Favorite Christmas Cookies – Chocolate Orange

A few years back I decided to try some new cookie recipes for the holidays. They had to work for large batches, be freeze-able without loss of quality or flavor for up to a month, and be able to ‘wow’ all of my friends – some of who are quite picky and particular about the food they eat.

I set the television up in the dining room for the afternoon, rented three movies and tried eight new recipes. On my large farmhouse styled dining table I mixed, rolled, chilled, filled, wrapped and tasted cookies. By far the chocolate orange cookies below were my favorite so I hope you’ll give them a shot for your own family.

A variety of Christmas cookies can bring the festive back to the season - try something new and delicious.

If you love the mix in flavor of chocolate and orange (and subsequently love the Terry’ Orange Chocoloates from the UK), this is the cookie for you! Until I get some pictures, I’ll describe this for you as a rolled and cut cookie with a small dollop of orange marmalade in the center and one side coated in chocolate.

Orange Chocolate Cookies (makes about 3 dozen cookies, dependant on size)

1 cup butter, at room temperature, plus a little extra for chocolate dipping sauce
1 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 tsp. grated orange zest
2 cups flour, plus a little extra for rolling dough
1/4 cup orange marmalade, divided
6 oz. bittersweet chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or use Pampered Chef cookie pans – in either case, watch the cookies carefully when baking. They should finish off, top and bottom, a light golden brown in color.

Begin by beating the butter with an electric mixer in a large bowl on medium-high speed for about 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until fully absorbed, scraping sides of bowl occasionally.

Add in and beat the egg yolk and orange zest.

Reduce speed to low. Add flour until just combined.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough to 1/4-inch thickness. I used a 2″ star cookie cutter, but you could use any size smaller or any simple shape to make these. Re-roll and re-cut all the dough until finished. Place cut shapes on the cookie sheets.

Before putting into the oven, make a slight indentation in center of each cookie and fill with 1/4 teaspoon of orange marmalade.

Bake approximately 12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a double boiler melt the bittersweet chocolate, whisking in enough butter (1 tablespoon at a time, up to about 4 tablespoons) to make a good dipping consistency. Dip half of each cookie in the chocolate and place the cookie on waxed paper until chocolate sets.