Chocolate-Orange Cookies

One of the best gifts for holiday parties are these easy cookies. Everyone's doing red and green or jam thumbprints. Go smoldering hot with chewy spicy orange cookies.

Most kitchen supply stores or party supply stores sell cellophane bags or fancy boxes that can be used to package them. Bringing them to a holiday open house or when you're invited to dinner is also a welcome treat.

This is adapted from an adaptation....still works, which is what counts. Thanks to Orangette for inspiration!

Ingredients:

• 1 C unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 4 TBSP (1/2 stick) butter
• 2/3 C (scant) granulated sugar
• 1/3 C (scant) light brown sugar 
• 7 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder (Vosges Aztec)
• 1/3 C crème fraîche (plain yogurt)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp orange flower water

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment or silpat.
2. Mix flour, baking soda, salt. 
3. Soften butter and mix with sugars and cocoa. This will be fairly dry (think wet sand), but don't worry. 
   
4. Add yogurt or creme fraiche, vanilla and orange flower water, mix thoroughly. Combine with dry ingredients and mix just to blend.
5. Drop by generous tablespoons onto cookie sheet. I use the TBSP measure and round it.
6. Bake for about 10 minutes until cookies are still soft in the middle but feel set and cracks have begun to appear on top. Cool on pan, on cooling rack about 10 minutes, then transfer cookies to rack.  

To bring as gift: 

Most kitchen supply stores or party supply stores sell cellophane bags or fancy boxes that can be used to package them. Bringing them to a holiday open house or when you're invited to dinner is also a welcome treat. If you don't want to trouble with special wrapping, stack them into a tall stack and use foil or plastic wrap to secure the cookie column then use whatever holiday ribbon you have on hand.

Note on ingredients:

• Crème fraîche is similar to sour cream or yogurt. I generally use low fat but this recipe needs a little fat to round it out.
• Vosges Chocolates are fabulous. If you're not familiar with them by now, get to it. The cocoa I use in this recipe is their Aztec Drinking Chocolate. It has a touch of chile added to it. You won't eat the cookie and go "wait, is that chile I taste?" You'll simply go "Mmmmm."
• Orange flower water is the distilled essence of orange blossoms. It's natural and a wonderful addition to cocktails as well as cookies, brownies and such. Find some at your Italian grocers, your baking supply store or a gourmet grocers.