What a week, that is all I can say. In case I have not mentioned it, I moved my father up to Pennsylvania two months ago. He was living all alone in Florida, so some things had gone by the wayside. Not to mention, he was having some hearing problems. Since I am still working full time, getting cookies made every week has been a challenge. Many people in my age group can relate to helping parents with appointments, paperwork, and bills. I am lucky that my father's mind is still very sharp. His memory amazes me that he remembers short-term as well as long-term events and appointments. Maybe I will start to write some posts about the many happy, sad, and frustrating moments of helping aging parents. But now it is time to get to the cookies that I made this week.
I do love sugar cookies, and I enjoy introducing flavors that I just have not been able to find in any other recipe. So this week, I added Cinnamon Chips by Hershey's. They have a wonderful cinnamon flavor. I always like orange with my cinnamon; not sure why they go so well together, but I think they do. But to round out these cookies, I added chopped hazelnuts to give it some body and structure. Plus, hazelnuts are a great fall nut that is mild but adds some crunch.
Sugar Cookies with Cinnamon Chips and Orange
Ingredients
- 1 cup Butter unsalted 2 sticks room temperature
- 1 cup Sugar white 198 g
- 1 Egg room temperature
- ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 TBSP Orange zest
- 1 TBSP Orange juice fresh
- 3 cups All purpose flour 360 g
- 1 ½ tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Kosher Salt
- ½ cup Cinnamon Chips
- ½ cup chopped Hazelnuts
Instructions
- Weigh or measure the sugar and set aside. Weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt into a bowl and run a whisk through to blend. Take one orange and zest into a bowl to get one tablespoon. Cut the orange in half and juice the orange into a separate bowl. You should get more than enough juice for one tablespoon from one orange.
- In a stand or handheld mixer, add the sugar and butter and blend on medium speed for at least 3 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and across the bottom and run the mixer for another 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and egg and mix it till the egg is incorporated. Add the orange juice and orange zest and blend for a minute. Turn the mixture to low speed and gradually add the flour mixture and mix through. You might want to scrape down the sides. Finally, blend into the batter the cinnamon chips and chopped hazelnuts. Cover loosely and refrigerate for ½ hour.
- Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit for a couple of minutes. On a counter, a piece of parchment paper or what I use is a pastry mat and sprinkle flour on it. Take a handful of the cookie dough and flatten it out with your hand. Flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough to ¼ to ⅜ inches thick. Because it has nuts and the cinnamon chips, you want the cookies a little thicker. Taking your favorite cookie cutter and cut out your cookies. I add 12 shapes to a parchment-lined cookie pan. Preheat your oven to 350° and bake for 6-8 minutes. They will look underdone for soft sugar cookies. If you like yours with a little more structure, leave then in for an extra minute. Leave then on the cookie pan for a couple of minutes after baking before moving them to a cooling rack.
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