Orange Crinkle Cookies / The week that was

 

 

 

 

Hello my dear wonderful readers!

We had a wonderful long holiday back in my native land and we enjoyed it completely! This time we did a road trip that lasted 12 hours one way. And to tell you the truth I was very scared in the beginning, cause my baby is still really small and I wasn’t sure if he would sit in his car seat for that long. Also this was the first time Mr R was going to do the drive on his own and on uncertain roads. But with gods grace and my family constantly checking on us, we has a wonderful time. Both ways we had fun, had local food, read books, sang songs and laughed a lot.

When we got to my little village, the sky was clear, the sun was shining bright and my little baby was ready to walk on a surface that was not tile or marble. That is when I remembered how I loved to walk around barefoot when I was a small girl. I never wore chappals or sandals, till we had to leave home. The houses I grew up in always had a big garden in front and I remember how the grass would still be wet in the morning from the rains that fell the night before. I remember how the bark of the guava tree that stood in front my house felt on my barefoot ( climbing trees was my favourite activity when I was 8). When I took off my sons squeaky sandals and let him walk on those tiny black pebbles that surround my family home, I was worried that he might fall and hurt himself. But within the time a feather would sway from left to right on a windy day before falling on the ground, my son took baby steps without any hesitation or pain. He walked around the garden and plucked grass, held stones, threw mud on the gate & picked up little coconut seeds from around the compound. That day holds a very special place in my heart. That was the day, I realised that no matter how we city brats love to eat, love and play, nothing beats the innocence of a little boy playing with little black pebbles on your garden floor.

The trip also opened my eyes to another side of Mr R. For the first time I saw how and why fathers like to play outdoors with their sons! Mr R carried our son all around the compound showing him trees and flowers our son has never seen before. They played with Ginger ( our tiny little guard dog), played with mud and by the time it was evening, they both needed a scrub and a long shower again! Once we got back home after the holiday, we decided that we have to do this more often. And we have promised to try.

So the day before we left for our holiday, I made a chocolate jaggery cake for our little nephew back home and these amazing orange cookies. They are crisp and crunchy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside! You must give them a try.

 

Orange Crinkle Cookies

Ingredients :-

1. Orange juice – 2 cups
2. Castor Sugar –  150 gms
3. Butter – 150 gms
4. Orange Zest –  from 2 big oranges
5. Baking Powder – 2tsp
6. Eggs – 1
7. Egg Yolk – 1
8. Flour – 150 gms + 2 tbsp
9. Colour – I used a mix of red + yellow ( around 4 drops – add more if required)
10. Powdered Sugar – for dusting cookies use as much as required
11. Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp

Instructions :-

1. In heavy bottom sauce pan, add orange juice and bring to boil. The reduce the flame and let the juice reduce to a 3 tbsp.
2. Once done, set aside to cool down to room temperature
3. Preheat your oven to 180 and line a baking tray with baking paper
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer, add butter and sugar. Cream till nice and pale
5. Then add egg and egg yolk and mix
6. Add orange zest to the mixture and mix on medium
7. Now add vanilla extract and the reduce orange juice ( you can add orange essence if you like)
8. Add the desired amount of colour to the batter
9. Slowly add the flour and baking powder to the mixture in the bowl and mix at low
10. Once the cookie dough is ready, scoop out small balls of cookie batter and drop them into the powdered sugar one at a time  to coat evenly
11. Arrange all cookies balls with 5 to 6 inch between them cause they will expand while baking
12. Bake for 10 to 15 mins
13. Once done, take them out of the oven and let them cook completely before taking them off the baking sheet
14. Enjoy!