The truth is, this blog is a farce. It's a false front, pretending to display an emerging interest in food in general, when in fact, my one true calling is cookies. The other stuff is just padding to disguise it. My eating is exactly the same -- a smokescreen to give an appearance of balance when really, I could live on cookies. OK, with a little cheesecake thrown in there too (protein, you know).
And I could curl up and go to sleep with this cookie book every night too: Cookies for Christmas, by Jennifer Darling. It's just one winner after another. Although in this one, the cookie is only a runner-up: the frosting takes the cake. Or so to speak.
I love all things pumpkin. I shiver with excitement as October approaches, when harvest colors, nutmeg and squash varieties reign. So despite a main ingredient being out of season, I had to make these cookies. I wear white after Labor Day too.
One must maintain a certain level of denial when one puts shortening in anything. What is that stuff? Shouldn't I be using it for hand moisturizer? Ick! I don't dare look at the label. But it does make for a nice texture.
Not surprisingly, the cookie flavor itself doesn't exactly knock your socks off; it's mild, but with a cakey texture. I wonder what a little ginger would do...?
The orange-butter frosting on the other hand...heaven. The garnish was the real kicker. I used a zester to get strips of orange peel, laid it on a plate and sprinkled sugar all over them. It was a messy and slow job frosting and garnishing all the cookies, but I can think of few ways I'd rather spend time.
In other recipes, I've had trouble blending in fresh zest with an electric mixer, as the beaters collect all the zest. A friend suggested putting the zest in a food processor first and mixing it with sugar, so it'd spread out better. Great idea! Bad execution. All I got was a sugary lump of orange. As it turns out, I didn't need an electric mixer for this particular recipe anyway, as long as the butter and shortening are room-temperature, and I was basically able to blend my sugary lump with a mixing spoon.
(By the way, I always get my eggs and any other refrigerated ingredients out ahead of time now. I can't say it makes any difference, but I sure feel like I'm baking hi-class, 'cause I'm in the know about room-temperature ingredients. However, this practice does alert my children to impending cookie-making projects.)
The cookie itself stands on its own, but then, I'm not very discriminating when it comes to cookies and anything pumpkin. But the frosting makes it a treat, and the zing of the sugared orange zest takes it to a new level. They're attractive and earthy and fun and I just love them.
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