Orange Cookies

When I was young it was always a special event to cook or bake with my mother. One of fun recipes I remember making with her was for orange cookies. This is one of the recipes that I still enjoy making with my grandchildren.

The cookie gets its name from the orange that is used in the frosting. There is no actual orange in the cookies itself. The cookie has a sweet taste from the carrots.

Ingredients needed:

• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of shortening
• 2 eggs
• 1 can cooked carrots
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Equipment needed:

• bowl
• spoon (for stirring)
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• cookie sheet
• cooling rack
• grater

Place shortening and sugar into a bowl. Cream the sugar and shortening until it is well mixed. Add the two eggs and the vanilla. Beat the mixture until it is a light pale yellow and the texture is light and fluffy.

Open up the can of cooked carrots. After draining the carrots from the can, place the drained carrots into a separate bowl. Mash the carrots with either a fork or a potato masher. A potato masher will be easier and faster. After the carrots are mashed add them to the creamed sugar and shortening. Mix the mixture making sure that the carrots are thoroughly mixed in.

For extra-light cookies sift the flour, baking powder and salt altogether. (This step can be omitted but for the extra-light cookies I recommend sifting the dry ingredients together before adding the dry ingredients to the cookie dough.) Whether you sift or not place all the dry ingredients into the cookie mixture at one time. This is the last time for stirring the cookie dough, so stir the mixture till everything is blended well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. While the oven is heating up use a teaspoon to drop the cookie dough onto a greased cookie sheet. When the oven is heated to 375 degrees place the cookies in the oven, baking from 10 to 12 minutes. The cooking time will depend on the oven. The cookies are done when they turn a light brown. Do not over bake the cookies.

While the cookies are baking you can make the frosting. This frosting is what really brings out the flavor of the orange cookies.

Frosting ingredients:

• 1 orange
• Powdered sugar

Grate the orange peel into a bowl. Cut the orange in half and squeeze the orange into the bowl, getting as much juice as you can. Into the bowl of orange juice and orange peeling add the powdered sugar a little at a time. Continue to stir until the frosting is on the thin side of consistency.

Remove the cookies from the oven and place them onto a cooling rack. Frost the cookies while they are still warm. Enjoy eating while the cookies are still warm.

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