Orange Pecan Gems

These soft orange cookies are a great juxtapose to the crunchy pecans in the dough and the gem! This recipe was in my cookbook for a few weeks, and I wanted something easy (because its a cake-mix) but crazy awesome. I wanted to make something new for my mother's garden meeting!

Orange Pecan Gems
Active time: about 30 unfocused minutes
From start to finish: 2 hours
Makes about five dozen amazing cookies!

1 box of Orange cake mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
(if you only have one, use one cup of that)
1 egg
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup finely chopped pecans
Pecan halves for decorations

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray Pam to treat cookie sheets. (I used four sheets in total, rotating between Ikea sheets with Pam and old pans with SPLAT mats.)

Add cake mix, yogurt, eggs, margarine, and chopped pecans to bowl of electric mixer, and mix together for about two minutes, then scrap sides of the bowl. Drop about one and a half teaspoonfuls two inches apart on the prep cookie sheets. Press the pecan halves down into the cookie dough.

Bake at 350 for 11 to 13 minutes or until bottom sides brown or golden. I cooled on sheets, but a cookie tray would be better. Store in an airtight container.
These cookies are amazing with a cup of Black Mango Tea with honey and milk.