orange creamsicle cookies*

Fantastic news friends! I have successfully moved for the last time in a long LONG while! I have actually lived in my new house now for 2 months yesterday, and we are loving every minute of it! I have had quite a grand old time shopping and shopping, and did I mention shopping?? Well, I shopped my little heart out for decorations. I have officially been banned from shopping with my mother-in-law. For real. Except for when I sneak down to meet her at the store on Saturday mornings while Landon is mowing the lawn at our rental. OOPS! Wanna see some pics of my cute house??

Notice the decorations?? Yeah, we didn't have nearly that many 2 months ago. So on your top left we have my cute office. That desk actually originally belonged to Jerry Spanos, the Founder of Heritage School (a.k.a. the greatest place to work EVER). I stumbled upon it on KSL, only to discover it was owned by one of the therapists that had refinished it and it is just the cutest thing!

On the top right is my kitchen, where I spend most of my time. I absolutely love the undermount sink for easy cleanup, the cute granite countertops, but most of all - the huge walk-in pantry! I don't have a picture of that on my little collage, but I literally could fit a twin size bed in there and sleep next to my baking cups and chocolate chips like its no ones business.

The bottom left is my living room where we lounge away and watch the Kardashians (don't judge) and House Hunters (yes, I'm still obsessed with HGTV even though I have now bought my forever home). See those cute green lamps? I recovered those shades my very own self! YES - go me!!

And finally, on the bottom right is our extra bedroom. Believe me, it's a bazillion times cuter than our master. We have yet to buy any cute furniture and decorations for our master, because I'm always too busy decorating everything else. One day, one day...

The rest of the house includes a full bath next to the extra bedroom, a half bath next to the kitchen, laundry room (a.k.a. Tankers' sanctuary), our room and master bath, and an unfinished basement with room for 2 more bedrooms and a family room. I love love LOVE it! In just 2 weeks we are putting up a fence for our puppy to run his little heart out, and then our next project is sprinklers and grass in the backyard - our front yard is landscaped, thank goodness.

ANYWHO - if you are still reading thus far, I am sure you are wanting to get to the good stuff! These cookies were made for parent conference back in May, and I had request after request for the recipe. And what did I say? Don't you fret, I'll put it on the blog! Ummm...better late than never???

Orange Creamsicle Cookies
adapted from Baked Perfection

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 firmly packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons orange zest (about 2 oranges)
juice from 1 orange
2 cups white chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest, orange juice and white chocolate chips. (Do a taste test and make sure you can taste the orange! If it's not very distinct, go ahead and add the juice from the second orange you zested.)

Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

-alyssa*