My mother joined a choir for women who were 50+ yrs. It was always her dream to be in a choir but she felt that she was too amateur to even attempt to be in a church choir. From churches in Michigan to churches in Irvine to various churches in the 562 area code, my mother never stood up for herself in what she loved to do. Until most recently, she was a hard worker, working all hours in the morning to late at night. Now, she still does that (and I help her during those hours as well), but she takes off a day to practice choir with her new friends and sometimes, takes another day to go to the green with her golf buddies.
Sometime in October, she left with her choir friends to go to Seoul, South Korea to perform. When she came back home, her eyes seemed so much brighter than usual. I love that about her.
Cranberries, pecans, and orange zest -- three simple toppings along with the staples of butter, brown sugar, and unbleached whole wheat flour bring together an amazing flavor.
Orange Cranberry Cookies
Adapted from Cooks.com
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp. pure orange juice (squeezed from oranges because we lack of processed fruit juice)
¾ c. unbleached whole wheat flour
½ c. rolled oats
¼ c. brown sugar, packed
¼ tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. baking powder
Dash of sea salt
2 tsp. orange zest
½ c. dried cranberries
½ c. chopped pecans
Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add in the orange juice, egg, and orange zest and mix together. In a separate bowl, fork together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and rolled oats together. Slowly, in parts, add the flour mix into the creamed butter mix. If it gets too dry, stop with the flour mix. You want the dough to still stick to each other and not crumble. Mix in your cranberries and pecans, thoroughly incorporating it.
I haven't greased my cookie sheets nor have I used foil or parchment paper. I take a half-palm sized round, ball it up, place it on the cookie sheet, and slightly flatten it. I have made around 12 cookies in a cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
I've found that around 9.5 minutes, the cookie turns out delightfully soft on the top but still has a firm bottom.
Store in an air-concealed container. Good for 2 weeks.
