportune occasion to finally try this variant of the typical polvorones at home.
You have to use cornmeal but not refined or starch, yellow in color but uncooked, like the one we would use to make bread or tortos. We also recommend open the walnuts at home and grind them, because only in this way will we achieve maximum freshness and flavor, avoiding possible rancid aftertastes. In other countries it is easy to find ground walnuts as here the almond; If you are lucky to have this product on hand, and it is quality, you can use it.
Leave the butter to temper out of the fridge long enough for it to be very soft. Toast the cornmeal in a skillet over medium heat while stirring, until it emits a mild scent and catch a spark of color. Let cool completely and preheat the oven to 200ºC without air, heat up and down.
While opening the walnuts until obtaining 75 g and grinding them with a mincer, grinder or food processor, leaving them fine but carefully do not release your oils in excess. They could be done with mortar although they will be more rustic.
Whisk with rods butter and icing sugar until cream; add the cold flour, walnuts and cinnamon (or lemon or anise). Work the dough until it has a homogeneous, malleable and smooth texture. Add more flour (it can be already unroasted) or ground nuts if it is too sticky.
Roll out on a sheet of non-stick kitchen paper leaving a minimum thickness of 1.5 cm, better a little more. Cut the polvorones with the chosen mold, better if it is not very large, and distribute on a tray lined with more paper. Continue until all the dough is finished.
Bake some Few minutes until dry but not toasted, usually no more than five minutes. Let cool completely before handling and sprinkle with sifted icing sugar to taste.
With what to accompany the corn polvorones
We don’t have many more suggestions to accompany these gluten-free polvorones than simply enjoy them calmly and in moderation when the body asks us for something sweet and festive, after dinner or at snack time in good company, with a hot drink of our liking. Remember, yes, that if we are going to serve them to celiacs, we must avoid cross contamination with other sweets that may have gluten or traces.
More Christmas recipes
Directly to the Palate we love these parties and we have thousands of recipes for you to be sure to hit your Christmas meals.
Don’t miss our special with the 215 best Christmas recipes and 16 special menus. And if you need ideas for specific dishes, here is a good starting point:
Directly to the Paladar | 101 gluten-free Christmas recipes for celiacs
Directly to the Paladar | Christmas cookies: 83 recipes to enjoy as a child