Easy Orange Shortbread Cookies

I love using citrus of all kinds when baking. Bright, acidic flavors cut right through rich custards, cakes and pastries. The combination of buttery shortbread and citrusy orange in these cookies could not be more perfect! The acidity is not too overwhelming, it just gives the rich shortbread a nice lift and great flavor!

Orange shortbread is a great treat when you just need a little sweet. It’s nice and crumbly with a hint of citrus. They are great on their own, or dipped in tempered dark chocolate!

Here’s what you need:

Cream the butter and sugar.

The butter must be at room temperature to make a smooth and even dough. Beat it with the sugar for 3 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer.

Add the egg yolk and vanilla and mix till combined.

Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the dough from the sides and very bottom of the bowl whenever needed.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour and kosher salt. Add half of the dry mixture to the cookie dough, then add the citrus zest and juice. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until the dough just comes together. Don’t over-mix, or you could end up with dense, tough cookies.

Roll the shortbread dough out to 1/4 inch thickness.

You could use whatever cutters to create whatever shape of cookie you like. To create the orange slice aesthetic, I used a 3 inch and 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutters. Use the larger cutter to form the cookie, then center the smaller cutter on the inside. Dip the smaller cutter in flour, center it inside the cookie and press gently but do not press all the way through. You just want to make an indentation that would resemble the rind of an orange slice.

(If you don’t intend to finish making the cookies right away, just form the dough into a disc and wrap it in plastic. Keep refrigerated for up to 2 days, then roll out and bake when ready.)

Use a sharp paring knife to create the orange segments.

Just like when making the rind, don’t cut all the way through. Just press the knife half way through the dough to make an impression.

Start by making a cross shape with the knife, creating 4 equal segments. Then, press the knife halfway through each quarter section, creating 8 equal segments.

Bake the cookies.

Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a parchment lined baking sheet and place it on the middle rack of an oven that has been preheated to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cook times may vary depending on the thickness of the cookies. Rolling them out to exactly a quarter inch every single time is practically impossible. Normally I bake the cookies for 24 minutes. If they seem a little thick to you, they may need another minute or 2. Usually I check around the 22 or 23 minute mark just to gauge how much longer they will need. They should have the slightest golden tinge around the outer edge when ready to remove from the oven, but be careful. They go from perfect to overbaked in the blink of an eye.

Allow them to cool for a couple minutes on the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Take your cookies up a notch by making chocolate dipped orange slices.

This part is purely optional, the orange shortbread is perfect on its own. However, dark chocolate and orange is one of my top favorite dessert flavor combos, so I couldn’t resist the opportunity.

I’m keeping things super simple and tempering my chocolate in the microwave! Tempering chocolate sounds complicated but is actually quite easy if you remember a couple important things:

• It must be done with real chocolate that is made with cocoa butter.
• The temperature of the chocolate cannot exceed 90 degrees F.

Bar chocolate works best here. I’m using a 60% bittersweet baking bar. Chop the chocolate so it melts easily. Microwave the chocolate for 15 seconds. Remove and stir.

Microwave the chocolate again for 15 seconds. Stir, then microwave again for 10 seconds.

I never need to heat the chocolate past this point, plus I do not want to risk the temperature getting too high. There will be several large bits of chocolate in the bowl. Stir it constantly and they will melt.

The cookies need to be completely cooled before dipping. Dip one side of the cookie into the chocolate and let it hang over the bowl for a few seconds to let any excess drip off. Place the dipped cookies onto a sheet of wax paper for the chocolate to cool and set. If you want, sprinkle with a tiny bit of flaky sea salt.

These cookies will stay fresh for several days at room temperature if kept in an airtight container!

Other recipes to try:

• Coconut Lime Bars
• Lavender Lemon Bars
• Dreamsicle Ice Cream
• Lemon Custard Ice Cream