Friday, December 7, 2012

Orange Zested Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze

I'll be 27 weeks pregnant in a few days, and so far the only cravings I've had are for clementine oranges and green apples.  I blame the clementines craving partly on Hannah.  She brings me 4 of them, "two for mommy and two for Hannie!", bribing me for that I'll peel them for her.
It works every. single. time.

So the other night, when I was on Pinterest and saw a recipe for Orange Zested Cookies with Sweet Orange Glaze, I was a goner. I had all the ingredients on hand, so it was just a matter of time.


Shopping List:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- 2 sticks of butter
- granulated sugar
- confectioners’ sugar
- 3 oranges for zest and juice
- 1 egg

I followed the recipe from Stephanie's Kitchen to a tee, and these cookies turned out beautifully. The recipe started out like most cookie recipes: The dry ingredients were sifted together in a medium bowl, and the room temperature butter was put in the mixer to cream. But then the recipe took a fabulous twist. The orange zest was added to the granulated sugar, and I mixed them with my fingertips.


The essential oils in the zest turn regular white sugar into this light, fluffy, orange tinted sugar that smells amazing.


Once you add it to the butter to cream, you add some orange juice and an egg and finish creaming together. I scrapped down the side of the mixing bowl and then slowly added the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and baking soda) with the mixer on low until a sugar cookie consistency dough is formed. The dough is dotted with the orange zest and is slightly drier than a chocolate chip cookie dough.

The oven was preheated to 350*, and my cookie sheets were lined with parchment paper. You're only going to cook these until the bottom is slightly golden, so the parchment paper helps to get these cookies off the sheet quickly and prevents browning.

I use a small ice cream scoop so that the cookies are a consistent size.


Since the dough was a drier style, I figured they wouldn't spread out very far. I used a flat bottomed glass bowl dipped in a small bowl of granulated sugar to flatten each ball to a consistent diameter. After baking I noted that the cookies didn't flatten much more, so smush to your desired size. The sugar just keeps the glass bowl from sticking to the dough.


Each batch was baked for 10 minutes and the bottom was perfectly golden, but it might take up to 12 minutes depending on your oven. Don't overbake or they will be too dry.

Once the cookies were baked and cooled on racks, I mixed up the glaze. I added the remaining orange zest to some powdered confectioner's sugar and thinned with orange juice until runny, but not watery. I tried to spoon the glaze over the cookies, but I found that I got better coverage if I just dipped each cookie's top into the bowl of glaze and tapped off any extra.


Make sure you put the used parchment paper under the cooling racks to catch all the dripping glaze and make clean up easier.


I let the glaze set up for an hour while Hannah napped, and the recipe made about 3 dozen cookies.  I reserved 6 for Hannah and I to eat as a snack (Chris HATES citrus desserts) and boxed up the rest to bring to my husband's coworkers. They lasted 15 minutes, and got rave reviews. Not only are these cookies delicious with a bright citrus flavor, but they look beautiful with the zested glaze.  This recipe has made the cut and been added to my recipe book.


For the complete recipe, click here.

20 comments:

  1. Did you doctor say it was OK to eat cookies with your weight issues during pregnancy? Maybe it is best to stick with the whole fruit until Brooks arrives as a healthy NORMAL sized baby boy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why do you have to be so rude?

      Delete
    2. Wow you are a nasty piece of work! Her baby boy will be perfect, and what weight issues? She has lost loads of weight. Go bug the anorexic boards

      Delete
    3. Wow you are a nasty piece of work! Her baby boy will be perfect, and what weight issues? She has lost loads of weight. Go bug the anorexic boards

      Delete
  2. Troll, much? Maternal weight gain actually has little to
    Do with baby size. I know women who gained 90 lbs and had a 6 lb baby and I know women who lost and had 11 lb babies. Everything in moderation.
    If you watch the YT video, you will have a pretty clear idea of what's going on, not that I think it would make a big difference to a judgmental troll.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'm not even going to dignify that awfull comment with a response, soooo, back to the cookies. YUM! As soon as I saw this I had to try them. I used clementines and added a little vanilla to the glaze then served them with vanilla ice cream. My little girl even got to help roll the dough into balls.....she had a blast. We had a small family dinner party and they were a huge hit! Thank you for taking the time and energy to share it

    ReplyDelete
  4. The recipe doesn't say how much flour to use? Can anyone help?

    ReplyDelete

ShareThis

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...