Citrus Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Citrus buttercream sandwich cookies were part of my Christmas goody gift package this year.  When I went soliciting ideas for Christmas cookies one of my friends suggested a citrus cookie.  Honestly it took me by surprise, as I'm a chocolate and caramel cookie kind of Witch.  A citrus cookie would be different and very holiday appropriate, after all the best citrus fruits are ripe in December.  I wasn't sure what kind of citrus cookie to make, however.  I tossed around a few ideas, a thumbprint type of cookie, filled with a citrus curd maybe?  What about a citrus shortbread with a citrus glaze?  Both sounded quite nice but really my mind kept wandering to a sandwich cookie, something that incorporated both of those ideas, filled and crispy all at once.  Now that the type had been hammered down to  a sandwich cookie, it was a matter of figuring out what kind of cookie I wanted to make for the sandwich.  Shortbread tends to really just crumble away for me so I decided it wasn't what I wanted here.  A standard drop cookie isn't structurally strong enough to support filling and a top cookie, not to mention their round shape isn't what I was looking for here.  Back to the drawing board.

That's when I went blog hopping and discovered Culinary Connection's by Peabody's recipe for Citrus sandwich cookies.  Immediately I knew I had my recipe.  The Witch changed a few very minor things; I used the zest of clementines instead of orange and I added lime zest into the mix as well.  The colors of the zest are so pretty in the pale yellow citrus dough, which was a pleasure to work with, not dry or crumbly and rolled out easily.  Baking the cookies released the essential oils of the citrus zests, adding their flavorful perfume to the cookie.  The filling is a reduction of orange and lemon juices whipped into a buttercream, their tangy acidity help balance the sweetness of the filling.  A touch of heavy cream keeps the melt in your mouth soft.

The cookies looked impressive once finished.  The colorful zest peeping through the cookie with the pale buttercream centers were very pretty.  The Kitchen Witch is very sad to say that she never got to taste one in it's finished state.  The recipe made 32 sandwich cookies, the exact number of recipients on my goodie gift list this year.  I was able to snag a broken piece of cookie, it was delicious, slightly chewy and rich, and the buttercream I sampled and enjoyed.  Yet the finished product I didn't get.  Sob!  That's ok, I'll just have to make these beauties again soon.  Enjoy!


Citrus Sandwich Cookies 
Makes 32 sandwich cookies
Source:  Culinary Connections 
2 cups all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
14 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg yolk
 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp finely grated lime zest

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed for 3 minutes. Add egg and zest and beat until combined.

Reduce to slow speed and add flour mixture just until well blended. Scrape dough onto a work surface and gather it up into a disk. Wrap the disc in plastic warp and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until firm(up to 3 days).

350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat.

Place the chilled dough on a lightly floured work surface and sprinkle lightly with flour. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

Using a small cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies possible from the dough. Transfer dough to baking sheets and bake for 9-11 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom(not the top).

Transfer the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.

Citrus buttercream filling 
¼ cup orange juice
1 TBSP lemon juice
6 TBSP unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP heavy cream
pinch of salt

 In a small nonreactive saucepan, bring the orange and lemon juices to a boil over high heat and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half (3T).  Let cool completely.

 In a bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter, powdered sugar, cream, salt and cooled citrus juices at medium speed until smooth and fluffy.

Pipe fiilling onto the bottom of one of the cookies. Top with another cookie. Press the cookies lightly together. Repeat with the remaining cookies and filing.

Store cookies in the fridge.  Allow to warm to room temperature before serving.

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
32 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		142.2
Total Fat		7.6 g
	Saturated Fat	4.7 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.3 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	2.2 g
Cholesterol		26.5 mg
Sodium		23.6 mg
Potassium		16.4 mg
Total Carbohydrate		18.1 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.2 g
	Sugars	12.0 g
Protein		1.0 g

Key Lime cookies with white chocolate

The little Witch had been asking to make cookies, like usual. Unlike usual I was out of chocolate chips. The horror!! I did however have white chocolate chips. And an excess of key limes and a touch of coconut.

Siri over at Siriously Delicious made and blogged about coconut white chocolate chip cookies a few days ago. She, of course, added the 'put the lime in the coconut and drink it all down' lyrics in her blog, which then promptly got stuck in my head. Thanks, Siri. On the upside, I got the idea to add some key lime zest and juice to something similar to her coconut white chocolate chip cookies.

I think its a successful marriage. Lime and coconut are delicious together. White chocolate helps add a sweet vanilla flavor to the sour lime. Zest adds a punch of lime as well as provide pretty specks of green in these pale beauties.

In the end the cookie is a hit with the adults. The little Witch, well she still wants her favorite chocolate chip cookies. Kids :)

Key Lime coconut white chocolate cookies
makes 24 cookies
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c brown sugar
zest and juice of 2 key limes
1/2 c coconut
1 egg
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 3/4 c AP flour
1 c white chocolate chips

Cream butter. Add sugars, beat until fluffy. Add zest, juice and egg, beat until light and fluffy again. Add coconut and 1/3 the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until flour is incorporated. Scrape down the sides, add remaining flour in 2 installments, scraping after each. Add white chocolate chips. Scoop onto a baking sheet and bake for 11 minutes at 350.



Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople recipe calculator
24 Servings (1 cookie per serving)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 136.1
Total Fat 6.7 g
Saturated Fat 4.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3 g
Monounsaturated Fat 1.9 g
Cholesterol 19.2 mg
Sodium 109.9 mg
Potassium 53.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 19.5 g
Dietary Fiber 0.7 g
Sugars 11.1 g
Protein 1.6 g

Chicken Fajitas

Gee, look The Kitchen Witch is making ANOTHER Mexican dish! I told you, we like our Mexican food around here :) I realize fajitas are really more Tex-Mex but it's still considered Mexican to me.

Fajitas were always one of those things that I ordered in restaurants and never tried to make at home. I don't really know why other than the fact that they seemed intimidating. Oh how wrong I was!! With just a few basic ingredients that a well stocked pantry should have you too could be eating fajitas for dinner tonight. Oh, yeah, the good news is that the cooking time is less than 30 minutes on these babies. How awesome is that?

This dish is always a crowd pleaser too, because you can personalize your fajita to your own tastes. Hate tomatoes? No problem! Not a fan of bell peppers? Don't add them to yours. Kids want chicken and cheese only? Can do! Everyone can find something that they'll like with these gems.

Chicken Fajitas
serves 4
2 chicken breast
juice and zest of 1 lime
1 t cumin (fresh toasted and ground preferably)
1/2 t chili powder
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T EVOO, divided
1/2 t kosher salt
pepper to taste
2 bell peppers (I used 1 small green, 1/2 of a red and 1 poblano pepper)
1 medium onion
1/2 c water
flour tortillas
toppers: sour cream, guacamole, cheese, tomatoes, fresh jalapanos, salsa, olives, etc.

Make marinade for chicken by combining lime zest, juice, salt, garlic, pepper,spices and 1/2 the EVOO together. Pour over chicken and allow to marinate for 2-3 hours. Don't go much longer than that, the acid in the lime juice will cook the chicken and after heat's applied it can dry out.

~*~Kitchen Witch Tip: if your running short on time you can pound your chicken very thin, or butterfly the breasts, exposing more meat to the marinade. 20-30 minutes in the marinade is enough time to give your chicken flavor when its very thin like this~*~

Slice peppers and onions into julienned strips. Toss with remaining EVOO to coat.

Remove chicken from marinade, pat dry for best browning. Be sure to scrape off any large pieces of garlic as well so it doesn't burn.

Cook chicken in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When chicken is done (160* internal temp) remove to a plate, cover with foil and allow to rest while peppers and onions cook.

Using the same pan add the oil coated peppers and onions. Cook about 5-7 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until peppers start to soften and onions brown on edged Deglaze pan with the water, scraping the cooked on bits up. This will turn your peppers and onions a deep mahogany color. Mmm...



Slice chicken thinly across the grain, squeeze a wedge of lime over top before serving with warmed flour tortillas and your favorite toppings. Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts provided by SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving (NOT INCLUDING TORTILLA OR TOPPINGS)
Calories 148.2
Total Fat 4.8 g
Saturated Fat 0.8 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.8 g
Monounsaturated Fat 2.8 g
Cholesterol 49.3 mg
Sodium 57.9 mg
Potassium 337.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 5.7 g
Dietary Fiber 1.1 g
Sugars 0.8 g
Protein 20.4 g

Jicama fruit salad with spiced lime agave dressing

Jicama, its an ugly looking tuber that has a sweet, crispy, earthy flavor. Its fat free and high in vitamin C. Its used frequently in Mexican cooking where its somewhat sweet but bland flavor melds well with other flavors. It can also be used as a substitute for water chestnuts in Asian dishes.

I happened to have one sitting on my counter, just waiting to be used. When I bought it I had no real plan on how to use it, it just caught my eye & I went for it. The flavor if jicama is akin to a potato/apple cross, which got me thinking fruit salad. I had tried jicama for the first time in a local Mexican restaurant, in a fruit slaw, and honestly it was the best thing on the plate. But it had been years, upwards of 15 years, since I had that salad, and I didn't really remember the finer details, like what it was flavored with other than jicama.

I put my Kitchen Witches hat on and set to work. The fruit part would be easy enough, I just used what I had on hand, in this case an apple, 1/2 a banana left over from breakfast, some clementines and said jicama. The dressing was just as easy, juice of 1 lime for a tart acidic note, a touch of agave nectar for sweetness and just a dash of cinnamon for a spicy depth of flavor. The result?

Well, simply put, the best fruit salad I've ever had!! The jicama really absorbed a lot of the dressing flavors and the sweet tart flavors of the other fruits, it was just divine! This quick and easy side dish or snack will become a regular player in the Kitchen Witch repertoire. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

Jimica fruit salad with spiced lime agave dressing
makes 4 servings
1/2 jicama, peeled and julienned
4 clementines, peeled and sectioned
1 pink lady apple, peeled and diced
1/2 banana, sliced
Dressing:
juice of 1 lime (2 T)
1 t agave nectar
dash cinnamon

Combine fruits in a medium sized bowl. Mix dressing and toss fruit to coat evenly.



Nutrition Facts provided be SparkPeople Recipe Calculator
4 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories 122.6
Total Fat 0.3 g
Saturated Fat 0.1 g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1 g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.0 g
Cholesterol 0.0 mg
Sodium 4.6 mg
Potassium 432.8 mg
Total Carbohydrate 30.8 g
Dietary Fiber 6.4 g
Sugars 15.5 g
Protein 1.8 g