Tag: Orange Juice

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Real Orange Cookies and Butterscotch Candy

7 days before Christmas…

In the winter, it’s very important to get your vitamin C.  You don’t want scurvy.DSCN3495These real orange cookies are nothing short of amazing.  They have a bright sunshiny flavor.  They are crisper than I expected them to be, but in a welcome way.  We decided to dress them up with a drizzle of white and dark chocolate. (Apologies to those friends who got plates before these were decorated.  You are welcome to come over and get the decorated ones)DSCN3496Butterscotch is my grandma’s favorite candy.  In honor of her, I made this recipe. I tried coating it in some cornstarch and powdered sugar to keep it from sticking, but it clumped up and sort of looks terrible.  It doesn’t affect the taste.  The edges of it are very brittle, but the middle feels like the brown sugar didn’t dissolve all the way.  But it doesn’t really matter.  This is my husband’s top pick of candy.  (Don’t tell him he’s like my grandma.)  DSCN3498Seriously, look at the orange rind in that cookie.  Don’t you just want to take a bite?DSCN3502Real Orange Cookies

Butterscotch

2 cups sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
2 T vinegar
¼ cup boiling water
1/8 tsp salt

Boil ingredients together to hard-crack stage (290°).  Turn into greased pans.  Mark candy into squares when partly cold.

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Whiskey Slush

Because I have hinted at it twice now (Cherry Meringue Pie and Hot Chicken Salad) I figured it was maybe time to stop teasing and get down to business.

Last Christmas, we did a progressive dinner with friends.  We gathered at each other’s houses for food and drinks and admiring of each other’s Christmas decorations.  During the salad course we were offered brandy slush.  This was maybe the third time I’d had brandy slush in my life.  I think one time was in college and another time was at a ladies’ night at a friend’s house where we ate snacks and sang Karaoke.  (I should think about hosting that sort of event.)  It’s one of those things where if you are offered it, you should think about accepting.  (Assuming you are of legal drinking age and all that.)DSCN3293While brandy slush is good, I think this version is even better.  It seems a little mellower and a little less acidy.  The Southern Comfort adds a bit of extra fruitiness that isn’t captured with the more traditional recipe.  It’s sweet, but not too sweet. It’s cold. It’s delicious.  It doesn’t give you the same sort of cold headache as a frozen margarita will.  Best of all, this recipe is super easy.  It has green tea in it, so just think of all the antioxidants.  DSCN3297A truly authentic slush experience involves first purchasing one of those 5 quarts pails of ice cream.  When the ice cream is gone, the void in your freezer can either be filled with another 5 quarts of ice cream or the same pail refilled with slush.  I mean, it’s up to you to do what you think is best, but I have found that pints of really good ice cream are much easier to find room for.

I served this at both our game night and at Thanksgiving dinner.  But it’s good for football games, rough days at work, basketball, relaxing on the porch in the summer…you know, pretty much any time.

Whiskey Slush

Whiskey Slush

You can do the recipe the way it reads above, but I sort of cheated and boiled 9 cups of water with 2 cups of sugar and 4 decaf green tea bags.  I figured it didn’t really matter that much.  Green tea bags only need to steep a couple of minutes.  To that, I added a can of lemonade concentrate and a can of orange juice concentrate and 2 1/2 cups of Southern Comfort.  Pour the whole thing into your ice cream pail and put it in the freezer overnight.  To serve, take one (or maybe a bit more) ice cream scoop of the slush and put it into an old fashioned sized glass.  Top with 7-Up (or ginger ale, or whatever sort of fizzy beverage sounds appealing to you).