Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Cookies

Nothing is better than chocolate. Or cookies. Sadly, I am one of those perverse people who does not like chocolate cookies, under any circumstances. But cookies dipped in dark, dark chocolate? Heaven.




Recipe:

1/2 cup sugar
2 sticks of butter, cubed
2 teaspoons dried Valencia orange zest*
pinch salt
2 cups flour

6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. In the bowl of a food processor, blitz sugar for a few moments to make the texture a bit finer. Add butter, and zip it on and off in quick bursts until the butter and sugar are creamed together.

2. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt, the orange zest and the flour. Zip again just until the dough begins to form a crumbly ball. Turn it out onto some waxed paper, wrap and chill in the fridge for 15-30 minutes. It should be firm but pliable.

3. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface (or roule pat mat) until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Cut out shapes with cookie cutters or simply make triangles with a knife (called "petticoat tails") or use a ruler to cut nice, even rectangles. 

4. Transfer gently to a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the middle rack of the oven for 10-12 minutes, until edges are pale golden. Shortbread gets overdone very, very quickly, so set a timer and keep an eagle eye on them. Let cool 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely.

5. While cookies are cooling, melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir gently until the chunks are melted completely and the chocolate is smooth and silky. 

6. When the cookies are cool, dip them into the hot, melted chocolate and return them to the cooling rack to rest until the chocolate has set. Conversely, dip a small spoon into the chocolate and drizzle chocolate over the cookie. I prefer this method--it makes a prettier cookie, the chocolate is more evenly distributed across the surface, and your melted chocolate stays smooth and crumb free. 

Depending on the size of your cookie cutter, this recipe makes about 2 dozen larger or 3 dozen smaller cookies. 

*If you can't find dried orange zest (McCormick makes a very good one, and it is available almost everywhere) feel free to use fresh orange zest, but up the quantity to 1 TABLESPOON.