Cranberry Orange Cookies

 

I made these cookies this weekend and they were a real popular treat for my family! They were gone in 24 hours. This is a soft cookie with a cream cheese icing that highlights the flavors of cranberry, orange, cream cheese, and butter. The recipe made 24 cookies.

Cranberry Orange Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies

 Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon plus or the zest of 1 orange

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup of dried cranberries, rehydrated

Orange glaze:

2 tablespoons of cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon plus orange juice (juice of 1 orange)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Measure out your dried cranberries in a small bowl and boil some water. Pour enough boiled water over them to cover them and let them set at least 30 minutes. This will rehydrate your cranberries and make them more palatable.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In a large bowl add sugar, orange zest and rub the orange zest into the sugar with a spatula until the sugar is moist and fragrant. Beat the orange zest and sugar until light and fluffy, a couple of minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth. Add the flour mixture, mix until incorporated. Fold in the cranberries by hand. 

I used a medium cookie scoop and scooped out the cookies as balls and placed them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake them for 13-15 minutes. Let the cookies cool some before moving them to a cooling rack. They are a soft cookie, sort of cake like.

To make the glaze, mix the sifted powdered sugar, (I sift because I always get lumps in my powdered sugar) orange juice, softened cream cheese, and vanilla together with a hand held mixer till smooth. You want to get a really soft consistency although it doesn't really drizzle. I put it in an icing bag or a zip loc bag with the end cut off to pipe on the cookies. The icing stays soft and you can't stack the cookies on each other. You have to store them flat. If you want an icing that will harden you will want royal icing. The original recipe (see link below) had that type of icing. Just make it with orange juice instead of lemon.

Store in an airtight container. I did not refrigerate these cookies and they were fine for 24 hours on the counter. If you want them to last longer or you think they won't be eaten right away I would refrigerate them. They will last in refrigerator for up to a week.

Recipe adapted from: What Megan's Making

And of course, have them with tea! I love baking in the autumn! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Orange Chicken

Do you have orange chicken fans in your house? I sure do, and I have looked for the perfect orange chicken recipe for several years, and I have finally found it! It is requested a lot! Think Panda Express' Orange Chicken.

This recipe takes a little time to fry all of the chicken, but it is worth it. I don't fry much when I cook, and this one recipe is the exception because it makes the chicken like takeout.

Orange Chicken

Serves 6

Equipment:

Large frying pan or sauce pan

Oil frying strainer

Whisk

9" x 13" baking pan

citrus zester

citrus juicer

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (juice of 2 oranges)

1 tablespoon orange zest

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup distilled white vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce ( I use reduced sodium)

1/4 teaspoon roasted garlic powder (or 2 cloves fresh minced garlic)

1 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha

pinch of powdered ginger

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 tablespoon water

For the chicken:

1 1/2-2 lbs. boneless, skinless, chicken breasts cut into 1-inch chunks

3/4-1 cup cornstarch

2 large eggs lightly beaten

2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325°F, lightly spray a 9x13 glass pan, and set aside.

Zest the oranges and collect 1 tablespoon of orange zest. Slice the oranges in half and juice for the fresh squeezed orange juice. Measure out 1/2 cup of orange juice.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, orange juice, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, orange zest, Sriracha, ginger, black pepper, and red pepper flakes, and set aside.

Place the vegetable oil in a large frying pan or sauce pan and heat on medium-high.

Wash and pat dry the chicken breast.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. 

Measure out the cup of cornstarch and have it ready in a medium mixing bowl.

Whisk the 2 eggs in a small bowl, toss the chicken into the egg mixture and let it drip off.

Then place the chicken cubes into the cornstarch, coating it evenly. 

When the oil in the frying pan is hot enough to sizzle when you flick a little water in it, it is hot enough to fry your chicken. Start placing the battered cubes of chicken into the hot oil. I cooked the chicken for about 4 minutes on each side. Turning it over after 4 minutes and frying for a total of 8 minutes. The batter may be slightly golden. I really liked the batter to have some color. I then took the chicken out of the skillet with the oil-frying strainer and placed it on a paper towel-lined plate. This drained off some of the excess grease.

When all chicken was fried, I placed it in the 9x13 pan and made a slurry of the tablespoon of cornstarch and the tablespoon of water and poured it over the chicken. Then I added the prepared sauce to the chicken and poured it evenly all across the chicken. The chicken looks like it is swimming in the sauce, but it will turn out perfect after you bake it. 

Place the 9x13 pan in the oven and bake uncovered for 50 minutes; stir it once at about 25 minutes. Remove and serve it hot. The sauce really bakes into the chicken and breading and makes the perfect texture, just like takeout!

*Note: I immediately read this recipe and disliked the idea of breading the chicken in cornstarch. So I tried it with a traditional tempura batter, and the family voted; the cornstarch batter won out. So don't be skittish about breading the whole recipe in cornstarch; it turns out perfect!

I serve this with a side of rice I make in the instant pot. I will add that recipe later.

It takes about 1 hour and fifteen minutes to thirty minutes to make this from start to finish.

Recipe adapted from: Life Made Simple

In Victory,

Sherry

Fall Baking

It's September! I love fall and always welcome this time of the year. The garden is winding down, and there is more time to come indoors and bake. I was pressed for time today, and my baking was fast. I took the pictures quickly. The pictures look a little more realistic than a highly styled photo shoot. 

I made a lattice top apple pie. It is not my favorite way to make a pie. It is time-consuming, and it never turns out just like I want it to. Maybe if I made more of them, I would get better at it. 

The house smells amazing with the cinnamon and nutmeg wafting out of the pie! 

There are still flowers in the garden to pick, and I am leaving several of them for the wildlife. 

Autumn is all about the cozy! I just love this time of year! 

My messy apple pie. I can now see a spot where I didn't get the lattice woven. Can you see it?

Happy Fall! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Late Summer Bouquet

 

Before summer is gone and it is slipping away fast, I am having one more summery bouquet.

The peach and the bright pink have been my favorite zinnias this year. I am also a daisy lover since childhood, and I couldn't leave them out of a summer bouquet. The queen lime zinnas are also favorites. I love the depth of color in them more than the envy zinnia,which I have also grown. 

It is like sunshine for your table! 

In Victory,

Sherry

Herb Infused Olive Oil

The herb project I have chosen for August is to make herb-infused infused olive oil. 

I am finding my projects out of this book; I have been working in it all year, The Herbal Yearbook.

I adapted this recipe I found here. I have a supply of rosemary from my own garden that I save every year. 

I wanted the rosemary more chopped up than it was, so I used the mortar and pestle to grind it up. 

I opted for dried ingredients instead of fresh.

I poured the olive oil in and shook it up. I gave it several hours to infuse before I used it. 

While the oil was infusing, I made a fresh batch of pizza dough and made cheese sticks instead of white pizza. 

Herb Infused Olive Oil for White Pizza

amount: 1/4 cup

1/4 olive oil

1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic (I use roasted garlic powder-it has a great flavor.)

1 teaspoon chopped up dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Mix all ingredients into olive oil and shake. Leave two or more hours to infuse and then dip or drizzle onto white pizza or cheese sticks.

Use up right away or store in fridge for up to four days and then discard if not in use.

It works as a dip or a drizzle. It made the pizza taste really nice, and the extra flavors blended nicely with the cheese sticks. The family approved. 

Have you ever infused herbs into olive oil?

In Victory,

Sherry

Picking the Roses

I have learned this year to pick the roses as soon as they bud and bring them in to bloom. 
 

I found that timing is everything-to pick the roses before the Japanese beetles get to them. Organic gardening has its challenges. Some battles I win, and some I lose. Looking at this creamer full of roses through my camera lens, I would say this is a win.
 

In Victory,

Sherry