Biscoitos de Maizena – Brazilian Cornstarch Cookies

Biscoitos de Maizena are a popular Brazilian cookie that melt in your mouth.  Unlike most cookies, these cookies use cornstarch as its primary ingredient.

"Biscoitos de maizena" literally translates as "cornstarch cookies".

You can make this recipe two ways, with or without coconut.  Not all recipes call for coconut, but most do and it is a very popular version.  

However, if you do not have coconut on hand, like I didn’t, don’t worry about it.  The Biscoitos de Maizena will still be delicious.

However, instead of having a coconut flavor to them, they will simply taste like a sweet cookie.

While cornstarch, otherwise known as cornflour, is the main ingredient, the recipe also calls for flour.  Flour in this case helps stabilize the cornstarch so it becomes more cookie-like.

If you want to leave it out to make it gluten free, you can, but replace it with an egg.  If you don’t, you just will be eating sweetened cornstarch, and trust me, you don’t want that texture in your mouth.

Surprisingly, most, if not all of the Brazilian recipes I read, called for margarine and not butter.  Since I avoid margarine whenever I can help it, my recipe calls for oil instead.

If you’d like to use butter, use one cup of butter instead of a three quarters cup of oil.

HOW TO STORE COOKIES

Let cookies cool completely.  Place in a resealable bag or an airtight container.  Store at room temperature for up to a week.

HOW TO FREEZE COOKIES

Let cookies cool completely.  It is best to freeze cookies on a tray so that they freeze as individuals. Then, move to a resealable freezer bag. 

If this is not practical for you, place cooled cookies in a resealable freezer bag and freeze that way.  

Cookies will keep for up to 3 months.  After that, the quality begins to degrade.

When thawing baked cookies, remove from bag and let sit at room temperature. 

If desired, you can gently reheat thawed cookies to mimic that fresh-baked taste and texture: place them in a 275°F or 135°C oven until soft.

SNAFU

The first time I made these, I made them only using cornstarch to try to make them gluten free. Instead of melting in my mouth, the texture was like I just took a spoonful of corn starch. Not good.