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wombat1138The wombatcave's usual nominal festivities:
1.) Bake cookies.
2.) Eat them.
Interestingly, the wombat-consort's ancestral orange cookies[*] seem to be relatively obscure in most of the US. I don't know where the recipe originally came from, but he grew up in Western Pennsylvania and there are multiple variants in Pittsburgh-local cookbooks. This one was his granny's, from the stash of handwritten index cards in his mom's kitchen. They look very similar to the ones shown here; some of the reviews there would probably also apply to these.
[*: The term "orange cookie" is somewhat misleading for this recipe, in that the dough a.) actually produces soft cakelets instead of the more typical crispy/crunchy cookie texture, and b.) (in the wombat-consort's recipe) does not actually contain any orange-type components. The cakelets are fairly bland by themselves, but they provide a great platform for the zingy orange frosting. They need to be assembled at least several hours in advance of serving, but will store for at least a week if they survive uneaten for that long.]
Ingredients (makes about 6 dozen cookies)--
1.5 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c sour milk (or 1/2 c regular milk + 1/2 Tbl lemon juice)
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
4 c flour
1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar
1 "egg-sized lump" of butter (~4 Tbl)
zest and juice of 1 orange
1.) Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy.
2.) Add the remaining dough ingredients (up through the flour) into the butter/sugar mixture in the order stated.
3.) Mix in the flour last. (I've tried the more conventional method of whisking the dry ingredients together beforehand and adding them all at once, and it doesn't work as well-- the soda/powder need the extra time to start bubbling up; otherwise, the first few sheets come out too flat.)
4.) Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, ~1.5" apart. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 12 minutes. Move cookies from the sheet onto a rack to cool completely before frosting.
5.) Make the frosting from the powdered sugar, butter, and orange zest/juice. Don't make the frosting too early in the process, or it'll stiffen up and become more difficult to apply. (I suppose it could be diluted back out with a bit of extra orange juice, if necessary.) When the cookies are cool, pick up each one and apply a smooth layer of frosting over the top with a spoon or spatula. Put the cookies back onto the rack to let the frosting set. Store between layers of waxed paper.
1.) Bake cookies.
2.) Eat them.
Interestingly, the wombat-consort's ancestral orange cookies[*] seem to be relatively obscure in most of the US. I don't know where the recipe originally came from, but he grew up in Western Pennsylvania and there are multiple variants in Pittsburgh-local cookbooks. This one was his granny's, from the stash of handwritten index cards in his mom's kitchen. They look very similar to the ones shown here; some of the reviews there would probably also apply to these.
[*: The term "orange cookie" is somewhat misleading for this recipe, in that the dough a.) actually produces soft cakelets instead of the more typical crispy/crunchy cookie texture, and b.) (in the wombat-consort's recipe) does not actually contain any orange-type components. The cakelets are fairly bland by themselves, but they provide a great platform for the zingy orange frosting. They need to be assembled at least several hours in advance of serving, but will store for at least a week if they survive uneaten for that long.]
Ingredients (makes about 6 dozen cookies)--
1.5 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 c sour milk (or 1/2 c regular milk + 1/2 Tbl lemon juice)
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
4 c flour
1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar
1 "egg-sized lump" of butter (~4 Tbl)
zest and juice of 1 orange
1.) Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy.
2.) Add the remaining dough ingredients (up through the flour) into the butter/sugar mixture in the order stated.
3.) Mix in the flour last. (I've tried the more conventional method of whisking the dry ingredients together beforehand and adding them all at once, and it doesn't work as well-- the soda/powder need the extra time to start bubbling up; otherwise, the first few sheets come out too flat.)
4.) Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, ~1.5" apart. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 12 minutes. Move cookies from the sheet onto a rack to cool completely before frosting.
5.) Make the frosting from the powdered sugar, butter, and orange zest/juice. Don't make the frosting too early in the process, or it'll stiffen up and become more difficult to apply. (I suppose it could be diluted back out with a bit of extra orange juice, if necessary.) When the cookies are cool, pick up each one and apply a smooth layer of frosting over the top with a spoon or spatula. Put the cookies back onto the rack to let the frosting set. Store between layers of waxed paper.
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no subject
on 2009-12-30 05:28 am (UTC)If you're still in a cookie mood, maybe try Lime Meltaways. I recommend adding more lime zest than recommended to give it more zing. Recipe here:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/lime-meltaways-from-the-martha-stewart-show