Orange Half-Moon Knock-Offs

Yield:36 cookies

A friend of mine brought me back some wonderful Half-Moon Orange cookies from his vacation to Pacific Grove. They were a nice, soft, orange-flavored sugar cookie that was half-dipped in dark chocolate. Since Pacific Grove was too far to go for a cookie fix on a regular basis, I decided to make my own version.

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 cup butter, softened 1 egg 2 2/3 cups flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon orange oil zest of one large orange 1 package semisweet chocolate chips, melted

1. Mix powdered sugar, butter, egg, zest and flavorings together. Stir in flour and salt.

2. Refrigerate dough 1-2 hours until firm.

3. Preheat oven to 375°F

4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured board. Use a round cutter to cut out cookies. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8 to 10 minutes, until set.

5. Dip cooled cookies in melted chocolate so that half of the cookie is coated. Cool on wax paper.

Variations: These are nice made in heart shapes for Valentine's day. They would also make nice sandwich cookies with a frosting between the cookies.