orange and chocolate, moon and stars cookies

The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray... or something like that.  

I've been thinking orange lately. Mainly what to do with all the zest I've been freezing ever since I read this article. But also how nice a fragrant orange cookie would taste dipped in dark, rich chocolate.

At the same time, I've been stuck in the house with a three-year-old, in need of distraction. We decided to try out the American Museum of Natural History. It has been a while since we've been and my son is even more crazy about dinosaurs than ever. My husband was up for the trip. We all were in our coats and out the door, which was a huge feat in and of itself.

Let's just say, it didn't happen. We went to the park instead.

Which is fine. Great even.

Sometimes picking up sticks and crawling on walls is what we need to do. 

And sometimes that chocolate frosting you made isn't quite what you had in mind. Rather than running smoothly onto your cookie and resting snugly there, it clumps up like pudding and has to be brushed on.

Which is fine. Great even.

Sometimes pudding is what you have and that's okay.

This was a variation on my coconut lime shortbread cookies. I used two tablespoons orange zest and no shredded coconut. I made my frosting by melting 4 ounces 72% dark chocolate in a double boiler with about 1/4 cup soy milk. Next time I will use more milk.

{variation of this recipe}