Chocolate Orange Cookies

Making chocolate cookies is very easy, you simply either add melted chocolate to the cookies, or add powered cocoa, or even hot chocolate mix. The process is similar to making ordinary chocolate chip cookies, and there are a million recipes available where you can do that. Largely, it will depend on how strong you want the flavor of your chocolate to be.

For many people the orange color is more difficult. If you make the cookies "chocolate chip style", you can add food coloring to make the cookies a light orangey color. A drawback to making the cookies in the chocolate chip style is that you cannot make a regular chocolate cookie orange colored, because the chocolate (brown) color will often over-ride the orange color.

There are several ways to add the orange flavor to the cookies. One way is to use an artificial flavor. A more healthy way is to use real orange juice. For this you will have to go to a real greengrocer (a professional fruit and vegetable seller) to buy the most flavorful oranges you can get. You'll also want to get a tool that scrapes off pieces of the orange rind (the outer orange skin) to put in the cookie dough mix. The problem is that most cookie recipes use long periods of extremely high heat, and that destroys the orange flavor. One solution here, is to use a cookie recipe that allows you to add the orange juice, very carefully, and very slowly to the cookie after it is baked. This then gives you a very moist and "brittle" cookie. The thing to remember, is that these cookies will now have a "natural organic food product" in them. Their shelf life is thus VERY short. You are talking about a cookie that is made and eaten within two days. Else, they spoil. If stored in the refrigerator, use a container that does not allow other flavors or odors to get in, you might get another day or two of shelf life.

Ingredients:

• 1 ounce square of unsweetened chocolate (Qty 2)
• 1 1/2 cups butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 egg
• 2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 pinches of alt
• 2 tablespoons of orange zest

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven. Before you begin to make your cookies you will need to begin preheating the oven. Set your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and allow it to heat up fully. While that is happening, melt the butter and chocolate, being sure to stir frequently until you have reached a smooth consistency. Once finished set aside these ingredients.
2. Mix ingredients together. Begin mixing and creaming all the ingredients together. Start by adding the melted butter and sugar until it is smooth. Then add the eggs and vanilla, again mixing until everything is smooth. Slowly add the dry ingredients while you stir them all together. Once you have added everything, and you have made the dough separate the dough into two sections. In one section add your chocolate, and in the other add the orange zest. Use a little bit of the dough from each of the sections to make a ball about one inch in diameter. Place this ball onto a greased baking sheet.
3. Bake the cookies. Bake the cookies in your preheated oven for no less than 8 minutes, and no more than 10. You will know you are finished baking when the center of the cookie is set.
4. Cool and serve. Once the cookies have finished baking, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack. After cooling, serve them up, and enjoy them alongside a cup of hot chocolate or a glass of milk.