Orange You Glad I Didn't Say Chocolate?

Once I could see straight and stand upright after the weekend I felt the need to get baking again.  This time I wanted to highlight orange blossom water, another find from a local shop. But this time I didn't try to drink it!

Instead, I used a chocolate chip cookie recipe  from my very first cookbook ("Stuck on Cooking", Williams, Richard D. and Linda Williams Aber. Startown Associates. New York, NY. 1990. p. 76) and tweaked it with some new ingredients.  For instance, I added the orange blossom water and lemon rind, replaced the rolled oats with corn meal and used creme fraiche (I still had a whole tub left over) instead of butter.  The result was a moist, chewy cookie with a strong hint of sweet orange and lemon and a satisfying, crunchy outer texture.

I got some great feedback right away:

"Yum. I love the orange!"

"ooh!"

"Oh, these are good!"

"You seem to have a found a niche for mixing flavors..."

It's so great that this simple recipe I used when I was a kid was able to translate to something so fancy and delicious!  I think its safe to say you can try this one at home.

Ingredients:

1/2 c creme fraiche

1/2 c sugar

1/2 c brown sugar

11 egg

1/2 tsp - 1 tsp vanilla (depending on your taste)

1 c flour

1 1/4 cup corn meal

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet and milk chocolate chips

2 tbsp orange blossom water (until you can smell it)

zest of one lemon

Cooking steps:

1) preheat oven to 350 degrees

2) Cream together creme fraiche, sugars, orange blossom water, lemon zest and vanilla.  Add the egg when smooth.

3) In another bowl mix the flour, corn meal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Blend into wet mixture on medium speed until well mixed.  Stir in chocolate chips.

4) Place spoonfuls of cooke mixture on cookie sheet, about 2 " apart.

5) Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes per batch.

Serve warm with milk or bring to a party to show off to your friends.