Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Chocolate+Orange

It's around Christmas time that I especially look forward to noshing on a few sweet treats. Every year, my family and I drive to Lubbock, Texas to visit my grandparents and spend the week in a veritable food coma. Stacks of cookie tins line the kitchen counter, while my grandfather sneaks off to uncover the canister of homemade fudge he has been stashing away all week. As I sift through the tins, I find all of the familiar favorites: buttery sugar cookies topped with red and green sprinkles, homemade toffee and chocolate espresso cookies dredged in powdered sugar. I can feel the sugar high already. Of course for me, the sweetest treat always awaited me at home. As the car pulled back into the driveway, my brothers and I raced into the living room and ceremoniously dumped the contents of our stockings onto the living room floor. There lay three oranges, nuts galore and my absolute favorite Christmas treat--the chocolate orange. Now, I realize that not everyone appreciates the magic of the chocolate orange. There are those that find this flavor combination odd. Unusual flavor combinations aside, I believe there is one thing on which everyone can agree--whacking them open on the countertop is absolutely fantastic. You just can't do that with a fruit cake.
As I was reflecting on all these Christmas memories and my beloved chocolate orange, I began toying with the idea of turning my favorite Christmas treat into a cookie I could enjoy year round. I combined toasted pecans with orange zest, dark chocolate, and a pinch of cinnamon. The end result is toasted pecan, orange, and chocolate cookies--the perfect treat to hold you over over until next Christmas.

Toasted Pecan, Orange and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

¼ cup granulated white sugar

½ cup light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 ½ cups flour

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1.5 tsp orange zest

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup toasted pecans, chopped

½ - ¾ cups of dark chocolate chips (depending on your level of chocolate obsession)

Heat the oven to 400 degrees and place the pecans on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Toast the pecans for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Watch them carefully, as they can burn easily! Remove the pecans from the oven and chop them up. Turn the oven down to 350 degrees.

Cream the butter and both sugars together. Mix in the egg, orange zest, and vanilla. Whisk all the dry ingredients together and add the dry ingredients in thirds. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and bake for 12 minutes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. After they've cooled, grab a few cookies, a glass of ice cold milk and enjoy!

4 comments:

  1. Miss Rachel,
    I think you should consider skipping grad school and bettering the world with your fabulous treats. I know many who would thank you for it. And, this just entices me more to make a trip to Texas to see a live show of Rachel Getting Cooking. :)

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  2. Hello my dear!

    Thank you so much for the lovely post! You're too sweet! I can only hope that my sweets fill the world with a bit more happiness, but hopefully not too many cavities! Of course, if you want to see a live production, you might just have to travel to the heart of Texas.

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  3. Hi Rachel, Emily sent me your blog and I was so excited by the chocolate/orange cookies recipe. That is a combination that I love, too, so look forward to trying it out. Maybe we can get together and drink some iced tea when Em is home at the end of June. Keep up the good work. Really cute and fun. Sara

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  4. Hi Sara,

    I'm so glad you like the blog as well as chocolate + orange :)
    I'd also love get together for Iced Tea sometime. After all, I never need an excuse to grab an iced tea. That sounds brilliant. Take care!

    Rachel

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