Fluffy Pineapple Cookies with Orange Glaze

Today, it's about time I update you on the adoption front. You might have been wondering why i suddenly stopped mentioning it, completely leaving you hanging, but it's been a rough couple of months, to be honest. At the end of March, our case to become certified to adopt a little girl (10-12 years old) through the foster care system went to the certification board, and we were actually denied. It was a huge shock to us, especially because everyone we worked with along the way was very positive and encouraging about our chances. We know our family isn't perfect, but were frankly unprepared for a flat denial. Then we had to wait about a month for a letter to arrive, detailing the reasons we were denied. This letter turned out to be an even bigger shock, because most of the reasons detailed for our denial were false. Literally untrue!! There were even phrases quoted in the letter that we never said! Needless to say, we were furious. We set up a meeting with the supervisors to address these issues, and hopefully change their minds. 

That meeting was horribly uncomfortable. We felt like we were being gently stonewalled, that they had no intention of listening to us, and even more misconceptions about us were brought forward. I have no idea where these things came from, but if we were the family they somehow thought we were, I would have denied us too!! It was completely bizarre. We left feeling vindicated, that we had at the very least set the record straight, but were convinced there was no way they were going to change their decision. An hour later they called us and told us that they were "rescinding their denial". I have no idea how, but we DID change their minds!! It took a while to sink in, but we are now approved to adopt! It still feels a little unreal. We spent over two months feeling completely crushed and "denied", and it's still a bit hard to believe that we aren't anymore! SO, now we wait, and watch. Watch the profiles of kids available for adoption, ask about them, and wait. There aren't many kids in our age range at the moment, but we'll hang in there for a while and wait and see! 

Well, you're all caught up now! AND, here are those cookies I was supposed to blog the week that the garden took over our lives. :)

Fluffy Pineapple Cookies with Orange Glaze
Printable Recipe

1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

1 Tb lemon juice

freshly grated zest from 1 large (or 2 small) lemons
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup crushed pineapple, with juice
3-1/2 cups flour

2 cups powdered sugar
1 medium medium orange, zested and juiced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a medium bowl.

Combine sugar, egg, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, and zest. Whisk until smooth. Stir in half of the flour, mix until just combined, repeat with the pineapple and juice, and finishing with the other half of the flour. Scoop onto parchment paper lined baking sheet by tablespoonfuls (no bigger!). Bake 10-12 minutes, until just barely starting to brown on the bottom edges.  Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack before glazing.

Whisk together the orange zest, 2 cups of powdered sugar, and 2 Tb of orange juice. If the glaze is too thick, add another Tb of orange juice. When the cookies are completely cooled, dip the tops in the glaze and return to the wire rack to set. Store in an airtight container. (These cookies are best eaten the same day or next day, they start to get kind of soggy if you let them sit too long. You can also freeze unglazed cookies if you aren't going to eat them all right away!)

I'm more than a little obsessed with citrus zest. Lets be honest, it makes just about everything better! Sure, you could make this glaze with just orange juice, but it wouldn't be nearly as pretty. And you could skip the lemon zest in the cookie, but then you'd miss the extra tart edge it gives to the pineapple. That zester of mine just might be my favorite kitchen tool. Next to my favorite spatula. :)

Sweet and slightly tangy pineapple, bright citrus, and light, cakey cookies... They all say summer to me!

I like my biscotti crunchy, and my cookies chewy with barely crisp edges, generally speaking. But sometimes, once in a while, I like something different, and these fluffy, summery cookies fill the bill!