I made these for FHE last night and they are delicious!  Really, really love them.  And since we have an orange tree, I'll be making them every year.  Could definitely be one of my Christmas plate cookies in 2014!  YUM!

Reminded me of my Mom's favorite orange stick candy.

Photos and recipe by Sweet Treats and More.

Chocolate-Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photos and recipe by Sweet Treats and More. 

It’s a chocolate cookie infused with fresh orange zest, a splash of orange juice,  rolled into a zesty orange-sugar coating.  You get bursts of orange flavor with every bite.  

 And loads of dark chocolate chips too.  Lately, I’m really loving dark chocolate.  

Chocolate meets orange meets fudgy meets zesty meets best. cookie. ever.  Definitely a new favorite.  

So Santa baby, please stuff my stalking with a dozen of these this year.  Thankyouverymuch. 

Chocolate-Orange Chocolate chip Cookies

Ingredients

Zest of one large orange

2/3 cup butter, soft

1 1/3 cup granulated sugar (1/3 cup reserved)

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 (10 oz) package dark chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix 1/3 cup granulated sugar with 1 tsp orange zest and set aside.

In a stand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup sugar, and remaining orange zest until creamy.

Beat in the egg, vanilla, and orange juice.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

Slowly mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients.

Stir in dark chocolate chips. Roll dough into 1 1/2 in balls and roll into the sugar-zest mixture.

Place dough balls on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper, 3 inches apart.

Using the bottom of a glass flatten dough balls to about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 9-11 minutes.

Let cool for several minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

Slightly Adapted from Dulce Dough
yields: 2 1/2 dozen

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Delights

Finally posting this recipe because I don't want to forget it. This was the new cookie I tried this last Christmas. Several people told me this was their favorite cookie over the holidays.

Again, I was inspired by Taste and Tell. Here is the original link to this recipe.

Chocolate-Covered Cherry Delights
adapted from Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

makes 2 dozen cookies

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 10-oz. jar maraschino cherries*
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter and mix in the sugar. When the mixture has cooled off a bit, add the egg and mix. Add the baking powder, baking soda, salt, vanilla and cocoa, stirring after each addition. Add the flour and mix well. The dough will be stiff and a bit crumbly.

Drain the cherries and reserve the juice.

Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet, 12 per sheet. Press down in the center of each ball to make an indentation. Place one cherry in each indentation.

In a double boiler, combine the chocolate chips and the sweetened condensed milk. Heat on low, stirring, until the chocolate chips have melted. Start adding in some of the reserved cherry juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until the sauce is thick and will glob off a spoon. If it won’t glob off, keep adding juice until it is the right consistency. Spoon a small bit of the sauce over the center of each cookie – just enough to cover the cherry. It shouldn’t drip down the sides.**

Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

*you probably won’t use the whole jar of cherries
**I had quite a bit of the chocolate frosting left over. Good thing it makes a great snack on top of graham crackers!!

I can't decide whether I like this recipe or my other oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe better. Right now this one wins!

The link is here: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/Detail.aspx

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Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

By: PANTHERA

"I modified Beatrice's Excellent Oatmeal cookies very slightly. I came up with something that my boyfriend went CRAZY over! I've never seen him enjoy cookies to that extent! He said I blew his mother's recipe away."

Rate/Review | Read Reviews (2,049)

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Prep Time:
15 Min

Cook Time:
12 Min

Ready In:
55 Min

Servings (Help)

USMetricCalculate

Original Recipe Yield 3 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving Calories: 145 | Total Fat: 8.1g | Cholesterol: 22mg

No Fail Sugar Cookies & Royal Icing

My extremely talented friend Jami makes cookies and cakes for weddings and events. Recently she made and decorated some cookies for an Eagle Court of Honor. I had to take care of some other assignments so I never made it to the refreshment table. On the way home, my husband raved about the cookies. They looked perfect. They tasted perfect. I told him, "I bet Jami made those." He said, "No way, those cookies were too perfect. They bought them." (Well...yes, they did...Jami is a professional.)


Now, keep in mind. Neither my husband or I are huge fans of sugar cookies. All of my sisters have these traditions of decorating sugar cookies with their kids around the holidays. I've always wanted to do that but it always seems so wasteful to me. It always ends with me throwing them in the trash. Afterall, if I don't like them, why would I deliver them to someone else? I've tried several recipes over the year but to no avail. Nothing appeals.

So, I begged and pleaded with Jami to share her recipe. And guess what? She posted it to her blog and gave permission for me to post it here. So, for all of the sugar cookie grinches out there like me...give it one more try and prepare to be converted.

The link to Jami's post of the sugar cookie recipe is here. You can check out her gallery here but be aware that Jami has recently announced a temporary hiatus from her profession in the interest of her family. Here's hoping she is back at it soon.

No Fail Sugar Cookies

Ingredients
6 cups flour

3 tsp. baking powder

2 cups butter (make sure it is at room temp)

2 cups sugar (white granulated)

2 eggs

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. salt

Instructions
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes in a kitchenaid mixer. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Mix dry ingredients and add a little at a time to the butter mixture. Mix until flour is completely incorporated and the dough comes together.
Chill for 1 hour.
Roll to desired thickness and cut into desired shapes. (This recipe is great because it holds it shape even when using complex cookie cutters)

Bake on ungreased baking sheet at 350
degrees for 8 to 10 minutes (in my oven they bake for 6 min. 45 sec) or until just beginning to turn brown around the edges.

Antonia74 Royal Icing
Ingredients
3/4 cup of warm water
5 Tablespoons meringue powder
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 bag (2.25 lbs.) powdered icing sugar

Instructions
In kitchenaid mixer bowl, pour in the warm water and the meringue powder. Mix it with a whisk by hand until it is frothy and thickened…about 30 seconds.
Add the cream of tartar and mix for 30 seconds more.
Pour in all the powdered sugar at once and place the bowl on the mixer.
Using the paddle attachment on the LOWEST speed, mix slowly for a full 10 minutes. Icing will get thick and creamy.
Cover the bowl with a dampened tea-towel to prevent crusting and drying.
Tint with food colourings or thin the icing with small amounts of warm water to reach the desired consistency.

Let me just warn you though that royal icing can be very tricky the first few times you use it. The consistency is VERY important...too runny or too thick and it can be a disaster.

Butterscotch Bars

I went visiting teaching this evening so I tried a new goodie recipe to take. If you like butterscotch or caramel, you will love these!

Note: I cooked mine for about 24 minutes and took them out of the oven even though I was not sure if they were done (don't even bother with the toothpick test). They needed to be cooled down all of the way to cut into bars. This is another recipe I found on Taste and Tell.















Butterscotch Bars
(called Butterscotch Brownies in the book)
adapted from Joy of Cooking

Makes 16 2 1/4 inch squares

1/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sweetened coconut (I cut the amount in 1/2.)

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir the brown sugar into the butter, and then set aside to cool slightly.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x9-inch pan.

When the butter/sugar mixture has cooled slightly, beat in the egg and the vanilla.

Sift the flour, then re-sift with the baking powder and salt. Mix flour mixture into the sugar mixture. Mix in the coconut.

Pour batter into the prepared dish and bake for 20-25 minutes. Cut into bars when cool.

Cake Mix Cookies

Several years ago, I tasted cake mix cookies for the first time. If memory serves me correctly, I was with Shannon because we were both intrigued by and converted in that moment to the idea of strawberry cookies. Shannon was motivated enough to get the recipe and make them several times over. They floated in and out of memory for me until I whipped up a batch to help Shannon this past June. That is when I was introduced to lemon cookies and...YUM...they are good.

We wanted to deliver some cookies last night but I only had about 45 minutes in between meetings to make them and I desperately need to visit a grocery store. Then it dawned on me, "What about all of those cake mixes in the pantry."

So here is the recipe. It's an easy recipe to remember, but for those that don't know me, I had to be sure. Finally I found what I was looking for at Taste and Tell. Here is the link to the recipe Deborah was kind enough to post online. I made the strawberry cookies, but will definitely be making lemon soon.



Cake Mix Cookies
adapted from this recipe

Strawberry
1 strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used melted butter.)
1/2 cup coconut

Mix eggs and vegetable oil until well combined. Stir in cake mix and coconut; drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 F.

Chocolate
1 chocolate cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Mix eggs and vegetable oil until well combined. Stir in cake mix and chocolate chips; drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 F.

Note: I was not as impressed with the chocolate cookies. Our favorites were the strawberry and lemon cookies. With so much butter in these cookies, there is no need to grease the cookie sheets. Here is the Lemon Cookie recipe:

Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
1 lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Mix eggs and melted butter until well combined. Stir in cake mix and lemon extract; drop by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheet. Cook for 8-10 minutes at 350 F. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Here is a picture of what my cookies looked like.

Family Favorite -- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Quaker Oats

Vanishing Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) margarine or butter, softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugarr
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
3 cups Quaker Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
1 cup raisins (or chocolate chips)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat together margarine and sugars until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well.
4. Add combined flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; mix well.
5. Stir in oats and raisins; mix well.
6. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
7. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Bar cookies: Bake 30 to 35 minutes in ungreased 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan.