The Ultimate Shortcut Cookie Book - Camilla V. Saulsbury [94]
Place remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar in shallow dish or bowl. Roll balls in powdered sugar; loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let stand for 2 hours. If desired, roll again in additional powdered sugar. Keep refrigerated for up to 1 week or freeze up to 3 months.
MAKES ABOUT 36 COOKIE BALLS.
ORANGE AND HONEY CUTOUTS
Any honey will work here, but a light-flavored honey such as orange blossom or clover honey is especially delicious in these delicately flavored cutout cookies.
1 (18.25-ounce) package orange or yellow cake mix
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 recipe Orange Icing (see page 368)
2–3 tablespoons orange-colored decorating sugar, optional
Place the cake mix, flour, eggs, melted butter, honey, and orange zest in a large bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended and all dry ingredients are moistened. Chill, covered, for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 375°F and spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Position racks to upper and lower positions of oven.
Sprinkle a work surface with a thin layer of flour. Set out rolling pin, 2-inch cookie cutters, metal spatula, and cooling racks.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide into fourths. Place one-fourth of the dough on floured surface (cover and return remaining dough to refrigerator). Flour the rolling pin and roll dough to ¼-inch thickness. Flour cookie cutters and cut out shapes. Transfer dough to prepared cookie sheets with spatula. Re-roll any scraps, then repeat with remaining dough, rolling one fourth at a time.
Place one sheet on each oven rack. Bake for 4 minutes. Rotate the sheets (place the sheet from the bottom rack on the top rack and the sheet from the top rack on the bottom rack. This ensures even baking). Bake 2–3 minutes longer.
Remove from oven and let cookies rest on cookie sheets for 1 minute. Transfer with metal spatula to racks and cool completely. Prepare Orange Icing; decorate cookies with icing and sprinkle with colored sugar, if desired.
MAKES ABOUT 24 4-INCH COOKIES.
ORANGE POPPYSEED BISCOTTI
Poppyseeds—perhaps due to their polka-dotting potential—have a natural charm that always appeals. Here they grace a simple, orange-scented biscotti that comes together with ease. Like all biscotti, they are good candidates for a picnic since they travel well, and deliciously.
1 (18.25-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup poppyseeds
1½ tablespoons grated orange zest
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1 recipe Orange Icing (see page 368), optional
Preheat oven to 350°F. Position rack in center of oven. Spray cookie sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Place cake mix, flour, poppyseeds, orange zest, melted butter, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer set on low speed for 2–3 minutes until well-blended, scraping down sides of bowl (dough will be very stiff).
Transfer dough to prepared cookie sheet. With floured hands, shape dough into two 14 x 3-inch rectangles, ¾-inch thick, spacing them 4–5 inches apart on sheet. Mound the dough so it is slightly higher in the middle than at the edges.
Bake for 30–35 minutes, until firm to touch; remove from oven (leave oven on) and cool on sheet for 10 minutes.
Cutting on the cookie sheet, use a sharp knife to slice each rectangle into (approximately) ¾-inch slices on the diagonal. Carefully turn these slices onto their sides.
Return cookie sheet to oven. Bake biscotti for 10 minutes. Turn oven off and let biscotti remain in oven until crisp, 30–40 minutes longer. Remove from oven and transfer biscotti to a rack. Cool completely.
If desired, prepare Orange Icing and with a butter knife or small offset spatula spread over one side of each biscotti. Place on wax paper– lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set the icing.