orange zest – Dragonfly Home Recipes

Orange zest and a half cup of lemonade infuse this bread with a subtle zing, balanced by the creamy flavors of walnuts, pecans, and milk. Moist and subtly sweet, this citrus nut bread is a tasty snack, with nutritional benefits from the nuts and orange zest. Savor a slice with a cup of coffee or tea, as an after-school snack, or even just grab a piece on the go. Some may like to spread cream cheese or jam on a slice; I like it just as it is. There is something joyful and energizing about citrus flavors. As we wait for seasonal fruits to become ripe here, citrus can do wonders to tide us over. Though it takes almost an hour to bake, it takes just a few minutes to zest some orange peel and mix up the batter.

This recipe is adapted from a favorite orange walnut bread recipe in one of the many cookbooks I have collected from various churches over the years. Once I got started making the bread, I realized I didn’t have the orange juice the recipe called for. I also didn’t have enough walnuts. My husband suggested I use lemonade instead of the orange juice, and I used a combination of walnuts and pecans. The bread turned out great! I actually like it better than the traditional orange walnut bread. The lemonade gives it a sunny flavor and such a pretty, delicate color.

The making of this bread helped soothe my nerves. I made it a day or so before my daughter was to leave on her overnight class trip to Chicago. I know she loves this bread, and making it for her made me feel like I was giving her an extra hug before she waved goodbye and hopped on the bus. It is true that food can express love in ways that words sometimes cannot. I look forward to hearing all about her trip when she gets back!

Meanwhile, spring marches on with warm days and cold days, bright sun, rain, and wind. The key is to dress in layers, since it changes so quickly! The scene around us is becoming more colorful by the day. After the browns and grays of winter, it feels good to see such bright colors. Our cherry trees are starting to blossom! Bright yellow dandelions decorate bright green grass. I hope you are all having a great week!

Citrus Nut Bread

Servings: 1 loaf
Time: about 15 minutes prep time, plus about an hour for baking time
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Ingredients:

2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 cup of lemonade
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, beaten slightly
1 tablespoons of orange zest
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup of a combination of walnuts and pecans, chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease an 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir to combine. In a smaller bowl, combine the milk, lemonade, butter, egg, and orange zest. Add those ingredients to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir gently until just incorporated and a batter forms. Stir in the chopped nuts. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Bake in your 350-degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the bread is golden and the top cracks just a little. Test to see if a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. When the bread is done, allow it to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

Times like these call for a hot cup of tea. Lulled into a false sense of spring fever by the warm weather last week, we are now plunged back into winter weather with a bitter wind and even snow. I am pretty sure by next week things will feel like spring again, but for now, we need to cope with this sudden blast of cold. Hot tea is the most soothing and comforting drink I know, and tea tastes even better with cookies. I wanted to make some cookies with a fruity flavor, but also with dark chocolate (since dark chocolate is good for us), and I have always loved the combination of orange and chocolate. I built this recipe based on basic sugar cookie ingredients, and just added some orange zest, dark chocolate chips, and almonds. The cookies are lightly sweet with a subtle orange flavor, and the unmistakable taste of dark chocolate.

A cup of tea and a plate of cookies signals comfort and quiet joy to me. A pot of tea and a plate of cookies shared with a friend or family member invites intimate conversation and trust. We are urged to slow down and wait for the tea to cool to a temperature we can drink. We sit quietly and breathe in the aroma of the tea and let the steam warm our faces. The warm liquid soothes our busy minds and allows us to think more clearly. To drink tea and share cookies with someone is to slow down and savor the present moment with them. To be present with someone or even to be present with oneself is a great gift. We are able to hold the moment as it passes into the next, enveloped in a comforting glow of warmth, no matter what is going on in the outside world. That, to me, is the beauty of cookies and a cup of tea.

Orange Chocolate Tea Cookies

Servings: about 36 to 42 cookies, depending on size
Time: approximately 45 minutes
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Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, softened
1 and 1/2 cups of unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons of orange zest
1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips
1/4 cup of slivered almonds (optional)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grate the peel of an orange for your orange zest. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with a wooden spoon. Add half of the flour, and all of the sugar, egg, baking soda, vanilla, and orange zest. Stir until well combined. Add the rest of the flour and stir again, incorporating the dry ingredients into the moist batter. Stir in the dark chocolate chips and the slivered almonds until well combined. Drop the batter by a rounded teaspoon onto a baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. (I like to made these cookies on the small side, to made them perfect to go with tea.) Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the cookies are firm, yet soft, and lightly golden. (The orange zest will make them lighter in color.) Repeat until all the batter is baked. Enjoy!