Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread with a hint of fresh orange flavor and a drizzle of dark chocolate. These slice and bake orange shortbread cookies are a simple and sophisticated treat!
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it's easy to forget the other important season upon us: citrus season! That glorious time of year when blood oranges and Meyer lemons make an appearance at the grocery store and provide a little ray of sunshine during the cold winter months.
It's no secret that I love citrus recipes (like blood orange mimosas and this blood orange curd tart), so why not invite some citrus into the holiday baking season? Since I have nothing but cookies on my mind lately, that seemed like the perfect fit.
I love the rich and buttery taste of shortbread, but I never make it for the holidays because it's always overshadowed by seasonal cookie favorites. But adding fresh orange zest to shortbread gives it a subtle pop of flavor to elevate the cookies. And topped off with a drizzle of rich dark chocolate, these orange shortbread cookies will be a welcome addition to your holiday cookie plate!
Bonus: they're easy to make and require just 6 ingredients!
Orange Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes per tray
- Total Time: about 4 hours (includes 2 hours for dough to chill before baking and 1 hour for cookies to cool before drizzling with chocolate)
- Yield: 2 dozen cookies 1x
Description
Buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread with a hint of fresh orange flavor and a drizzle of dark chocolate. These slice and bake orange shortbread cookies are a simple and sophisticated treat!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. orange zest, loosely packed (from one large orange)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, and salt until combined. Add orange zest and mix on low speed to combine. Then beat in the flour until the dough comes together.
- Roll dough into a log 6 inches long and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Remove the dough log from the fridge and remove the plastic wrap. Lay the log of dough on a cutting board and, using a sharp knife, cut the dough into ¼ inch circles.
- Place the cookie dough on baking sheets lined with silicone baking mats or parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cookies have cooled completely, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. Use a spoon to drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.
Notes
To store cookies, let the chocolate harden before placing cookies in an airtight container between layers of parchment paper. Store cookies at room temperature for up to 5 days.
- Category: Dessert, Cookies
Keywords: shortbread cookies, orange shortbread, dark chocolate
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