I mentioned in the last post that I was excited about three things this week. One of those is tonight’s Live Organize Your Kitchen with Evernote hangout with fellow Ambassador and food blogger, Brandie Kajino. The other was cookie swaps.
Specifically, the annual Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap. I do enjoy participating in it every year. If you haven’t heard about it, it’s organized by Love & Olive Oil and The Little Kitchen. Food bloggers all over the country sign up and donate their sign-up fee to Cookies for Kids Cancer. We get matched with three other food bloggers and we have to make a new-to-us cookie recipe and send a dozen of them to our matches. In return, we receive three different batches of cookies to enjoy. It’s a lot of fun, because who doesn’t like to get cookies in the mail? If you want to join the cookie swap next year, go here to sign up on the mailing list.
This year, I got a delightful selection of truly diverse and delicious cookies.
Check out Lynn and Katie at:
Turnips2Tangerines
Blonde Ambition
The cookies I decided to make were chocolate shortbread, based off a recipe I got from The View from the Great Island. I decided to go double chocolate, though not dark, and add in a bright citrusy flavor with a bit of Grand Marnier and orange zest. And then, while I was at it, why not a bit of crunch with some chopped pecans? I love orange and pecan together.
So here’s my revised recipe. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans
- 1 tbsp Grand Marnier
- the zest of one orange
Instructions
- Pulse the flour, sugar and cocoa powder in a food processor until well-mixed. Add in the butter, Grand Marnier and orange zest until the dough just comes together. Add in the chocolate chips and pecans and pulse a few more times until they are incorporated.
- Dump the dough out onto a piece of cling wrap. Shape it into a log, wrap it securely and refrigerate it for at least an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 325F. Take the dough out of the fridge, unwrap it, and slice it into half inch slices with a sharp knife.
- Put the slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. They'll still be a bit soft at the end.
- Let them cool and then enjoy!
Hope you enjoyed the walnut bars! Sorry if they were a little smushed
Your chocolate shortbread looks delicious!
Katie @ Blonde Ambition recently posted..The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap 2013 – Walnut Bars
They were great!