Orange Vanilla Shortbread

We are at week 10 of thee 12 weeks of Christmas cookies. When we first started this, I thought it would take forever to finish it up, but now we only have 2 more weeks! There have been so many great cookie recipes during this and can't wait to see what the next weeks bring!

I saw this recipe in Sherry Yards book The Secret of Baking and was curious about the use of Orange Blossom Water. I had never seen it, much less needed to use it in a recipe. I knew that I wanted to try it. That was about a year ago. I don't know why I haven't made them sooner. I really like the flavor of them. They have a base of orange flavor with a little hint of a floral scent. And then the vanilla mellows it all out. The recipe said to roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick and cut into a shape, freeze for 15 minutes then bake. I chose to bake them in an 8x8 square dish and cut them into squares. They turned out a little more fluffy than the shortbread that I have made before. Maybe it is because I didn't roll it out? Not sure, but they still taste yummy! I think I might like to make this recipe and adapt it to this flavor.

Remember to see what Megan, Barbara, Megan, Denise and Kim baked up this week!

Orange Vanilla Shortbread

By: Sherry Yard

2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 pound (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp sugar

2 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/2 vanilla bean, split and scraped

2 Tbsp finely grated orange zest

1/8 tsp salt

1 Tbsp orange flower water

1 large egg, at room temperature

Sift together flour and baking soda in medium bowl and set aside

Using a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter on medium speed until pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle. Add the sugar, vanilla extract and scraped seeds from the bean, orange zest, salt and orange flower water. Cream on medium speed until it is smooth and lump free, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl and the paddle.

Add the egg and beat on low speed for 30 seconds, or until fully incorporated. Do not overbeat. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

On low speed, add the flour mixture. Beat until all the dry ingredients are incorporated, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough will be gooey. Remove the dough from the mixer, scrape it onto a sheet of plastic film, press it into a 1/2-1 inch thick disk, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 1 hour. At this point, the dough will keep nicely, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 1 month. (Thaw frozen dough at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or until you can slice it.)

Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Place the dough between 2 sheets of lightly floured parchment paper, roll it out 1/4 inch thick, and freeze it for at least 2 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Adjust the rack to the lower third of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

When the dough has frozen, carefully peel off the parchment and place the dough on a work surface dusted lightly with flour. Dip a 3 inch round cookie cutter in flour, then cut out the cookies. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets, alternating the rows like a checkerboard. Return the dough to the freezer for 15 minutes or more whenever it becomes too sticky to cut.

Bake one sheet at a time for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges, turning the sheet front to back halfway through the baking. Remove from the oven and carefully slide the parchment directly onto a work surface. Wait at least 5 minutes before serving or 30 minutes before storing the cookies in an airtight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Orange Chunk Cookies- Week 2

This week I chose to bake Orange Chunk Cookies, they should have been chip, but my grocery store didn't have white chocolate chips, WHAT?! I know, so I had to substitute a bar of it and chunk it up. That just added to the fun, I don't know why, but food prep makes me happy. The more I can chop, the happier I am. I know, I have issues!

So, here we are at week 2, and that means 11 weeks until Christmas now and I don't have the slightest idea of what I will be buying the kids. I asked Abby what she wanted and she said "Joy". I said, "Joy, as in happiness? Are you not happy?" She said, yes, I am happy, but that is what I want. Crazy child!! Maybe I'll get something that has JOY written on it and stick it in her stocking.

On to the cookies, I liked them, the hubby and kids liked them. The hubby was a little concerned of the orange, he doesn't like orange flavored things, but the orange flavor was subtle. It mostly tasted like a white chocolate chip cookie and once you chewed it and swallowed was when you get the hint of orange. So, I would give this cookie a thumbs up!

You also need to go and see what Megan from Megan's Cooking, Barbara from Barbara Bakes, and Megan from My Baking Adventures is joining us as well!

Orange Chunk Cookies

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 cup (6 oz) white chocolate chips
1 Tbsp grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into small bowl. Beat the butter and both sugars in large bowl until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and mix well. Gradually add the flour mixture, until just combined. Stir in white chocolate chips and zest. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool for 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack.

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

You know when you see a recipe that you just aren't sure of? Well, I found this recipe on the back of our Ingle's Grocery Store weekly sale ad. Sometimes, I don't trust the ones that aren't by a famous chef, or a legit cookbook. I had a bowl full of fresh cranberries that were just screaming to be used, and I figured what will it hurt? The worse thing that could happen would be that it would be awful and find a home in the trash can. The mix came together quickly, smelled fantastic while baking and looked pleasing when it came out of the oven. I had a little leftover orange juice, so I mixed up a little orange glaze to pour over the top. I let it set for a little bit, sliced off a little slice and prepared my taste buds for disappointment. We, the taste buds and myself, were shocked to discover that this little slice was actually not bad. In fact, it is really, really good! Tart from the cranberries, citrusy from the orange zest and juice, and moist. I am so glad that I made it!

Now is the time to start the Christmas baking. Whether it be for the holiday cookie swap, gift baskets, or just because you are in the holiday spirit. This will be one that I add to the list. Mini loaves of this will be perfect for that little gift for a special friend.

Cranberry-Orange Nut Bread

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp grated orange zest
3/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp shortening
1 egg, well beaten
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped nuts, I used pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange zest, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. (I skipped that part)

This was fantastic with the orange glaze. I mixed powdered sugar and orange juice together until I got the consistency I wanted and drizzled over the bread.

Cocoa Orange Cupcakes

This months Cupcake Hero ingredient is cocoa. Great choice, but Laurie dear, you are going to be covered in it by the end of this month! :) I really like the combination of orange and chocolate, so when I came across this recipe, I knew that this would be my cupcake entry this month. I can't wait to see the round up!

Cocoa Orange Cupcakes with Orange Buttercream Frosting

For the cupcakes:
1/2 Cup cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, softened
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp plus 1/8 tsp baking powder
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp buttermilk
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp grated orange zest
1/2 tsp orange extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small bowl, stir together cocoa and boiling water until smooth; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, sugar, salt and vanilla until well blended. Add eggs, mix well. Stir together Baking soda and buttermilk; add to butter mixture alternately with the flour. Stir in orange zest, orange extract and cocoa mixture. Divide evenly into cupcake lined pan and bake 12-15 minutes, or until done. (I got 2 dozen cupcakes.)

For the Frosting:

2/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
6 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp vanilla
juice of 1 orange
4-6 Tbsp milk

In large mixing bowl, beat butter, 1 cup powdered sugar, orange peel, orange juice, and vanilla until creamy. Add remaining powdered sugar alternately with milk, beating to spreading consistency.

TWD-Orange Berry Muffins

Here we are again, with this weeks edition of Tuesday with Dorie. When I joined in on this a few weeks ago, I just figured that we would bake a recipe each week and make a few great friends and just post about it, so that I could go back a year from now and remember my experience on it. I never dreamed that Dorie herself would check it out and actually comment. So, a great big THANK YOU to Dorie for the comment!



This week was chose by Michelle with Sugar and Spice. What a great choice! These are perfect for any morning snack....or late morning, early afternoon...bedtime...ok, anytime of the day perfect. The orange flavor is a background flavor, just as Dorie said in the book. It is not a really strong flavor at all. I also made half of mine with sugar sprinkled on top and the other half not. I liked the half that had the sugar on top, it gave a little extra sweet crunch, although, my 10 year old son did not like the sugar topping.



The batter came together quickly, and because I made mini muffins, 10-12 minutes later, I had perfect blueberry muffins.



This week, we have 2 new chicks to join our escapade..Nicole from Crazy Delicious and Ashley from Eat Me Delicious. A great big welcome to you guys. And of course, don't forget to check out Laurie, Michelle and Jaime, too!



We have a great one already picked out for next week!

Orange Berry Muffins


Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries–fresh preferably, or frozen (not thawed)


Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds of a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.
Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough–the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be.

Stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully bakes, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.