Chocolate Dipped Orange Zested Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies

Believe it or not, considering my passion and love for baking, I’m not the one in the house with the sweet tooth, my husband is! And, while he’s not picky when it comes to sweets, his favorites include chocolate, with traditional chocolate chip cookies being #1 on the list! However, this past holiday I tested a twist to my Shortbread Cookies (one of my favorites) by adding orange zest, mini chips and dipping them in semi-sweet chocolate, and this has become a new favorite for both of us!

Traditionally, Shortbreads are not too sweet, rather the magic is the rich dense but soft texture full of buttery goodness! I like to think of them as a more sophisticated cookie to be savored with a cup of afternoon tea or coffee.

Shortbread cookie dough is easy to make and is quite versatile for add-ins, like Orange Zest, Chocolate Chips, vanilla-soaked dried cranberries or cherries, and much more. It’s also a very user-friendly make-ahead dough that can be stored in the fridge for a few days or can be tightly wrapped and kept in the freezer for a couple months to use later.  The full recipe makes around 3 dozen 2 1/2″ x 1/4″ thick cookies.

BASIC DOUGH INGREDIENTS

1 C White Sugar

1 C (2 sticks) Salted Butter (softened at room temp)

1 large egg

2 Tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 C All-purpose Flour

ADD-INS

Zest of 1 orange

1 Tsp Orange Juice

6 oz (half 12 oz bag) Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips  (save the other half for dipping)

Love – as much as you have on-hand!

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until well blended. Add the egg and mix until light and fluffy then stir in vanilla, orange zest and orange juice. With the mixer on low, add flour one tablespoonful at a time, until completely incorporated. Slowly pour the mini chips into the dough while mixing on low-medium, only until the chips are blended throughout the dough.

At this point, the dough should be thick and soft and quite aromatic with the flecks of orange zest. Remove dough from bowl and form into 2 logs. Wrap each log in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

Roll out the firm dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4″ thickness, and use a biscuit cutter or cookie cutter of your desired shape.

Place 12 cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees F for 7-9 minutes. TIP: I bake them for 7 minutes, then turn the sheet around for the last 2 minutes of baking. Remove from oven and cool for a couple of minutes before moving the cookies to a wire rack to be cooled completely.

While the cookies are perfectly firm (but not crispy), flaky and full of buttery deliciousness at this point, you might as well go all the way and add the chocolate dip! In a microwaveable bowl, pour in the rest of the chocolate chips and microwave in 30 second intervals stirring in-between each interval until completely melted and smooth. Half-Dip each cooled cookie and place on waxed paper until chocolate sets which takes around an hour, but if you have a husband like mine, it would be best to place a small fan in front of the cookies to speed up the process!  Enjoy!!!