There was no post yesterday courtesy of Holiday festivities which I’m sure everyone can relate to. There are never enough hours in the day during the holiday season!

So, let’s talk Tangerine Butter Cookies. When compiling the list of cookies I was planning on making, I had to make a conscious effort not to make all chocolate cookies. Especially chocolate peppermint. I think at one point I had 4 chocolate peppermint cookies on my list. Not exactly an exciting selection. So here is my attempt to diversify!

Tangerine Butter Cookies

Veganized from Better Homes and Garden

makes about 5 dozen cookies; potential 30 minutes of chilling required depending on dough.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup vegan butter such as Earth Balance, softened
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Ener-G eggs
• 2 tsp finely shredded tangerine peel or orange peel
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp orange extract
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup cornmeal (white was suggested but I had yellow on hand and the cookies turned out fine)
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar

Directions

In a very large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add the 1 1/2 cups sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy, scraping side of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs, tangerine peel, vanilla, and orange extract until combined. Gradually beat in oil until smooth. Beat in cornmeal. Beat in flour. If the dough becomes too thick for your mixer, stir remaining flour in by hand (I did not have this problem). If necessary, cover and chill for 30 to 60 minutes or until dough is easy to handle. (Again, I did not have to do this).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place the 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in sugar to coat. Place balls 2 inches apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Using a wooden skewer or toothpick, press an “X” into each ball of dough. I did mine lightly since I would be redoing the “X” when the cookies were removed from the oven.
Bake in the preheated oven for 9 to 11 minutes or until tops are set. This will result in a cookie with a crunchy outside and a chewy inside. If you prefer an entirely crunchy cookie, cook until just starting to turn light brown. While warm, lightly press again with wooden skewer to make deeper “X” indentations. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool.

This seemed like a good cookie for those non-chocolate folks out there. You see a lot of lemon cookies so I liked how these were a little unusual. If you brought them to a holiday party, I think they would stand out amongst the gingerbread and chocolate peppermint cookies.