If there had been a contest, the chocolate orange shortbread definitely would have won "best flavor." They were a tad salty, but delicious. I was surprised that just a little bit of orange zest could impart so much flavor into the cookies. Also, I was surprised by how well orange paired with chocolate. As I was preparing my homemade orange extract and thinking of ways to use it, I immediately thought of orange chocolate crinkles. Since my favorite chocolate cookies are crinkles and not shortbread, I figured I'd give them a try.
Objective
Make Nan's Chocolate Crinkles into orange chocolate cookies by adding orange zest and orange extract.
Materials
4 tablespoons butter
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 cup sugar
zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
splash vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
Methods
1. In a microwave safe container, melt the butter and chocolate. Set aside to cool slightly.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, rub the orange zest into the sugar. Stir in the melted chocolate and butter. With the mixer running, add eggs, one at a time. Add the orange extract and vanilla.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the wet mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. Chill overnight.
4. Preheat the oven to 350º. Drop the dough by the teaspoon into the powdered sugar and shape into balls. Bake at 350º for 12 minutes on a greased baking sheet. *DO NOT OVER-BAKE*
Results
After tasting the dough, C said "I like this a lot because you can actually taste the orange without it being overpowered by the chocolate." The baked cookies lost a little bit of the orange flavor, but were still quite orangey. The cookies were gooey inside like a perfectly baked brownie.
Discussion and Future Directions
Though C liked the dough, he wasn't a huge fan of the cookie. I was a little shocked because he loves the version of this cookie that I make with Andes Mints in the center. He couldn't quite put into words what he didn't like, but I know he was overwhelmed by the amount of powdered sugar on the outsides! I'd intentionally left a lot on instead of brushing off the excess. Lesson learned for next time! The only improvement I would make would be to use higher quality chocolate. We're currently trying to eat through our cupboards and freezer so that we don't have to throw food away when we pack all of our belongings into storage (hmm, another hint). I had 4 oz. of unsweetened baking chocolate left in the cupboard and used it in the dough. High quality dark chocolate would have been a better choice. Again, lesson learned for next time! So far, I've probably made these cookies sound terrible, but they're not. They're quite good. So good that the first person who tried them asked for the recipe!
It's too bad C didn't like the cookies, because that was the extent of my Valentine's Day baking this year. Instead of eating them, he's taking them to the hospital this afternoon to give to his research mentors and one of the attending physicians we know who loves cookies! Luckily, I satisfied his sweet tooth the past few weeks with Blueberry Almond Galettes and Blueberry-Cherry Almond Galettes. He liked the second version so much that he requested another (either pie or galette) for Valentine's Day. We decided not to do anything for Valentine's Day this year--especially make a pie that we can't finish--because we're leaving for vacation the next day! Though we loved all of our trips to Buffalo and Madison this year, we're so excited to break routine and go on a real vacation that's about us, not about family or friends. Hopefully I'll have a delicious Mayan recipe to share with you when we get back!
Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours!
