Orange Shortbread Matchstick Cookies Dipped in Orange Dark Chocolate
Love the combination of chocolate and orange? These Orange Shortbread Matchstick Cookies Dipped in Orange Dark Chocolate are right up your alley. Buttery shortbread cookies with a punch of orange flavour from a dash of freshly squeezed orange juice and oodles of zest. Dip or drizzle with orange dark chocolate and finish off with even more orange zest if you wish.
Cutting the cookies into baton shapes and dipping just the ends in the chocolate made them very look a little like matches. Hence the title. Whichever shape you choose to cut them into and however you wish to decorate them, they are super delicious and extremely moreish.
And you don’t just have to take my word for it. These have been tried, tested and approved by my lovely pottery classmates who always seem happy to play guinea pig to my experiments. The second batch pictured here disappeared rather quickly at home too, so I can safely assume that these are a hit.
If you love shortbread cookies, do give some of my other recipes a try to. There are a few actually, like my Shortbread Heart Cookies topped with chocolate and pecan nuts and my Chocolate Chip Shortbread Biscuits. Or for a fruity kick, try my Lime & Coconut Shortbread Biscuits or my Pistachio, Lemon & Lime Shortbread Cookies. Don’t have a sweet tooth? Well I’ve got you covered too with my savoury Parmesan and Herb Shortbread Biscuits recipe.
Orange Shortbread Matchstick Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 200 gram Unsalted Butter Softened to room temperature
- ½ cup Icing/Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 tbsp Fresh orange zest
- 2 cups All-Purpose/Cake Flour
- 3 tbsp Cornstarch / Corn Flour / Maizena
- ½ tsp Salt
Chocolate topping
- 100 gram Good quality dark chocolate / orange dark chocolate Finely chopped
- Orange zest to decorate/garnish Optional but would recommend if using plain dark chocolate
Instructions
Cookies
- Cream together the softened butter and sugar. Then add the vanilla, orange juice and orange zest
- Sift in the flour, cornstarch and salt, then mix until fully incorporated and a smooth dough forms
- Place the dough between two sheets of plastic wrap, then roll out using a rolling pin to approx. 1,5cm thick
- Place in the freezer for around an hour (overnight or longer if prepping ahead)
- Remove from the freezer and let soften for a couple of minutes before cutting
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a baking sheet with baking paper or a silicone baking mat
- Cut the cookies into whatever shape you wish, freehand or with a cookie cutter. I cut my dough down the middle, then divided and cut each half evenly into approx. 1,5cm wide batons
- Note: it is best to bake these in at least two batches
- Once you have cut half the cookies, place them on the lined baking sheet, leaving around 2cm between the cookies as they might spread a little, then bake for around 15 minutes
- Note: the baking time and amount of cookies will depend on the size you make them
- Repeat with the second batch and again with any leftover dough if there is any
- Note: Work quickly and ensure you keep any remaining dough chilled while waiting for a batch to bake. If the dough gets warm, even to room temperature before baking, the butter inside will melt and the cookies will be greasy not crisp. If using only one baking sheet, ensure you keep the cut cookies in the freezer and wait until the sheet is cooled completely before placing the second batch on it
- The cookies are done when the edges just start to brown (they shouldn't have too much colour, but you do not want them to be soft either). Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet for around 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating
Chocolate topping
- When the cookies are completely cooled it is time to decorate them. You can do this however you wish but I will explain here how I did mine
- If decorating with orange zest, ensure you have your orange and zester ready near the cookies
- Place the cookies on a baking mat or baking paper ready for dipping
- Then, place the chopped chocolate in a smallish microwave safe bowl (not plastic). Then microwave for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave for 10 seconds, stir and repeat for 10 second bursts until the chocolate is melted
- When the chocolate has melted, dip a few cookies at a time, spacing them out slightly so that they don't stick to each other, then grate over a little zest before the chocolate sets. Repeat
- Once the chocolate has set, store the cookies in an airtight container
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