Chocolate Orange Shortbreads | Chocolate Shortbreads Recipe | Easy Christmas Cookie Recipe

Today's recipe is an easy and yummy chocolaty cookies with Orange punch. Orange & Chocolate is one of my favorite combo and love to bake anything in this combo. This Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies is one of my bookmarked recipes for this Christmas Baking. When Poornima of Poornima's Cookbook given me, Citrus Fruit and Chocolate as secret Ingredients for this Month's Shh Secretly Cooking Event by Priya, instantly this recipe came to my mind and tried it. As she gave me any citrus fruit option, I used Orange and cocoa powder for chocolate. The original recipe was Dark Chocolate Orange Shortbread but we don't like bitter or 90% cocoa, so reduced the cocoa powder to half and it was perfectly chocolate cookie.

Shortbread are kind of biscuits with mild sugar and rich buttery cookies. No eggs needed and just 3 basic ingredients is needed for a plain Shortbread cookies. Addition of cocoa and orange juice & Zest took this simple shortbread to an exotic bake and loved the aroma while baking. These Chocolate Orange Shortbread makes a perfect Edible gifts to Share with your friends and families this Christmas. You can cut it to your desired shapes, you can even use cutters/holiday themed cookie cutters.

Chocolate Orange Shortbread Recipe

Recipe Source : White Lights On Wednesday

Prep Time : 40 minutes | Cook Time :  18 minutes

Makes 32 cookies

Ingredients

1. All purpose flour   2 cups 
2. Unsweetened cocoa powder   4 tbsp
3. Salt   1/2 tsp
4. Sugar  1/2 cup
5. Zest of 1 orange
6. Unsalted butter, softened   2 sticks(1 cup)
7. vanilla   1 teaspoon 
8. Orange Juice  2 tsp
9. Decorative sanding sugar, optional

**I Halved the above recipe.

Method

• In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, and salt. 
• In a small bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. 
• The best way is to use your fingers to rub the sugar and zest together and release the zest essential oils, you’re basically making orange sugar. Once the sugar and zest are combined, set aside. 

• In a large bowl, beat together butter and orange sugar until pale and fluffy. 
• Add vanilla and orange extract/juice; mix to combine. Add flour mixture in two additions, mixing until just combined after each addition.

• Form dough into a rectangle and place between two sheets of waxed or butter paper. Using a rolling pin, flatten dough to 1/4 inch thick. 
• Place dough in refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Cut out cookie dough using a 2 inch cookie cutter or cut into equal squares or rectangle like I did(mine was not even squares/rectangles, shape it perfectly before refrigeration for equal cutting or use cutters).

• Place on prepared baking sheets. Sprinkle with decorative sugar if desired.
• Bake for 18 minutes until edges begin to crisp. 

• Removed from oven, and allow to cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet. Move cookies to wire rack to cool completely.