Chocolate-Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Last night, Ryan got home from his internship a little late. We ate dinner (soup and grilled cheese), then his nose went straight into his law review editing. Yay Friday, right? It happens. Our little guy was already asleep, so instead of waiting until the typical Sunday night to make up some cookies, I headed into the kitchen to keep myself busy.

I'm in love with the chocolate-orange combo flavor. It tastes like Christmas, to me. Ever since I pinned this recipe to my Pinterest board,  I couldn't wait to do something with the pile of oranges I have. I just needed some chocolate chips.... waiting until grocery day (Friday) drove me crazy - I wanted to make them asap! But, these cookies were well worth the wait, and the chocolate-orange flavor came through perfectly....
 
... that is, when they're not burnt....

I've honestly never done this before (really!!), but I completely destroyed about a dozen cookies on a sheet. I was switching back and forth between The Return of the King and House while waiting for each batch to cook. Aaaannnnd I got a little distracted with the final drama of the LOTR series that I forgot to set the timer... I've never burned a batch before. It was kind of dramatic. They were completely black on bottom, so I threw them away. I might have moped around for a bit - not only because they were burned, but because there went about a dozen cookies right in the garbage. Lame. This morning I woke up without a memory of my little episode last night.... until I walked into the smell of burnt cookies in the kitchen. sigh.

The cookies that came out unscathed were delicious - I think I'll make these again this year, but sometime around Christmas. Loved 'em, mucho, mucho, mucho.

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"Chocoate-Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
Yield: 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients :
zest of 1 large orange
1 1/3 cups sugar, used separately
2/3 cup butter, softened (I used that fake "Cant Believe It's Not Butter" stuff again. cheaper)
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 pkg. (10 oz.) dark chocolate morsels (I knew Ryan would be eating these cookies, So I used milk chocolate chips instead)

Instructions :

1. Zest orange; use 1 teaspoon of the orange zest and combine it with 1/3 cup of sugar and set aside. 

2. Cream together 1 cup sugar, butter, and the remainder of the orange zest. 

3. Add the egg and mix well. 

4. In a separate bowl combine the flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. 

5. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. 

6. Stir in the chocolate chips. 

7. Roll dough into 1 1/2 inch balls and then roll each ball in the orange-sugar mixture.  

8. Place balls of dough about 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet; use the bottom of a glass to flatten the balls to about 1/2 inch thickness 

9. Bake in a 350°F oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until set; cool slightly and then remove from cookie sheet."

Recipe Source: Dulcedough.com