GINGERBREAD COOKIES with an ORANGE ZEST twist

I love this recipe, especially the orange zest twist. They remind me of the European biscuiti/keksz that I used to enjoy as a kid with a cup of hot tea. #timemachine #takesmebacktomychildhood



INGREDIENTS:   

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 Tbs. orange zest
• 2 Tbs. dark corn syrup
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cream the butter and the sugar together. Add the egg and mix well. Mix in the orange zest and dark corn syrup. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, and salt. Mix until well combined. Chill dough for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C). Grease cookie sheets. On a light floured surface, roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters. Place cookies 1 inch apart in the prepared cookie sheet.
3. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. If you want them softer bake them for 7 minutes. I like them both ways. 

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CREAM CHEESE CUPCAKES

I made these cupcakes twice during the holidays because they were so delicious!!!! They are relatively easy to make, and they are super good refrigerated. Enjoy!!!

INGREDIENTS  

• For the Crust:
• 1½ cups Oreo cookie crumbs, cream centers removed (about 22-23 finely crushed cookies)
• 6 TB salted butter, melted
• For the Custard:
• Half bag (6 oz) pure white chocolate chips
• ¼ cup half and half
• 1½ (12oz total) blocks whole cream cheese, softened to almost melted
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• For the Raspberry Sauce:
• 5 oz frozen or fresh raspberries, or berry mix
• 1 TB granulated sugar
• 1½ tsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 TB water

DIRECTIONS

1. Make Crust: In a large bowl, mix fine cookie crumbs with butter until well incorporated. Should resemble wet sand. Scoop 1 slightly rounded tsp crumb mixture evenly into 48 lined mini cupcake tins, or into 12 lined cupcake tins. Press down to form bottom crusts.
2. Preheat oven to 325F, with rack on lower middle position.
3. Make Raspberry Sauce: Combine raspberries or mix berries, sugar, and dissolved cornstarch in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring often. Once mixture is thickened, remove from heat and set aside.
4. Make Custard: In heavy saucepan, melt white chocolate chips together with half and half on low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat. In large bowl, mix together nearly melted cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and the melted white chocolate mixture.
5. Scoop 1 rounded TB custard evenly into lined mini muffin tins. Dollop ½ tsp raspberry sauce over the custard. Gently use a thin knife to lightly swirl.
6. Bake 20 minutes or until tops are puffy and no longer sticky upon light touch. Let cool to room temp and then cover and chill in fridge. If keeping longer than a couple of days, you can freeze them. Top with whipped cream and serve.

Serves: 48 mini or 12 regular size cupcakes