White Chocolate Lime Cookies and Other Absurdities

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...At the bottom of the hill on which our house is perched, there's a community of townhomes whose name always makes me smile.

I suspect that at some point in my life, my sense of the absurd was overly stimulated and I was left with a heightened appreciation of the ridiculous. I also smile when I see a recipe that calls for white chocolate or I'm served a glass of white sangria. Can sangria or chocolate be white? Sangria, whose name comes from the Spanish word for blood, should be that deep color. White sangria, its counterpart, is colorless, like plasma. We all know that white chocolate, which is nothing more than cocoa butter mixed with milk and sugar, is quite unlike the real thing. They both, however, have benefited from thoughtful naming and good marketing. You'd probably never take a bite of something called cocoa butter cheese cake and would never dream of ordering a glass of you know what. What's in a name? Sometimes quite a lot. I have a handful of recipes that use white chocolate. Most of them combine white chocolate with lime. I love the combination and actively seek it out. I found this recipe for cookies that use both at The Fresh Loaf and at Evil Shenanigans. I've made minor changes to the recipe. After baking the first batch, I doubled the amount of lime juice and zest used to make the cookies. These are really quite nice and I think you'll enjoy them. Here's the recipe.

White Chocolate Lime Cookies...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Evil Shenanigans

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Zest of 2 limes
2 teaspoons lime juice
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (12-oz.) bag white chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line three cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2) Combine butter and sugar in bowl of an electric stand mixer. Beat until combined but not fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just to incorporate. Add vanilla, lime juice and zest and mix to combine.
3) Combine flour,baking soda, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. Whisk to combine and lighten. Mix into creamed mixture just until combined. Fold in white chocolate chips.
4 ) Shape dough into 36 balls. Place them 3-inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake until edges are golden and centers are just set, about 12 to 13 minutes. Let sit in pan for 3 minutes before moving to cooling racks. Yield: 3 dozen cookies.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Key Lime and White Chocolate Cake Squares - One Perfect Bite
Chunky White Chocolate and Almond Oatmeal Cookies - Gourmeted
Macaron with White Chocolate - My Kitchen Treasures
Sour Cherry, White Chocolate and Almond Scones - The English Kitchen
White Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Blondies - Squirrel Bakes
Caramelized White Chocolate Cake - E L R A
Raspberry White Chocolate Scones - Playing House
Raspberry White Chocolate Cake - Sweet Kat's Kitchen

This post is being linked to the Cookie Exchange at Relatively Unique

White Chocolate Truffles

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...These truffles have been on my "must try" list for ages. I've had no time to test them, so the recipe sat in a folder where it was beginning to yellow with age. I finally got to them last night and I'm delighted to tell you they are fabulous. I'm not an experienced candy maker. Fudge made with marshmallow cream has been my only other excursion into the realm of candy making. I can now add truffles to my list. These are really easy to make and I hope, with a bit more practice, I'll be able to make them as pretty as they are delicious. They should be served cold. If you're fond of white chocolate, you'll love these.

White Chocolate Truffles...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
7 tablespoons heavy cream, divided use
12-ounces good quality white chocolate chips, divided use
1 tablespoon orange liqueur

Directions:
1) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
2) Place butter and 5 tablespoons cream in a 1-quart saucepan; slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat. Add 8-ounces of chocolate chips to cream. Stir until melted. Stir in orange liqueur.
3) Pour mixture onto prepared pan and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until firm.
4) Use a knife to score chocolate into 20 approximately equal pieces. Roll each piece into a small ball. If mixture becomes too sticky to roll, chill for a few minutes before proceeding. Transfer balls to freezer for 1 hour.
5) Melt reserved 4-ounces of white chocolate with 2 tablespoons cream. Dip balls in melted chocolate. Place on nonstick paper and quickly swirl top with a fork. Let harden. Serve cold. Yield: 20 truffles.