You asked for it: a recipe for chocolate Mandarin cookies, plus more Mandarin fun with chicken, bread

Bursting with Mandarins! With 10 days to go until the big weekend, Mandarin orchards are bursting out with sweet Placer County fruit. This week, our Mandarin Festival recipes continue. The first recipe is from Newcastle Produce and is wonderful and easy. Recipe number two comes from our recipe contest in 2003 and was submitted by Maxine Turner. The last recipe I made for the radio show I was on last week and have had so many people ask me for: chocolate Mandarin cookies. How do you use Mandarins in your cooking? Send me a post on Facebook, Grazing with Gary. This week, our National Food Days include: Sundae (Nov. 11), French Dip (Nov. 12), Indian Pudding (Nov. 13), Pickle (Nov. 14), Bundt, Raisin Bran Cereal and Spicy Hermit Cookie (Nov. 15) Fast Food (Nov. 16), Baklava and Homemade Bread (Nov. 17). Happy Cooking! Sherry Chicken Sauce: 1 cup Mandarin orange Juice ¼ cup dry sherry wine 1 tablespoon brown sugar ½ cup water 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 1 tablespoon flour 2 teaspoons Mandarin orange peel, chopped 2 teaspoons parsley ¼ teaspoon paprika Chicken: 6 chicken breast, boneless and skinless ½ teaspoon salt 1 med. onion, sliced ¼ cup bell pepper, chopped 1 cup mushrooms, sliced 1 Mandarin orange, peeled and segmented For sauce: In small saucepan, combine all ingredients except parsley and paprika. Cook over medium heat until sauce bubbles. Add parsley and paprika and remove from heat. For chicken: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken in a baking dish, sprinkle with salt. Arrange remaining ingredients except Mandarin oranges, over chicken. Pour prepared sauce over chicken and bake for 45 minutes or until done, basting often. Garnish with Mandarin orange segments. Mandarin Bread 3 eggs 1 cup Mandarin olive oil 1 ½ cup Mandarin pulp 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon nutmeg ¼ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda Dash salt 1 cup nuts, chopped 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 cup raisins Directions: Beat together eggs, oil and sugar. Add Mandarin pulp and mix. Add flour, nutmeg, baking and baking soda and salt. Mix well and then add nuts, vanilla and raisins. Bake for 1 hour in a 350-degree oven. Remove from oven and invert until bread falls out of pan. Makes 2 small pans. Chocolate Mandarin Cookies Ingredients 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1&frasl;2 cup unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1&frasl;2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 2 tablespoons Mandarin olive oil 2 large eggs, beaten lightly 3 tablespoons Mandarin zest or finely dice Mandarin peel 1 teaspoon vanilla 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, plus additional for dusting hands Directions: In a bowl (preferably metal), stir together flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking powder, salt and blend in butter and oil. Stir in egg, zest and vanilla until mixture is blended. NOTE: Some people add ¼ cup mini chocolate chips to make richer; I did not. Spread dough in a thin layer in bowl and freeze 10 minutes, or until firm. Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease 2 baking sheets. Put 4 tablespoons confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and dust hands with additional. Roll each piece of dough into a ball (small – gumball size) and then in confectioners' sugar in bowl. Arrange balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets, bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies are just set. Cool cookies on racks.