KOULOURAKIA PORTOKALIOU
Citrus and Spice Cookie Twists

In Greek, pronounced koo-loo-RAHK-yah por-toh-kahl-YOO, translates to "orange cookie twists".

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup sunflower oil (or other seed oil)
1 cup sugar
grated peel of 1 tangerine
8 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (strained)
5 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup cognac
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt

Directions

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together the olive oil, sunflower oil, sugar, and grated peel, and add all remaining ingredients except the flour mixture. Combine well.

Add the flour slowly, mixing with pastry hooks or by hand to make the dough. The dough is ready when it pulls away from the sides of the mixing bowl or when it no longer sticks to the hands.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Take small pieces of dough, roll by hand into ropes and form into shapes: spirals, figure eights, pretzel shapes, etc.

Place on un-greased cookie sheets leaving space between, and bake at 350°F for 35-45 minutes, until lightly browned. Test for doneness. Cookies should be lightly browned and wonderfully crumbly all the way through.

Cool on racks.

Note: These twists can be made with thin ropes, to create smaller cookies, or wider, to create bigger cookies.

When thoroughly cooled, store in cookie tins or glass containers with tightly-fitting lids, or freeze in plastic bags.

Joe

I recommend all the following. My family would be really upset if they were not on the holiday cookie trays!

Alexa

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Margarita Balls
Servings: 24

Ingredients:
1 (12 ounce) package vanilla wafers
1/2 pound ground almonds
1/4 pound white chocolate
1/2 cup tequila
3 Tbsp Roses Lime Juice
1/4 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions:
1. Mix 1 box (12 oz) vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs, with 1/2 lb ground blanched almonds.
2. Melt four 1 oz squares white chocolate according to package directions.
3. In blender, process tequila, orange marmalade, lime juice and light corn syrup until smooth. Stir, along with melted chocolate, into crumb mixture.
4. Shape into 1 inch balls and coat with sugar. Store in refrigerator.
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Lemon Tassies Recipe

Cook Time: 20 min
Yield: 2 dozen

Ingredients:
½ cup of butter or margarine
1 (3-ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1 ¼ cups of all purpose flour
Vegetable cooking spray
¾ cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Fresh whipped topping
Lemon zest

Instructions:
Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed of an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add flour, beating well. Shape pastry into 24 (1-inch) balls. Press balls into miniature (1 ¾-inch) muffin pans coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 22 minutes or until golden. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire racks.

Combine sugar, cornstarch, and lemon rind in a heavy saucepan. Gradually add water and lemon juice; stir until blended. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Boil one minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

Gradually stir about one-fourth of hot mixture into egg; add to remaining hot mixture, stirring constantly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for one minute or until thickened. Remove from heat. Let cool. Cover and chill thoroughly.

Spoon filling evenly into pastry shells. Top each with whipped topping and lemon zest.
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Lemon Ginger Biscotti

30 biscotti

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger
2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon rind
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3 large eggs
cooking spray
1 tablespoon water
1 egg white
1 tablespoon sugar
preheat oven to 350 combine flour, sugar, baking soda, ginger and salt in a large bowl.
stir in crystallized ginger.
mix lemon rind, lemon juice and eggs together and stir into flour mixture.
the dough will be crumbly.
turn dough out to a lightly floured surface, knead 7-8 times.
divide dough in half.
shape each half into a log.
spray a cookie sheet with non stick spray, place logs 6" apart.
combine water and eggwhite and brush over tops.
sprinkle with sugar.
bake for 20 minutes.
remove to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes.
slice each log diagonally into 3/4" slices.
place back on baking sheet, upright.
lower oven to 325.
bake 20 minutes, remove to a wire rack, cool.

These citrus stars at the Land O' Lakes butter site are very good and striking on a plate.

If you didn't want to deal with last-minute filling, you could make the stars and use a citrus glaze.

Carol

Alexa I'm so glad you posted those lemon ginger biscotti. Let me tell you folks they are TO DIE FOR! Especially if you like ginger. Excellent with a cup of tea! Wish I had one now! Gotta like biscotti though--I love them!

Oh Lpink I am so glad you liked them! I think they are my favorite biscotti now - they just "work" for me. And yes, they are much better with tea than coffee.

AND they are really easy to make - even for a biscotti novice like me!

Alexa

These are a favorite of mine -

LEMON SQUARES

1/4 pound butter, softened
1 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sugar,
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Cream 1/4 pound butter and blend in 1 cup flour and 1/4 cup sugar. Pour into greased 9 X 9 pan. Bake 20 minutes @ 350. Cool 10 minutes

Mix remaining ingredients well. Spread on cooled crust layer. Bake 30 minutes @ 350. Cool, cut into squares.

We find these cookies to be ADDICTIVE :)

Orange Sugar: Combine well in shallow bowl, set aside
1/3 cup sugar (I use half sanding sugar half regular sugar)
2 tablespoons orange zest

Cookies:
1 cup sugar
3/4 unsalted butter, room temp
1 egg
2 cups AP flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries, rough chop
1/2 cup pistachio nuts (I use dry roasted)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/8th teaspoon orange oil (optional, I use it,as it adds flavor boost)

Pre-heat oven to 350*
Combine sugar, butter and egg in large bowl; beat @ medium speed until creamy. In small bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and pinch of salt. Reduce mixer speed to low add flour mixture and beat until well mixed. Add cranberries, nuts and zest. Beat until just mixed. Shape dough into 1" balls and roll balls in orange sugar. Place 2" apart onto ungreased cookie sheet (I use parchment lined). Flatten with bottom of a drinking glass to 1 1/2" circles. Bake 7-11 minutes or until edges just start to brown. (DO NOT OVERBAKE) Cool on cookie rack.

I just used this recipe at our church's Holiday Helpers fund raiser and several people asked for the recipe. The only thing I changed was to thin down the glaze a little with more lemon juice and a tiny bit of water. Oh, and I cut out stars instead of hearts. :)

These recipes are just on time! My Myers lemon tree is loaded with juicy, big lemons and I am making Christmas platters for a few friends. The Lemon Heart Cookies are really tempting! Thanks for the great recipes!

copied and pasted that lemon ginger biscotti..
Couple of things I make is snickerdoodles and instead of rolling in cinnamon sugar, I use grated lemon rind with the sugar and about 14/ tsp lemon extract in the dough.
Also I make thunbprints and fill with lemon curd and dust with powdered sugar....sort of teeny teensy weensy lemon tarts! LOL!
Linda C

I make these nearly every year. If you want to freeze them do not frost but instead frost them once you have thawed them out.

Tart and Tangy Lemon Frosties
Cookie
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup butter softened
2 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 6 oz can frozen lemonaide concentrate (reserve 2 Tbsp for frosting)

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup butter softened
2 Tbsp lemonaide concentrate
1 to 2 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla

Heat oven to 400. In large bowl combine sugar 1 1/4 cup butter and eggs. Beat @ medium speed until light and fluffy - scraping bowl often. (3 to 5 minutes)
Reduce mixer to low speed and gradually add flour, lemonaide and baking soda until well mixed - about 1 to 2 minutes. Drop by rounded teaspoon to cookie sheet which has been covered with parchment paper. Bake 8 to 14 minutes until edges brown lightly. Remove from sheet and cool completely.

Frosting. Combine all frosting ingredients in small bowl and beat at low speed until smooth and creamy - about 1 to 2 minutes. I sometimes add a drop of yellow food coloring. Frost cooled cookies. Seal in tight container. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.

Thanks so much to everyone for posting recipes. I am printing them all and trying to decide what to make. They all sound wonderful.

Melissa

This was my grandmother's recipe and now one of the gifts I make every year. I always get raves and requests for the recipe. After making them many times, I now use almost twice the amount of walnuts called for in the recipe, added 1 cup at a time, for a total of almost 4 cups. A lot of the syrup falls to the bottom of the pan anyway and may as well be used to coat additional nuts. Or, you might like a thicker coating of syrup, in which case use fewer nuts or the amount called for in the recipe. Experiment by adding each additional cup one at a time, but add them quickly before the syrup hardens.

Oranged Walnuts

(Makes 3 cups)

* 1-1/2 C sugar
* 1/4 C orange juice (if possible, use fresh squeezed)
* 1/4 C water
* 1 tsp grated orange zest
* 2 C walnut halves

Pour nuts into large mixing bowl. Sprinkle with orange zest.

Combine sugar, orange juice, and water in saucepan; cook to softball stage (234F).

Remove from heat. Pour over nuts, and quickly mix well until the syrup becomes cloudy and hard to stir.

Quickly turn out onto waxed paper or buttered cookie sheet.

Separate into small clusters with 2 forks.

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This is a wonderful cookie I discovered more than 10 years ago at the Epicurious Recipe Swap (formerly called Gails Recipe Swap). Last year I topped the center of each cookie with some of the chopped cranberries.... very festive and pretty.

Cranberry Lemon Cookies

(Makes 4-5 dozen)

* 1/2 C butter
* 1/2 C sugar
* 1/3 C brown sugar
* 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
* 1 egg
* 2 tsp. vanilla
* 1 C flour
* 1 tsp. baking powder
* 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
* 1-1/2 C chopped pecans (I use walnuts)
* 1-1/2 C chopped fresh cranberries

Cream butter, sugars, and lemon zest. Beat in egg and vanilla.

Combine flour, baking powder and cinnamon. Gradually beat into butter mixture. Stir in nuts and cranberries.

Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets (or cover baking sheet with parchment paper). Bake at 350F for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden. Let cool slightly before removing to cooling racks. Frost when cool.

ICING: Whisk together 1 C confectioners sugar, 2 Tbsp milk, and 1/4 tsp. lemon zest. Mix together well. Best if made ahead and chilled for at least one day in the refrigerator (see note). Drizzle or spread on cookies; allow to dry before storing cookies.

NOTES:

* Though our oven tends to run hot, these cookies seem to take 13-14 minutes to bake. Check after 12 minutes and add an extra minute or two if needed; they should just be golden brown.
* Icing is best when made at least a day ahead of time. This gives the sugar time to absorb the milk, and lets the lemon zest impart a strong lemon flavor.
* The original recipe did not give the amount of vanilla, so I guessed at 2 tsp.

Just wanted to say thank you to Carol, (readinglady) for suggesting the Citrus Star Sandwich Cookies. We made them in circles and they were a huge hit, so far the most requested cookie recipe we have made.

Melissa