The popular Paso Robles Main Street Business Mixer for February will be held at Sunshine Olive Oil Tasting Room and Boutique, located at 1244 Pine Street, #106A, in Paso Robles, this Thursday, February 27, at 5:30 p.m.  You are invited to share your business with your fellow businesses downtown Paso Robles. Attend and hear City, Fire, Police and Downtown Merchant updates. Enter your Member Business Card for a free ad in the Paso Robles Press.

Remember to join the Atascadero Community Band on March 2, for a thrilling afternoon of music, featuring “Dynamic Duos”, a free concert celebrating some of the most iconic pairs in music and pop culture, like Batman and Robin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Beauty and the Beast, and the legendary folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel!

The concert starts at 3 p.m., at the Atascadero Bible Church, 6225 Atascadero Avenue. For more information visit AtascaderoBand.org. Concert donation from the concert will benefit ALF (Atascadero Loaves and Fishes) Food Pantry.

Our Assistance League of San Luis Obispo County is sharing the news that we will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of our Thrift Store in April, the week of the 15th through the 19th. It will be a week full of special sales and activities. Along with financial donations from our generous supporters, the Thrift Store is our largest revenue source for our Operation School Bell and ACE Scholarship programs. Stay tuned for more information about these “Diamond Anniversary” activities in April. For more information about our Assistance League organization and our programs that serve the communities in our county, visit alslocounty.org

I think the weather is warming up little by little and I see buds on trees that have looked dead all winter and bulbs that are pushing their way up through the ground to offer a bouquet of colorful blooms. I know that the first day of Spring is March 21, and that won’t be long the way the days seem to fly by. Watch for the changes with your children, so they can learn about the wonders of nature. It is truly remarkable.

The recipe for this week is for an orange flavored cookie I think you will like.

Orange Pecan Delights

Ingredients for Dough:

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1cup chopped pecans

Ingredients for Frosting:

2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons grated orange zest

1/8 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Pecan halves for garnish

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. For cookies, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into large mixing bowl. Cream together butter and sugars in bowl of electric mixer. Add eggs, one at time, sour cream, orange zest and chopped nuts; mix together. Stir into flour mixture until smooth. Drop dough by teaspoons onto greased cookie sheets; bake 10 to 14 minutes, or until golden. For frosting, stir together confectioners’ sugar, orange zest, salt and orange juice to taste. Spread frosting on warm, not hot, cookies. Top each cookie with a pecan half while icing is still soft.

Want to jazz up your chocolate chip cookies? Try using white chips instead, and dried cherries or cranberries. I’ve been jazzing up pumpkin bread with chopped pecans, dried cranberries or raisins, and dried apricots. I just chop up the apricots and the pecans, throw in raisins or cranberries. Add that to the batter, and bake according to the recipe directions. Enjoy the weather. Cheers! 

Barbie Butz is an independent columnist for The Atascadero News and Paso Robles Press; you can email her at bbutz1@outlook.com