Name: Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 0
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 2/3 cup confectioners sugar; 2 Tablespoons fresh orange zest; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 teaspoon vanilla; 2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour; 1 pkg Ghiradelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate baking chips

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Smooth and rich dark chocolate encases these delicately flavored orange shortbread cookies! Simple flavors and traditional technique are what make these homemade dipped shortbread cookies shine.

A white plate of chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies with a bite taken out of the top cookie.

Not overly sweet, but completely indulgent all the same, these orange chocolate shortbread cookies taste much like those chocolate oranges you can find this time of year. Though I do love those treats, these cookies were inspired from a different kind of Christmas orange.

Every year at Christmas, my grandma would put apples, oranges, nuts and gum in our stockings. One year I asked her why we got those things, and she told me those were the same treats she’d gotten in her stocking as a little girl. To me they were very dull things for Santa to bring to a kid, but now I love that she passed this little bit of her childhood and her own family’s tradition on to me.

A red plate full of chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies.

To this day the smell of fresh peeled orange mixed with the aroma of a real Christmas tree brings a smile to my face and the small traditions I get to pass on from her to my own children. And it was with thoughts of her that I lovingly created this recipe for dark chocolate dipped orange shortbreads.

This homemade recipe is dear to my heart and is a great recipe to start building your own Christmas traditions with. A simple shortbread can go a long way, and is an easy cookie recipe to pass on to your children and grandchildren.

A stack of four chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies.

Try some more family recipes for the holidays:

What do I Need to Make Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies?

Vanilla extract, flour, butter, dark chocolate chips, powdered sugar, salt, and two oranges.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup confectioners sugar
2 Tablespoons fresh orange zest
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 pkg Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate baking chips

Step by step instructions:

The butter and sugar have been blended together in a glass measuring bowl.

Step 1: Whisk together the flour and salt and set aside for later.

Step 2: In a medium sized bowl, cream together the butter and confectioners sugar. Add to this the orange zest and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy, around 3-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed.

Step 3: Reduce the mixer speed to low and add in the flour, mix until just combined.

The ingredients form a crumbly looking dough in the bowl.

Step 4: Using your hands, press the dough into a ball inside the bowl.

Step 5: Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough until it is nice and smooth.

The dough is shaped into a log on parchment paper.

Step 6: Roll the cookie dough into log about 12 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Wrap in waxed paper, tucking the ends under so the dough does not dry out and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes.

Step 7: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

The log is cut into slices of cookie dough.

Step 8: Line baking sheets with 2 layers of parchment paper. (*see note)

Step 9: Slice the shortbread dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on prepared cookie sheets.

The dough is baked on a double layer of parchment paper.

Step 10: Bake until firm. 13-17 minutes.

Step 11: Allow to cool completely on wire racks, reserve parchment paper for later use.

A shortbread cookie is dipped halfway into a glass bowl of melted chocolate.

Step 12: Melt dark chocolate baking chips in a double boiler. Dip each cookie generously in dark chocolate and place back on parchment paper to dry.

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