COOOKIES

Despite Syracuse being a nice mid-size city I find it lacking sometimes in the retail department.  I won't get into what clothing stores I wish we had (it's better for my wallet this way I suppose), but one store that we're lacking and we really shouldn't be is a Penzey's.  The closest one to us is in Buffalo and although that's not too far, I can't justify a three hour trip for some spices.  My grandparents however, were awesome enough to send me some goodies from there for Christmas.   

I was most excited to receive a bottle of orange extract.  I love fun extracts, they're a great way to jazz up any recipe.  My first foray into non-vanilla extract was with a lemon one.  It didn't take me long to use it up once I realized how great it is to add a hint of lemon to any recipe.  I've had this bottle of orange extract now for a couple of months and have yet to do something outstanding with it.  So, what better way to experiment with new flavors than with cookies, eh?!

I have two cookies to share with you.  The first is not so exciting, but oh so delicious: Chocolate chip cookies with a hint of orange.  I just used the recipe that was on the back of the chocolate chip bag, but substituted the vanilla extract with orange.  It adds just enough orange flavor to the cookie without overwhelming it.

The second cookie I have to share is a little more creative and also delicious.  I wanted to try a different pairing instead of the chocolate-orange combo so I pulled out my handy Flavor Bible to see what else goes well with orange and settled on cardamom. 

I decided to adapt a shortbread recipe that I had used before to fit my needs.  I replaced the lemon zest and extract with orange zest and orange extract and added 2 tsps of ground caradamom. 

I didn't really know how much cardamon to add to make sure that the flavor came through, but also wasn't too overpowering and it seems like 2 tsp was perfect.  Another tsp or so might still be pleasant and not too strong, though. Experiment and see!

These made a great afternoon cookie, perfect to eat with a nice cup of tea.

:)