Orange and Dark Chocolate Cookies, FTW!

This past weekend, I really wanted to make some kind of baked good using an Orange and Dark Chocolate combination.  It's becoming a popular flavor combo, but it's never been too appealing to me.  So why was I feeling the urge to make it?  I have no idea.  But I'm glad I did! These cookies were saved from EPIC FAIL by one simple kitchen gadget - a melon baller. Yep, that's right.  My lack of cookie dough scooper finally got the best of me this weekend and I had to improvise with a melon baller.  I first tried to use a regular old spoon to scoop the dough and ended up making too big, inconsistently sized dough balls, which made my cookies turn out like this: Crispy, kind of burned edges with gooey middle.  No Bueno.  I was ready to call the whole thing a wash and throw out the rest of the dough, when The Hub tasted one of the cookies and declared them very yummy with lots of potential. After I accused him of patronizing me (oooh, Hub didn't like that) he convinced me to give it another shot and just make the dough balls about half the size.  So I dug out my melon baller, greased it up, and scooped away. I am definitely going to be investing in a cookie scoop soon.  Even with the melon baller, scooping even sized dough balls was difficult since there was no release function.  But I persevered and my end result was much prettier and tastier than the first batch!

The orange adds a really nice, fresh flavor and the bitterness of the dark chocolate balances out the sweet acidity of the orange.  In other news, The Hub says he is going to start leaving the house when I'm baking.

You'll Need:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons orange zest
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup dark chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º. Grease cookie sheets.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into and set aside. Cream butter, sugars, orange zest, orange juice and vanilla extract together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time beating well after adding each one. Add dry ingredients and stir until combined. Stir in chocolate and mix until well blended.
4. Using a small cookie scoop (1/2"), drop dough 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake cookies for 10 minutes or until golden. Cool on the cookie sheets.