Everyone will love a tray full of delicious Christmas cookies like these chocolate orange cookies. They're made using fresh orange juice and zest, and they're dipped in scrumptious dark chocolate for an amazing treat! The cookie dough is SUPER EASY to whip up in 1 bowl.
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Chilling30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr
Course: cookies
Keyword: Chocolate orange cookies
Servings: 20
Author: Katia
Ingredients
1large egg
½ cup + 1 Tbsp(110 grams)caster sugar
⅓ cup(80 ml)light olive oil (or your fav vegetable oil)
3 tablespoons(45 ml)orange juice (approx from 1/2 orange)
2tablespoonsorange zest
1teaspoonorange extract (or vanilla extract)
2 ⅓ cup(290 grams)all-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonbaking powder
½ scantteaspoonfine salt
1teaspoonground cinnamon
1teaspoonground ginger
Dark chocolate
3 oz(80 gram)dark chocolate chips or bar (break the bar into small pieces)
Instructions
Whisk egg and sugar together in a medium bowl until the batter becomes lighter and pale and the sugar is dissolved. Add the vegetable oil, orange zest, orange juice, and orange extract and combine.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt (½ scant teaspoon, not more), and spices in a bowl until well combined, then stir the dry ingredients into the liquid mixture. Using a spoon or a whisker, mix everything until most of the flour is incorporated; then, using your hands, gently bring the dough together inside the bowl into a smooth ball. There is no need to transfer the dough onto a work surface.
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175 °C and place the oven rack in the middle position. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Gently roll each portion of dough between your hands into a smooth round ball (about 1.5 inches in diameter/each ball should be about 26 grams/0.9 oz each). Make sure they all have the same sizes, and place them onto the baking sheets, leaving a couple of inches around each cookie. Flatten them with your fingers.
Bake them for about 13-15 minutes until they are barely golden brown on the edges and still soft (in my oven, the baking time is 13 minutes). Transfer them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Melt the chocolate on the stove: fill a medium saucepan with 3cm/1 inch of water, place over medium heat, and bring to a very gentle simmer. Place a heatproof bowl on top of the saucepan so that it fits snuggly but doesn’t touch the water. Add chocolate to the bowl, then leave to melt for a few minutes. Stir regularly, until smooth and glossy, turn the heart off, then transfer the bowl from the stove to a work surface. For the microwave: melt the chocolate in short steps (10-15 seconds each time) and stir with a spoon after each step. Repeat until it looks melted and smooth. Remember that chocolate seizes quickly and fast; don't overheat it.
Dip the cookies into the melted chocolate halfway and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, or drizzle the chocolate over if you wish. If you use sprinkles, you want to sprinkle the cookies straightaway while the chocolate decoration is still soft. Place cookies in the refrigerator for a few minutes until chocolate hardens. Ready!
Notes
Chocolate: 80 grams of chocolate is enough to dip your cookies halfway. If you wish to cover your cookies completely, a whole chocolate bar (3.5 oz/100 grams) should be enough.Storage: these orange cookies keep well, stored in an airtight container, for up to 1 week.*Chilling cookie dough prior to baking: it lends itself to crispy cookies. If time allows, chilling the dough is a good practice and gives better results. But you can skip this step in this recipe, the cookies will spread nicely in the oven.Freezing instructions: You can make the cookie dough and chill it in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. Allow the dough to come to room temperature then shape the cookies and bake. Unbaked cookie dough freezes well for up to 1 month.