Cranberry Orange Cookies

I saw these on allrecipes.com and I was sold just on the picture and title. (Such a fan of orange glazed anything.) I'm sure you have all had a cranberry orange muffin, but a cookie?! It just doesn't do these cookies justice when I tell you they're so good, because they are more than that. They kinda blew me away in how good they were. The hubby, who doesn't get too excited about many dessert items, couldn't stop eating these! I think he might have just eaten more than me, and I have never been able to say that about anything when it comes to dessert! So trust me, that these are REALLY good. Definitely one of my top 5 favorite cookies. 

Cranberry Orange Cookies
adapted from allrecipes.com submitted by Mordavia

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour**
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chopped cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped mac nuts (optional)
•  
• Glaze**
• 1/2-1 teaspoon grated orange zest
• 3 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar *more if needed for desired consistency
• 
  

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 1/2 teaspoon orange extract, and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded Tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. (watch them closely and adjust time as needed) Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.

In a small bowl, mix together orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.

**I like to read the reviews on allrecipes before I make the recipe and some of the reviewers felt they needed to add more flour to their dough. Their cookies spread out thin and flat. It could be an altitude thing, because mine were okay as the recipe is. Just FYI. Also, many did not use the glaze and felt they were just as good. I would agree they would be delicious without too, but the glaze is one of my favorite things about them. So whatever floats your boat!

Orange Rolls

Orange rolls just so happen to be one of my favorite foods ever. If I had to choose what would be included in my last meal, these would definitely be making an appearance. I'm always on the lookout for a good orange roll recipe, and these were REALLY good. We had them Christmas morning and I wouldn't change a thing about them. 

Orange Rolls

found on The Girl Who Ate Everything, by Lisa Poulsen

*I halved this recipe and I got 24 rolls!

Rolls:

2 c. milk

1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. oil

3 tsp. salt

6 c. flour

2 eggs

2 T. (2 packages) yeast

1/2 c. warm water

Filling:

1/4 lb. (1 stick) soft butter *I melted mine

1 c. granulated sugar

grated peel of one orange

Glaze:

Mix together 2 1/2 c. powdered sugar, zest of an orange *to your liking, and juice of one orange

Stir milk, sugar, oil, and salt until sugar is completely dissolved. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat well. Add 2 eggs and stir in. Dissolve the 2 T. yeast in a 1/2 c. warm water and add to flour mixture. Mix in the remaining 4 cups of flour. Put some flour on a pastry board or counter and knead until dough is smooth and not sticky (more flour may be added if sticky). Put dough into greased bowl and let rise until double (about an hour) in a warm place. Divide dough into 6 parts and roll each into a circle. Spread with 1/6 of the filling mixture and cut into 8 wedges. Roll each into a crescent shape. Cover and let rise at least 1 hour in a warm place. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook! Pour on glaze when rolls are still warm.

*I made these the night before and after rolling them into a crescent shape, I placed them on a greased cookie sheet, covered them with greased saran wrap and put them in the fridge overnight. The next morning I put them in a warm place for about an hour and a half. They were perfect!