Corn and Cinnamon Butter Cookies (Galletas de Maíz)

These buttery cookies, with the warm, sweet fragrance and flavor of cinnamon and the subtly nutty notes of ground corn, are food writer and recipe developer Paola Briseño-González’ re-creation of the galletas de maíz (corn cookies) from a home bakery in the town of Tuito, in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Made without wheat flour and therefore lacking gluten, the cookies’ texture is quite “short,” similar to shortbread, but more delicate. It’s important to use masa harina here, the type of ground-corn product used to make corn tortillas. Masa harina is processed differently from cornmeal or corn flour, and even from masarepa, which is used to make empanadas and arepas; these different meals and flours are not interchangeable. If masa harina is not sold near the all-purpose flour and cornmeal, check the international aisle. Maseca is a widely available brand. In an airtight container, the cookies will keep for up to four days.