Description
Buttery citrus-kissed Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies hugging a silky chocolate center make every bite feel like a little celebration.
Ingredients
Scale
- 240 g unsalted butter (softened to room temperature for easy creaming)
- 128 g powdered sugar (sifted to avoid lumps)
- 1.75 tablespoons orange zest (finely grated from fresh oranges)
- 1 large egg (at room temperature for better mixing)
- 1 large egg yolk (at room temperature for extra richness)
- 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract (pure for best flavor)
- 0.25 teaspoon fine salt (to balance sweetness)
- 265 g all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled plus extra for dusting)
- 2 tablespoons coarse sugar (optional for a crunchy sparkle topping)
- 170 ml heavy cream (full-fat for a smooth ganache)
- 180 g semi-sweet chocolate (finely chopped so it melts easily)
Instructions
- Prepare the chocolate filling early by placing the chopped chocolate in a heat-safe bowl, warming the cream until just steaming, then pouring it over the chocolate and letting it sit briefly before stirring smooth, and set it aside to thicken.
- Beat the softened butter until pale and creamy, then blend in the powdered sugar and orange zest until fully unified and fluffy.
- Add the egg, extra yolk, vanilla, and salt, and continue mixing until the mixture looks silky and even.
- Mix in the flour on low speed until a very soft dough forms and no dry patches remain.
- Dust a work surface and rolling pin generously with flour, roll the dough out between sheets or on a mat to about 1/4-inch thickness, and add more flour as needed to prevent sticking.
- Slide the rolled dough onto a tray, cover lightly, and refrigerate until firm enough to cut cleanly.
- Heat the oven to 177°C / 350°F and line baking trays with parchment or baking mats.
- Cut the chilled dough into small rounds, gather and reroll scraps as needed, space the cookies apart on the trays, and if you like, press a little coarse sugar on top.
- Bake until the edges are just turning golden while the tops stay pale, rotating the pans partway through, then let the cookies cool briefly before moving them to a rack to cool completely.
- Once the ganache has thickened to a spreadable consistency, transfer it to a piping bag or prepare a knife for spreading.
- Turn half of the cookies upside down, add a mound of chocolate filling to each, cap with the remaining cookies, and gently press so the filling reaches the edges.
Notes
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 290 kcal
- Sugar: 15 g
- Sodium: 90 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 60 mg