Juicy and Sweet

First of all, if you haven't entered my One Year Blogiversary Giveaway, you MUST do so now.... I would hate for you to lose out on awesome homemade goodies and a whoopie pie kit!!!

There are only FOUR entries so far! So your chances of winning are actually pretty good right now! :) And I know I have more than four readers!!

Speaking of readers, I would love to get to know you all a bit more. I would love it if you all left me a little comment. It's so fun to hear from everyone - just tell me what state you're from!

I'm originally from South Carolina, but currently living in California. You know what the best part about California in the winter is... ORANGES! They get nice and ripe right about now. All the rain turns those green globes nice and orange. Every variety can be found in the grocery store - blood oranges, navel oranges, mandarin's, etc. Even these little beauties.

Kumquats from my backyard!

I've had this recipe for Orange Marmalade cookies for several months - couldn't wait to try them out! And what a good time since the citrus is so juicy and ripe. These cookies were a bit cakier than I imagined they might be, but they were still really good, and the citrus icing is so flavorful and bright. Definitely worth trying out with the fresh winter produce.

Orange Marmalade Cookies With Orange Zest Icing: By - (White on Rice Couple)

Ingredients:

FOR COOKIES

1/2 c unsalted butter

1 c sugar

2 large eggs

1 c Seville Orange Marmalade (regular orange marmalade will work too - Seville oranges make it a little less sweet)

3 c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt

FOR ORANGE ICING

finely grated zest from 1 Orange

finely grated zest from 1/2 a Lemon

1/4 c fresh squeezed Orange Juice

1 tsp fresh squeezed Lemon Juice

3 T unsalted Butter, melted

1/8 tsp Sea Salt

3 c Confectioners’ Sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine butter and sugar in a mixer bowl and beat with paddle attachment until light and fluffy.

2. Break eggs in a small bowl, whisk to break up, then incorporate into the butter/sugar mix. Mix in orange marmalade.

3. Sift together flour, baking soda, and sea salt. Gently incorporate into wet mix until just combined. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled (@ 1-2 hrs.)

4. While dough chills, make orange icing. Combine citrus zests, juices, melted butter and sea salt in a bowl. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar until well combined and smooth. Cover and set aside.

4. Preheat oven to 300° F. Line sheet pans with baking paper or silpats.

5. Using 2 teaspoons, drop walnut sized cookie dough balls onto prepared sheet pans, spaced about 3″ apart. Bake for about 20 min. or until cookies are light brown. Remove from oven, transfer to wire rack and allow to cool completely.

6. After cookies are completely cool, ice them with a small spatula or butter knife.