~Holiday Baking~

 Every year I seem to do some holiday baking, but usually it's mostly cinnamon sugared almonds for neighbor gifts.  This year I decided to do something different and I spent an entire day from sun up to sun down (and beyond) making lots of different kinds of cookies to share with our neighbors, friends, and coworkers.  It was a yummy day in our house!

My new favorite has to be the orange creamsicle cookies.  They aren't a popular one amongst the little people, definitely a more adult cookie, but oh so delicious so I will share the recipe.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

Ingredients:


2 1/2 cups all purpose flour


3/4 teaspoon baking soda


1/2 teaspoon salt


1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened


1/2 cup sugar


1/2 firmly packed brown sugar


1 large egg


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


2 tablespoons orange zest (for me that was the zest of 2 oranges)


2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions:
 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 white chocolate 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.