Chocolate orange is one of those iconic flavours of Christmas and one I'm a big fan of too. I think it reminds me of opening my stocking on Christmas morning, and all the excitement and magic that Christmas creates. Here I've infused the classic chocolate orange flavour into 'buttery' crisp shortbread and it's a magic combination, perfect to have alongside a steaming hot drink in the run up to Christmas. We may even leave some of these out for Father Christmas this year as I'm sure he'd rather like a change from yet another mince pie, that is if he can face anymore snacks after all the glasses of sherry!
I've opted to use clementine as a flavour rather than orange for an extra festive vibes, plus most people seem to have a bag of clementines in the house around Christmas time; but do feel free to use orange instead. In fact, you can also leave out the chocolate and have some rather delightful clementine shortbreads which are a rather elegant addition to any teatime. I used festive cookie cutters for the full on Christmas effect, but any shape you like will do.
The only time consuming part of this recipe is the chilling of the dough. You could leave out that step, but if you have the time I really recommend it for getting nice sharp edges and a great crisp yet buttery cookie. This is a great recipe to make with children: it's relatively mess free, the dough is really nice to handle and is the perfect vehicle for all kinds of exciting cookie cutters. Feel free to ice the cookies rather than sprinkling with sugar, and the younger members of the household will love them even more!
These also make a great addition to a homemade cookie selection box, and will make a perfect homemade Christmas gift.
Chocolate Orange Shortbread
makes about 20
- 150 g plain flour
- 50 g caster sugar
- zest of 1 clementine
- Pinch of salt
- 100 g dairy-free butter (fridge cold and cubed)
- 20 g chocolate chips
- 20 g caster sugar (for sprinkling)
- Sift the flour into a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the sugar, zest and salt.
- Rub in the butter with your fingertips, or the mixer. As there is a large proportion of butter to flour you will form a dough pretty quickly after getting to the breadcrumb stage. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Briefly knead the dough to make it nice and smooth, and making sure the chocolate is evenly distributed.
- Between two sheets of parchment, roll out the dough to 3mm thick and then place in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Centigrade
- Stamp out festive shapes from the chilled dough and place, spaced apart onto a lined baking sheet.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until starting to gain a hint of colour around the edges.
- Sprinkle with caster sugar whilst hot and then move to a wire rack to cool
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