12 Days of Cookies, Day 6: Orangen’t you glad they’re snowball cookies

•  3/4 cup shortening
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 cup coconut, plus more for rolling
• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 12 ounces white chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream

1. Cream together shortening and sugar. Add egg yolks and coconut. Beat well.

2. Sift flour, salt and soda; add to creamed mixture alternately with orange juice, zest and vanilla. (Start with flour mixture and end with flour mixture, about 3 addings.) Chill for 45-55 minutes or until stiff enough to roll into balls about 1 inch in diameter.

3. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Roll dough into balls and place on parchment-covered cookie sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove cookies and cool on racks.

4. While cookies cool, melt chocolate in microwave-safe bowl. (Start with 30 seconds, then stir and repeat in 10-second intervals, stirring after each until almost melted.) Add cream and stir until smooth.

5. With a skewer, poke the top of each cookie and dip in chocolate, shake off excess and roll in coconut. Place on waxed-paper-lined cookie sheets until set. Store in covered container.

Nutritional analysis per cookie, based on 5 dozen: 101 calories, 5 grams fat, 13 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram protein, 8 milligrams cholesterol, 31 milligrams sodium, trace dietary fiber, 46 percent of calories from fat.

Paula Skelton, Haltom City