I was inspired by Claire Robinson’s Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies. Using her recipe, I made some delicious cookies.
Although I love traditional, crumbly shortbread, I also really liked the texture of Robinson’s recipe. It’s less crumbly, slightly soft, and still very buttery. So, I experimented with it. My orange zest shortbread variation with chocolate was a crowd-pleaser, too.
Which tea would you pair with it? I bet a strong cup of East Frisian Tea would be delightful.
Orange Zest Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate
Recipe from Tea Infusiast adapted from Claire Robinson
Ingredients
- 1 c butter unsalted
- 2 c all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 c confectioner's sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tsp grated orange zest to taste
- 2-4 oz bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Mix flour and salt in a food processor or prepare using a sturdy mixer.
- Add to the flour and salt mixture: confectioner’s sugar, vanilla extract, butter, and orange zest. Mix until it clumps together and becomes smooth.
- Remove dough from the processor and round into a ball (if you want to roll and cut shapes with a cookie cutter later or free-hand with a knife) or a cylinder (if you want to slice cookies later). Cover with plastic wrap.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes if rolling and using a cookie cutter, 30 minutes if slicing off rounds.
- Once the dough is almost chilled enough, preheat the oven to 375F.
- Roll out dough to ⅓ “ thickness to use cookie cutters OR slice off ⅓’ rounds.
- Place shaped dough onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until golden brown along the edges.
- Place cookies on a wire rack to cool.
- Gradually heat the bittersweet chocolate in the microwave on medium heat. Stop and stir occasionally to make sure you don’t overheat. You want the chocolate only warm enough to turn liquid and become pipeable or spreadable.
- If spreading the chocolate, cover one side of each cookie using spatula.If piping, when the chocolate is liquid but not too hot, put in a small ziploc (or similar) plastic bag. Cut a tiny tip off the end and pipe designs to decorate your cookies.
- Let the chocolate cool, then enjoy!
- Make sure to store the cookies in an airtight container in a cool place.