Faye's Chocolate Chip Orange Zest Cookies

Steve Rood Goldman
Recipe by
Steve Rood Goldman

When I think back to the six of us – my parents Bob and Phyllis, sister Karen, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle Ed – piling into my dad's 1967 Ford station wagon for our annual 24-hour December trek from Queens to Florida, food memories stand out. Our destination: Grandma Faye's Collins Avenue high-rise apartment in Miami Beach.

Faye, my paternal grandmother – with well-coiffed hair and nails, impeccably dressed, and always with a hat or kerchief to guard her fair skin from the Florida sun – took immense pride in pleasing us with her cooking and baking. At the end of our visit, as we once again piled into the station wagon for the trip back to New York, Grandma always handed us a tin brimming with these addictive cookies. By the time we reached Tallahassee, they were gone – a delicious happy memory!

As a young newlywed, I raved about Grandma Faye's chocolate chip cookies. When my wife finally procured the recipe and baked a batch, we had to agree that my memory was sharp indeed. 

Ingredients
2 cups flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup Crisco or softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
2 tablespoons orange juice
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg, unbeaten
1/2 cup chopped nuts
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
  1. Preaheat oven to 375°F.
  2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
  3. Beat Crisco, orange rind, and orange juice. Add sugar to Crisco mixture and cream well. Mix in egg.
  4. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chipes.
  5. Drop by teaspoonfulls onto greased cookied sheets. Flatten each cookie with a moistened glass. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.