Cookie Exchange Recipes #2

My house smells like oranges! I just finished frosting this batch of yummy orange and walnut refrigerator cookies. Some we'll eat, and the rest will go in the freezer for now. I can easily do these in advance because they freeze beautifully and retain their fresh taste for a very long time.   

This is my own recipe and it's another or our family favorites. The cookies are full of lovely walnut chunks, frosted with orange buttercream, and garnished with grated semi-sweet chocolate. I'm not sure how this recipe came to be, but it had something to do with my husband liking walnuts and two family members not caring for the sour of lemon. I make them small. Somehow small cookies seem more festive, don't you think?

The recipe is simple and these little guys are truly very tasty and just bursting with the flavor of fresh oranges.   

KAREN'S ORANGE-WALNUT REFRIGERATOR COOKIES

Makes about 3 dozen 2-inch cookies

1 c butter

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

2 tablespoon orange juice

1/2 - 1 teaspoon grated orange rind (or whatever you will get from one medium orange)

1 egg

2 3/4 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 c chopped walnuts

• Cream the first three ingredients. Add egg, orange juice and orange rind. Mix thoroughly.
• Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Blend until smooth. 
• Stir in walnuts.
• Shape into rolls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic wrap. 

(I always square the rolls up at this point so that we'll have square cookies)

• Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. 
• Slice about 1/4" thick and place 2 inches apart on a very lightly greased cookie sheet or one lined with baking parchment. 
• Bake in 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom.
• Cool completely before frosting

ORANGE-BUTTER FROSTING

3 tablespoons softened butter

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 - 1 teaspoon grated orange rind (or whatever you will get from one medium orange)

3 tablespoons orange juice or enough to make a smooth, spreadable frosting

semi-sweet chocolate

Cream butter. Alternate adding powdered sugar and orange juice. Blend thoroughly after each addition.

Frost the cookies and garnish with a bit of grated chocolate.

At this point my two children would come running for their "lickum stick", and each of them grabbed one of the mixer blades and "cleaned" the bits of frosting stuck to the blades.  

Enjoy this beautiful week, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Don't forget to send your cookie recipes to my email address: 2strings@gmail.com