These chocolate orange shortbread cookies are a delicious, festive twist on traditional shortbread. These cookies have fantastic flavors that everyone will love - you'll be making them on repeat.
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A number of years ago now I spent the Holiday period with my now husband's family in Pennsylvania. It's a time of year I, like most people, associate with spending time with family.
I think until then I had been away from my own family for many New Year celebrations, but not Christmas. Plus I hadn't even met some of my now husband's family so it was a bit of a big deal. As it turned out, it was also significant because we got engaged during that trip.
In between all the excitement over that, though, I also remember how much everyone loved the shortbread I had taken to share. I'm not sure exactly how quickly it disappeared, but it was definitely finished before I left. And it wasn't a long trip.
Since then I've had a number of requests to make shortbread again. I sometimes make it plain or other times with slight twists, like this delicious chocolate orange version.
These days, we often spend the Holiday period away from extended family since traveling at that time, especially with kids, can be such a pain. Plus there's something nice about it being a little quieter with all the excitement while they are still young.
That doesn't mean I don't think of family and friends that I am not able to see even more than usual. While it's nice to send gifts, it feels all the more special to give something you have made, and these chocolate orange shortbread cookies are perfect for that.
Especially for something that's a gift, I think it's important to start with great ingredients and Bob's Red Mill Organic All Purpose Flour is the perfect base. The fact their flour is chosen by professional chefs says it all. Plus maybe partly because they are an employee-owned company, they believe in the power of small acts of kindness.
Gifts like these cookies will give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside not just because they're so tasty.
Steps to make chocolate orange shortbread
In a similar way to my Meyer lemon cookies, these orange shortbread cookies get their delicate flavor from orange zest mixed into the dough. I'll be honest, it's very faint so if you want a stronger orange flavor, I would add a little orange oil as well.
- Cream the butter and sugar then add the flour, corn starch and orange zest. Make sure the orange zest is well distributed.
- Form the dough into a log - roll it to be an even shape - and chill. Get the shape you want now.
- Slice the dough, lay the pieces on a lined baking sheet then bake. Only bake until they are just golden, these should not go brown.
- Let them cool then dip the cooled cookies in dark chocolate and leave to set.
The chocolate gives a lovely complementary flavor and helps hold them together better if you are going to be sending them. What a great bonus, right?! Plus in my house at least, chocolate is always a winner with the kids.
Theses chocolate orange shortbread cookies are a delicious combination that everyone will love. They melt in your mouth and have such a delicious, delicate orange flavor that goes so well with the chocolate. Just make sure you make enough to enjoy some yourself.
Try these other shortbread variations:
- Cranberry jam filled shortbread cookies
- Raspberry shortbread love hearts
- Millionaire's shortbread
- Plus get many more snack recipes, sweet and savory, as well as Holiday recipes in the archives.
Tools to make these cookies
I'd recommend using a Silicone Baking Mat on top of a Half Baking Sheet to make these.
See more of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store.
Chocolate orange shortbread cookies
Ingredients
- 4 oz unsalted butter (4 oz is 1 stick)
- 2 oz sugar (2oz is aprox ¼ cup) I used brown sugar but regular, fine sugar is also good
- 4 oz all purpose flour (4oz is approx ¾ cup) plain flour
- 2 oz corn starch (2 oz is approx ½ cup) corn flour
- ½ tablespoon orange zest finely grated zest from 1 orange - can use a little more
- 4 oz semi sweet chocolate you probably will not need all but to allow some depth to dip in
Instructions
- Cream the butter and sugar with a stand mixer, or use a handheld mixer/mash by hand. Don't worry if it is still a little grainy but it should be well mixed and have a slight sheen.
- Add flour, corn starch/cornflour and orange zest and mix together so the zest is well distributed and dough comes together, but be careful not to overmix.
- Press the dough into a log, approx 1 ½in/5cm diameter, wrap in cling wrap/film and refrigerate for around an hour, or up to 3 days.
- Shortly before ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F/180C.
- After chilling, carefully slice the log of dough into relatively thin slices (approx ¼in/6mm) and place on a lined baking sheet with a little space between them.
- Bake for around 10-12min until the cookies look dry and are just about starting to brown. Allow to cool a minute before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Once cookies are completely cool, melt the chocolate in a small bowl (either over boiling water or in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between). Dip the cookies into the chocolate one at a time, approximately a third to half the way in. Let excess chocolate drip off then lay on a cookie sheet or parchment to set. Repeat until all are coated, re-melting the chocolate as needed.
Video
Nutrition
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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.
Laura ann durnin
The corn starch ruined the recipe. I had to throw the batch out.
Caroline's Cooking
Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy, though that's not a response I have had in the many times we've made and shared these. Maybe it wasn't mixed in quite right? There are two main ways to make shortbread, one with corn starch for the slightly softer texture, and the other with just flour. You can always switch out the corn starch for additional flour if you are particularly sensitive to the starch taste (though I haven't really found you get the flavor).
Anne Cox
can you add dried cranberries to this and if so how much
Caroline's Cooking
You could, though I would recommend finely chopping them first as larger pieces are more likely to cause the cookies to crack. For this quantity, maybe around 2 tbsp?
Karen
These are SO wonderful! I love the taste and the texture . One of my family’s favorite now. Making them again for Christmas. Thanks so much
Caroline's Cooking
So glad to hear you have been enjoying them! They are one we make regularly, too.
Rebecca
I made these yesterday as me and my family love shortbread. They tasted amazing. I love biscuits dipped in chocolate. So easy to make and fun. The orange is just the right amount. You can’t beat chocolate and orange as a combination. Will definitely be making them again.
Caroline's Cooking
Great, so glad to hear you enjoyed and found them easy!
siran Babayan
Can you pipe the dough in a piping bag instead of slicing them?
Caroline's Cooking
The dough isn't really suitable for piping, I don't think, as I wouldn't expect it to be soft enough. If you wanted to try, do so before chilling the dough then you'd need to chill them well before baking.
John
These were a failure
My fault for not using a digital scale to weigh the ingredients by grams.
The recipe is confusing with cup= oz estimates varying between ingredients.
If you don’t weigh by grams you will be wasting your ingredients.
Caroline's Cooking
Sorry to hear they didn't work out but yes, weights are always more accurate, and especially a good idea with baking where it matters more (hence why I have put weights first here). If you want to let me know what happened I can maybe help troubleshoot. It may also be that they didn't chill long enough or the dough was mixed too much, as can be an issue sometimes.
On the cup-oz varying, as I mention in a reply to someone else, the "oz" is weight and different ingredients have different weights compared to their volume - sugar is more dense than cornstarch, for example, that's why the same weight has a smaller volume. (Ounces are generally weight unless you are talking about a liquid but the grams also clarify) But measuring the volume of some ingredients is tricky and can vary a lot, so weighing is definitely the way to go.
Adam Jensen
I was hesitant to try this since there were few reviews, but I'm glad I did! I have a digital scale which is a must have kitchen item, and I really like the precision. I have been having trouble with this new organic flour, but using the scale led to perfect results. Thanks for sharing this. Cookies are in the freezer and ready for Christmas!
Caroline's Cooking
So glad you enjoyed, and agree digital scale definitely helps in baking!
Kasia
This was my first time making shortbread and they came out very well. They were just the right texture and very tasty. I made a huge batch for a cookie exchange. One thing I was disappointed by was the lack of orange flavor. I am not sure people will even know there is supposed to be an orange flavor. I used a lot of zest (at least the amount in the recipe if not a bit more). I think the zest added a nice dimension to the flavor of the cookies but not enough to actually say "orange!" My other issue was that I was not able to roll out a round log so the cookies were not super nice looking--but I think I might add a teensy bit more butter next time so that the dough is a bit less crumbly and can be molded a bit easier. I will probably use this recipe again for shortbread though. Thank you!
Caroline's Cooking
I'm glad you enjoyed! Yes I appreciate the orange is very delicate, unfortunately orange zest just isn't that strong a flavor really. If you'd want it more distinctly orange flavored I'd suggest adding a little orange flavoring, but be aware this will make the dough a little softer (though that could be good on your other point). Depending how you measured the flour, it may be that the butter to flours ratio wasn't quite there (I always weigh for that reason with baking). The other thing is sometimes the dough needs to soften slightly to be a little easier to shape and cut, so maybe leave it out a minute before cutting.
Patty
I'm confused about your amounts of sugar and cornstarch. They both say 2 oz, but you translate that to approx. 1/4 cup sugar but 1/2 cup cornstarch. That seems off. Please clarify! Also, the dough seems rather dry and fragile before chilling, I hope it firms up enough to cut before baking.
Caroline's Cooking
Weight will always be more accurate, so that is always recommended. With volume, it can vary how much air is mixed in with eg flour and cornstarch. However most (myself included) recommend you spoon or pour into a measure rather than have it packed to be relatively consistent with the intended measure. Sugar is just a lot heavier and denser than cornstarch but I checked before adding the volumes that these are as close equivalent as they can - the cornstarch if anything should be slightly scant but still almost 1/2 cup. It is quite a delicate dough and you may need to press it together more than other cookie doughs before forming into a log. Sometimes such as if it's cold it can crack as you slice in which case I suggest can join over cracks with a knife. They do work out when baked, or at least should!
Kathy
Can you please convert the ounces to cups and teaspoons?
Caroline's Cooking
Hi Kathy, I have added in approx cup measurements for the flour, corn starch and sugar. Butter I'm assuming is clear enough as a stick, and the chocolate is different depending if it is melted or not, plus it's approximate anyway - you just want enough to dip in and will have some left. With baking, it's always best to weigh if you can as it is more accurate, but I understand many people are used to using cup measurements. I hope you make them and enjoy!
Ginny
I can just imagine the nice shortbread flavor for these cookies. They look beautiful and the orange flavor addition is really smart.
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Ginny, the orange is subtle but works so well.
Sarah Newman
What a unique and delightful cookie for the holidays! I love Bob's - my go to for baking 🙂
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Sarah, I agree Bob's Red Mill has such fantastic products.
Heather LeGuilloux
This recipes me of one of those chocolate oranges that you have to smash before you unwrap. Yum!
Caroline's Cooking
I can understand why, it has a bit of that going on flavor-wise, but with the delicious shortbread mixed in!
Sarah
I LOVE the chocolate/orange combo! What a perfect holiday treat!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Sarah, they really are (although I'd make an excuse anytime)
Mary // chattavore
I love the flavors of chocolate and orange together, and in a buttery shortbread cookie at that? Yes please!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks Mary, I agree it's almost too good to be true!
Meg | Meg is Well
There's something about shortbread cookies that I find so addicting. It's no wonder these disappeared in such a short time. I love the orange zest and chocolate addition, they make them a little more decadent!
Caroline's Cooking
Thanks, Meg. I know exactly what you mean, I am the same, and the additions here only make them more addictive!