Weekend Blog Showcase - Creamsicle Cookies

We're into Week 4 of Weekend Blog Showcase.  Thank you to Ann (Thibeault's Table) for hosting this week.

This week I'm showcasing a blog that is evidently the envy of many a blogger!  Christy at The Girl Who Ate Everything has a wonderful blog FULL of great-looking and and great-sounding recipes.  (I want Christy's secret to staying beautiful and thin and STILL eating everything!!)  When I saw her Creamsicle Cookies, I knew I had to try them.  As a young girl, the tinkling of the ice cream truck bells meant a Creamsicle was in my very near future.  That creamy, orange-y/vanilla flavor was heavenly, so these cookies went directly to my "Short List".

Now look at Christy's cookies.  Go ahead.  I'll wait...

Now look at my cookies.  Quick:  what's missing in my cookies??  If you said specks of orange zest, you would be absolutely right. (And very observant.  I'm impressed.)  I violated one of the basic rules of cooking/baking:  make sure you have all the ingredients before you start making your recipe.  I was positive that I had oranges on hand.  Now that I think about it, they would be rather difficult to miss, so I'm not sure what I was thinking.  So, as I got to that part of the recipe, I tried to think on my feet (a challenge even at my best...).  What could I substitute?  Orange extract?  I found a rather antique-looking package of orange extract in my pantry.  As I tried to gingerly pour in a few drops, I carefully tilted the bottle ever so slightly, then tilted it a little more, then turned it upside down.  Whatever was in there at sometime in my distant past had long since evaporated.  Hrmph.  Back to the pantry I went. I found an unopened jar of orange marmalade.  That has rind in it, right?  So I put in a good tablespoon of orange rind filled marmalade.  In retrospect, a little Grand Marnier might have done well here, but I thought of that well after baking was underway.  Unfortunately, the marmalade, while a good idea in theory, didn't exude the "oranginess" I was looking for. Ultimately, I ended up with delicious vanilla cookies.  But this was such an easy recipe to put together, I will definitely make them again!  And I can see a lime version down the road, too.  Yum! Thank you, Christy!


Creamsicle Cookies

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 cups white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and chips.

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.




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Join Ann and me for Weekend Blog Showcase.  To participate, make a recipe from a blog other than your own, post about the dish, referencing the originating blog in your post, placing the Weekend Blog Showcase logo on your post as well.  Then sign into Mr. Linky (over at Ann's this week).  That's it!  Hope to see you there!