Thursday, December 23, 2010

Happy Holidays from Orenji

Happy Holidays from orenji!


We are busy finishing up our holiday orders, and after that, we will be headed out of town for a much-needed holiday vacation! Our orenji offices will be closed, but will re-open in time for your New Year’s Eve events!


All the desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available here)are available for New Year’s, as well as any special orders or requests you may have. Don’t hesitate to contact us!


Orenji Holiday Cookies (in limited supply) also make a perfect offering for your New Year’s buffet, or post-dinner waiting to ring in 2011. Contact us for more details and a New Year’s Cookie Discount!


While we won’t be posting for a few days, our friends and clients are never far from our minds! From all of us here at orenji, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a safe and joyous New Year!




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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Holiday Treat: Vanilla, Ginger, and Pear Bread

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


We continue to make our “old favorites,” as well! One of these tried and true recipes is our vanilla, ginger, and pear bread! Soft, sweet, and full of flavor—this bread is great on it’s own, as toast (or French toast!), or accompanying your holiday meal!

We start with butter and brown sugar, to which we add the delicious scent of fresh Tahitian vanilla. Fresh and crystallized ginger gets whipped into the batter, spreading holiday scent and spice throughout. Slices pears are gently incorporated, and the bread is baked until a fluffy, golden brown!

Based in two shapes—small fluted rounds and traditional mini-loaves—these breads are certain to please the most discerning of breakfast lovers!

Packaged in festive wrappers, we recommend this scrumptious treat as the perfect gift during the holiday season!



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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Miniature Holiday Desserts (part 3)

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here). Of course, we have also been busy providing sweets for holiday events!


We continue our look back at the miniature dessert party we assisted with this year with a look at cakes and tarts.

We start with one of our “signature” desserts— Our French Chocolate Macadamia Nut Praline Tart. We have been making this tart (in both full size and miniature) for over 20 years. It remains one of our most requested and most popular items! Our signature orenji tart crust is filled with a creamy, buttery macadamia nut praline. This silky caramel is topped with a dense bittersweet chocolate mousse, and topped with a lightly sweetened whipped cream. In this case, a sprinkling of freshly toasted coconut added both textural and visual contrast. These flew off the dessert buffet, with guests asking for more!

We also created two “new” cakes this year, for the holiday dessert party. One was our Caramelized Pear Cake with Salted Caramel Icing—a recipe we developed for Thanksgiving 2010. These little brown sugar cakes were full of dense, sweet fruit, and topped with smooth, sweet, and somewhat salty caramel icing. Sprinkled with our ground Espresso and Cashew Brittle for a bitter contrast, our little cakes garnered rave reviews!

The last of the seven desserts created for this party was a dense chocolate gingerbread, made all the deeper in flavor with the addition of freshly brewed espresso, olive oil, and bitter chocolate and cocoa. Perfectly spiced with fresh and crystallized ginger, this deep cake was lifted with a smooth and creamy cream cheese frosting—scented with the fresh flavors of orange and vanilla!


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Monday, December 20, 2010

Miniature Holiday Desserts (part 2)

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here). Of course, we have also been busy providing sweets for holiday events!


We continue our look back at the miniature dessert party we assisted with this year. Yesterday, we looked at two delicious cookies. Today, we turn our attention to cheesecakes!

We start with one of our “signature” desserts—Japanese Matcha Green Tea Cheesecake with White Chocolate and Cardamom. Lightly sweet and herbal, the creamy green tea cheesecake layer gets a boost from dense white chocolate and spicy cardamom! Sitting atop a chocolate cookie crust, both texture and the warm sweetness of chocolate finish this perfect bite-sized treat. Decorated with white and bittersweet chocolate lattice, these gems are eye-catching and delicious!

Our second of two cheesecakes is a creamy maple cheesecake, studded with dried cranberries and topped with crunchy caramelized walnuts! We think of this cheesecake as a tribute to New York—where we grew up. The maple syrup reminds us of cold upstate winter mornings, and the crunchy nuts are evocative of the caramelized nut carts that dot Manhattan during the holidays! This cheesecake was a crowd pleaser… and we’re sure it will be back on the menu next year.



Both cheesecakes are available in full-size (three pound) dessert options for your holiday meal!

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at two cakes and a tart!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!
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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Miniature Holiday Desserts

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).  Of course, we have been busy providing sweets for events as well!


This year, we were pleased to contribute to the holiday party for a local agency, and created seven individual desserts to celebrate this festive season! In today’s post, we will discuss two of these individual desserts—two cookies; tomorrow, two cheesecakes; and on Tuesday, we will finish up with the remaining three- two cakes and one tart!

Nothing says the holidays like our bite-sized cookies, but for this event, we made them a bit larger! We featured two of our favorites:

Belgian Bittersweet Chocolate and Hazelnut Truffle Fudge Swirls




 
Vanilla Shortbread Fingers filled with tropical fruit fillings and frosted with a sweet vanilla frosting.





The shortbreads were filled with pineapple, pomegranate, apricot, raspberry, mango, guava, and passion fruit (lilikoi) fillings! Both varieties of cookies were decorated with festive holiday sprinkles, setting a fun and whimsical mood!

Tomorrow, we’ll take a look at cheesecakes!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Saturday, December 18, 2010

Holiday Dessert: Lemon, Blueberry & Almond Streusel Tart

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


One of our favorite winter holiday desserts is a decadent lemon and almond tart with sweet wild blueberry filling. Some of our friends may be familiar with our lemon blueberry cookies, featured in the orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies collection. This delicious tart is a “full-sized” version of our little cookies—for those large and festive holiday occasions!

The tart begins with a flaky butter dough, infused with the sweet scent of Meyer lemons. Into this tart dough goes a thick filling made with wild blueberries, vanilla, lemon, and some subtle holiday spices. The filling is topped with an almond-studded streusel topping, which when baked, becomes crispy and golden brown.

Altogether, this dessert isn’t too rich or too heavy, but is incredibly satisfying—the perfect ending to a rich holiday meal. The lightness of the lemon dances on the palate, and leaves you (and your guests!) wanting more!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Friday, December 17, 2010

Holiday Treats: Festive Krispy Cereal Treats with Belgian Chocolates

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here). Of course, we also continue to make some old favorites—the treats featured in this post are old favorites from childhood!


One of our favorite traditions growing up was making krispy cereal treats with our grandmother. Of course, in the orenji kitchens, we do things a little bit differently than we did back then, but the same spirit guides our work—the creation of fun, whimsical, delicious treats!

For the winter holidays, we make our krispy cereal treats—infused with vanilla and full of gooey marshmallow—into festive shapes like Christmas trees and snowflakes. Decorated with festive holiday decorations, and layered with smooth and creamy Belgian chocolates, these treats are the perfect stocking stuffers or holiday snacks—they’re even perfect for Santa!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Thursday, December 16, 2010

New Holiday Treats: Espresso & Cashew Brittle

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


One of our new favorites is a cashew brittle, infused with the deep, rich taste of Italian espresso. With roasted, salted cashews, and sweet caramelized sugars, the dark flavors of the ground coffee give this brittle a perfect balance. It is the ideal compliment to sweets, offering a bitter contrast, which is why we pair it with our caramelized pear cakes with salted caramel icing!

Pick up your Espresso and Cashew Brittle today, just in time for the holidays!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Holiday Treats: Handmade Marshmallows

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


For the past few years we have been creating handmade marshmallows here in the orenji kitchens. This year, we have created a number of festive flavors—each one the perfect sticky consistency that you love in a marshmallow!

Our favorite of our marshmallow flavors is a classic vanilla marshmallow—made with Madagascar vanilla beans—to which we infuse the gentle, floral taste of Hawaiian lavender. Sweet and refreshing, these marshmallows are hard to stop eating!

For the holidays, we created a pink peppermint marshmallow—reminiscent of a candy cane, these marshmallows are a lovely pink in color and surprisingly flavorful!

Marshmallows are also available in orange-scented, raspberry-scented, or cinnamon! Add some bittersweet chocolate to them, and they are the perfect holiday treat!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

New Holiday Dessert: Caramel Bourbon Pecan Tart with Bittersweet Chocolate

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


One of these new additions is another delicious dessert perfect for your holiday meal: A Caramel Bourbon Pecan Tart with Bittersweet Chocolate. Rich and gooey, this sweet finish is redolent with the scent of Bourbon, and accented with the bitterness of Belgian chocolate.

We start with our signature orenji tart crust—buttery, flaky, with just a hint of chili and cinnamon. We fill the crust with a brown sugar and bourbon based caramel, rich and dense, scented with Tahitian vanilla. Into that filling we fold toasted pecan halves, until they are overflowing the tart shell!

Once baked, a drizzle of the finest Belgian chocolate awaits this luscious tart. We bet you’ll want a second slice!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Monday, December 13, 2010

New Holiday Dessert: Caramelized Pear Cake with Salted Caramel Icing

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


One of these new additions is a delicious dessert perfect for your holiday meal. We start with ripe and juicy Anjou pears, which we slow caramelize with Tahitian vanilla and brown sugar until they are rich and gooey. These caramelized gems get folded into a dense brown sugar cake. Fragrant and moist, this cake is incredible!

But we’re not done. We cut the cake into six layers, generously spreading smooth and creamy salted caramel icing between each layer. This is our favorite icing of the year—sweet, yet with that slight taste of caramelized sugar—with the subtle finish of sea salt! It is the perfect foil for the dense cake!

Atop this delicious dessert, shards of espresso cashew praline perch. Rich and dark in flavor, it cuts the sweetness of the cake, provides a textural contrast, and looks both impressive and festive. This is our favorite dessert of 2010! And, it is also available in individual bite-sized versions!



Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Sunday, December 12, 2010

New Holiday Treats for 2010: Malted Milk Candy Brittle

Looking forward to the 2010 Winter Holidays, we created some new and exciting items for our Winter Holiday Pricing Guide (available by clicking here).


One of these new additions to the orenji treat family combines some of our favorite flavors—malted milk and chocolate. Growing up, one of our favorite candies was malted milk balls, so we built a confection around them: Malted Milk Candy Brittle!

We start with a butter and cream toffee brittle infused with the yeasty taste of malted milk. Once cool and crispy, we add a rich coat of smooth Belgian milk chocolate. Crushed malted milk candy pieces add both visual appeal and that wonderful taste of childhood! Perfect for gift-giving, or for nibbling on a cold, winter night!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, confections, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Saturday, December 11, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookie #6

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the sixth of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. As we get many compliments on our chocolate-enrobed dried fruit, this year we looked to build a cookie with more fruit involved!

Our Holiday Mazurkas are based upon a traditional Polish recipe. A buttery shortbread base is topped with an orange-glazed assortment of dried fruits and nuts: apricots, dates, tangy citron, cherries, golden raisins, and toasted pistachios! Light and refreshing, these dried fruit and nut bars are both pretty and delicious!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

Not on the orenji mailing list? Press the button on the left-hand sidebar, enter your information, and you will receive our future (safe and secure) marketing emails, pricing guides, and updates.


We'll continue our preparation for the Winter Holidays with some previews of new treats created for this year's celebration!  Be sure to check back!

Friday, December 10, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookies #5

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the fifth of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. This year we looked to incorporate one of the owner’s brother’s favorite ingredients: Nutella!

Our Chocolate and Hazelnut Pinwheels began with a light chocolate dough, infused with the essence of natural roasted hazelnut. Rolled flat and spread with creamy Nutella chocolate and hazelnut spread, these cookies are rolled into pinwheels. Once baked, the edges are dipped in Belgian bittersweet chocolate and topped with crunchy toasted hazelnuts. We know that you will love these cookies as much as we do! They may be a new orenji tradition!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

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Thursday, December 09, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookie #4

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the fourth of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. This year we looked to incorporate some new, locally produced ingredients: wildflower and orange blossom honey!

Our Wildflower Honey and Almond Shortbread begins with a traditional shortbread recipe, substituting locally produced wildflower and orange blossom honey for the sugar. For textural contrast and a depth of flavor we added salted Marcona almonds, which give these sweet cookies a slightly salty finish. Rolled in orange sugar, and garnished with whole almonds, these cookies are a pretty, yet simple, reminder of the importance of supporting our local farmers!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

Not on the orenji mailing list? Press the button on the left-hand sidebar, enter your information, and you will receive our future (safe and secure) marketing emails, pricing guides, and updates.

Wednesday, December 08, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookie #3

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the third of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. This year we looked to incorporate some new, exciting, tropical flavors!

Our Lemongrass Snowballs combine three tastes we love: fresh lemongrass, sweet coconut, and white chocolate. The butter cookie dough is infused with bitter, herbal lemongrass, creating a perfect foil for the sweetened, shredded fresh coconut. Together, these ingredients are treated to a topping of smooth Belgian white chocolate and shredded white coconut. The response to these cookies has been extremely positive, with our “samplers” remarking that they are unlike anything else in our assortment. Not as sweet, even a bit on the “savory” side, these are a welcome addition to any holiday feast!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

Not on the orenji mailing list? Press the button on the left-hand sidebar, enter your information, and you will receive our future (safe and secure) marketing emails, pricing guides, and updates.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookie #2

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the second of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. This year we looked to incorporate some new, but favorite flavors: malted milk and milk chocolate!
Our Malted Milk Shortbread starts with a buttery shortbread dough infused with malted milk powder. Crispy and flavorful, we dip these delicious shortbread triangles in smooth Belgian milk chocolate, and then decorate them with crushed malted milk candy and festive holiday sprinkles! The candy and sprinkles provide a delightful textural contrast to the creamy milk chocolate. All together, this is a taste of childhood, and we are sure that you will love them!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

Not on the orenji mailing list? Press the button on the left-hand sidebar, enter your information, and you will receive our future (safe and secure) marketing emails, pricing guides, and updates.

Monday, December 06, 2010

25 Years of Holiday Cookies: "Sneak Peak" at Featured Cookie #1

We continue our celebration of the 25th Anniversary of orenji Assorted Holiday Cookies with a “sneak peak” at the first of our “featured cookies” for 2010!


Each year, we preview five or six new varieties of cookies, looking for flavors and ingredients that we haven’t previously used. Last year, we created a cookie infused with black tea, and coated with delicious Indian chai spices. It was so popular we brought it back this year for a repeat performance!

Our Chai Tea Crescents begin with a buttery dough, redolent with ground black tea and vanilla. Warm out of the oven, these delicious tea-scented cookies are coated with a blend of delicious chai tea spices: cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, and cloves, just to name a few! With a sprinkling of superfine granulated sugar for added crunch, these cookies are both delicious and beautiful, glittery and sparkling!

Like what you see? It’s not too late to order for local delivery! Find our Assorted Holiday Cookies in 41 varieties, as well as a host of delicious holiday treats, breakfast pastries, and whole desserts on our 2010 Winter Holiday Pricing Guide, available now by clicking here!

Not on the orenji mailing list? Press the button on the left-hand sidebar, enter your information, and you will receive our future (safe and secure) marketing emails, pricing guides, and updates.