{ RECIPE :: Orange Zested Cookies w/ Sweet Orange Glaze }

Since coming home from the hospital with my little babe I have had lots of visitors come to sneak a peak at our cute little bundle of joy. And for some reason, they've all been bringing us fresh citrus! How awesome is that? I just feel bad we can't eat them fast enough.

So today while the baby napped I decided to put some of them to good use and make these delicious Orange Zested Cookies With Sweet Orange Glaze to enjoy as we watched the Super Bowl.

From the minute I started zesting the oranges I knew that even if they tasted terrible, at least they smelled AMAZING! Lucky for us, they not only smelled incredible, but tasted incredible too!

INGREDIENTS:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 egg

For the glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
fresh orange juice

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until zest is throughout the sugar. The sugar will become moist from the oils being released. Using a mixer, cream the butter and orange zested sugar. Add egg and orange juice. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. At this point you can chill for an hour or so or overnight. I was impatient and baked them! Scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roll into smooth round balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden on the bottoms. Don’t overbake or they will be a bit to dry and lose the perfect texture.

Mix the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and enough orange juice to get a glaze consistency and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour glaze over the tops of the cookies and let set.