Week of 11/27/2000

Fudge-Pecan Chewies
Bake ahead and freeze...will keep up to 3 months!

1 (14-oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups (12 oz.) semisweet chocolate morsels
1/4 cup butter
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla extract
60 pecan halves

Combine first 3 ingredients in a heavy saucepan; cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate and butter melt. Remove from heat.

Stir in flour, chopped pecans, and vanilla. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Press a pecan half into the center of each cookie. Bake at 350° F. for 7 minutes. (Do not over bake.) Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool. Yields 5 dozen cookies.

Aunt June's Orange Cookies

1 cup of butter flavor shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour milk
4 cups unbleached flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 orange
Orange Icing:
1 orange
1 (16 oz.) box of confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 360° F. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs and mix well. Add baking soda to sour milk and let stand until soda dissolves. Sift flour and baking powder together. Zest orange and mince zest in very fine pieces. Squeeze juice from orange. Alternately add orange juice, zest, milk and flour mixture to shortening mixture. When mixed completely, drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 360°F. for 10 minutes. Makes about 36 cookies. If storing cookies in freezer, frost after thawing.

Icing: Zest orange and then squeeze juice from orange. Mince zest until very fine and mix with confectioners’ sugar. Slowly add orange juice to sugar. (Not all juice will be needed - do not make icing too thin.) Frost cooled cookies.

Pecan Ice Box CookiesEasy, low-fat and very tasty!
A truly great make-ahead cookie!

1 cup butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped pecans

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well.

Combine flour, soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, mixing well. Stir in pecans. Shape dough into two 16-inch rolls; wrap in wax paper and chill at least 4 hours. May freeze dough at this point and bake later.

Slice dough while frozen and bake as directed.

Unwrap and cut into 1/3 inch slices; place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375° F. for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
Makes 8 dozen.