Food & Drink

Chocolate Orange Drop Cookies

Well, this weekend our temperatures finally dropped a bit and I quickly turned on the oven and did a little baking. I’m sure it won’t last, but I’m loving the 70 and 80 F weather so much. Maybe Fall is coming. I’m tired of wearing shorts, I’m ready to wear jeans, sweater and boots.  
There are some flavors that I just meant to be together, chocolate and orange are a match made in heaven.  These, easy to make, soft cookies have just about as much frosting as cookie.  Too pretty to stack in a cookie jar, these cookies are fancy enough to be served as dessert at your next dinner party.

Chocolate Orange Drop Cookies

2/3 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
zest of one orange
1/2 cup cocoa
1/ 3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda

In a mixing bowl beat the sugar and butter together.  Add the buttermilk, vanilla, egg and orange zest, beat again. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients (flour, salt baking soda and cocoa). Whisk together to make sure there are no lumps and then the ingredients are combined.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mixture.  Mix until the batter is smooth.

Using a small ice cream scoop or a tbsp. place small scoops of batter on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Bake at 400 F for just 8-10 mins.  You want these cookies to be soft.  Cool on a wire rack.
When they are completely cool, frost each cookie with a generous amount of chocolate orange frosting (see recipe below) and sprinkle a little more orange zest on each cookie.

Chocolate Orange Frosting

Zest of one orange (save some of the zest to garnish the cookies)
3 tbsp. orange juice
1/2 cup cocoa
2 tbsp. butter
2 cups powdered sugar

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and beat well with an electric mixture until the frosting is smooth.

This recipe is adapted from a Betty Crocker’s Chocolate Drop Cookies recipe.  I bought one of those little recipe books at the grocery store with this recipe in it when we first got married.  It’s been a favorite recipe around here for a while now.