Creative and Critical Thinking

“Interpret the Orange” : Michael’s Orange Cookies and Tea

This weekend I experimented with baking by making Oatmeal and Orange cookies with Orange Tea.

How to make the cookies:

¼ cup of softened butter

¼ cup of brown sugar

¼ cup of honey

1 egg

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of orange juice or orange extract

¼ teaspoon of salt

½ cup of flour

¼ teaspoon of cinnamon

1 cup of dry oats

and ½ cup of orange (preferred small fresh chunks or naturally dried)

Combine the wet ingredients in a bowl and stir together well but do not over beat. 

 Next, combine the dry ingredients in a larger bowl and gently stir in the wet ingredients until well blended.

 Finally, lightly mix in the oranges just until they are evenly spread into the mix. Try not to break the oranges too much when mixing.

Preheat your oven to 375° F and scoop the batter with a tablespoon onto a baking sheet. For mini cookies, use just one decent-sized scoop per cookie. For larger cookies, use 2-3.

 Place the cookies in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until nicely golden brown. Cool for 5 or so minutes.

Note: Cookies will be very soft due to honey. For best firmness, wait an hour for cookies to harden or place in refrigerator.

How to make the tea:

Take the peels of your oranges and place them into a tea steeper, with squirts of orange juice and a teaspoon of honey. Combine with boiled water and steep for 5-10 minutes, or while waiting for cookies to bake. Colouring will be a light yellow or yellow-green, depending on freshness of orange peels. 

Enjoy cookies and tea with a fresh orange for best results!