Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chunk Shortbread
This buttery Gluten-Free Orange Chocolate Chunk Shortbread cookie recipe is DELICIOUS, packed with fresh orange zest & plenty of chocolate in every bite!
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Servings: 24 Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- Zest of 1 orange about 2 teaspoons orange zest
- ¼ cup light brown sugar (50 grams)
- 1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes* (226 grams/2 sticks)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups gluten-free measure-for-measure flour* (300 grams)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt*
- 6 ounces dark chocolate, cut into chunks (170 grams)
Instructions
- Rub Orange Zest Into Sugar. Add granulated sugar and orange zest to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use clean hands to rub the orange zest into the sugar, until it's fragrant, and the sugar is tinted orange. (This distributes the orange essential oils into the sugar, which gives the cookies a more vibrant citrus flavor.!)
- Cream Butter & Sugars. Add brown sugar and butter cubes to the mixer and cream with the paddle attachment on medium speed 2-3 minutes, or until smooth and well blended. Add vanilla and stir to combine.
- Add Dry Ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add gluten-free flour and salt. Mix on low speed until no large patches of flour remain. (The dough will look fairly dry and crumbly at this point--this is normal!)
- Mix in Chocolate. Add chocolate chunks and mix on LOW speed until just evenly incorporated. The dough will still look crumbly, but should hold together when pinched between your fingers.
- Shape & Chill Dough. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a roughly 6-inch log. It's okay to really pack it together! Wrap each log in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator at LEAST 2 hours, up to 3-4 days. DON'T skip the chill time, or your cookies will not slice nicely & will spread too much in the oven.
- Preheat & Prep. When you're ready to bake, preheat the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Slice & Prep Dough. Remove one log of dough from the fridge and use a sharp serrated knife to slice into 12 slices. If you hit a large chocolate chunk that makes slicing difficult, use a gentle sawing motion to work your way through it. If the dough happens to crack, it's 100% fine to just pinch it back together. The dough is pretty forgiving
- Bake & Cool Cookies. Place 12 cookie slices on prepared baking sheet and bake in preheated oven 11-13 minutes, or until set. (The cookies will not brown much, if at all!) Allow cookies to cool 1-2 minutes on baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat this process with the second log of dough for another 12 cookies.
- Serve & Store. Enjoy right away or store in an airtight container at room temperature 2-3 days. Or, freeze baked cookies in a freezer bag up to 2 months!
Notes
- COLD Butter. You'll start this recipe with COLD butter, cut into chunks. Much like our Levain cookie recipe, the cold butter helps control the spread of the cookies. Don't use softened butter for this recipe.
- Gluten-Free Flour. We highly recommend King Arthur Measure-For-Measure Gluten-Free Flour for these cookies for taste & texture. If you use another brand of gluten-free flour blend, be sure it contains xanthan gum for best results.
- Do It Right! Weigh the flour using a kitchen scale or use the scoop and level method to spoon flour into the measuring cup for best results. Do NOT use your measuring cup to scoop the flour, or you'll pack extra flour into the cookies, which changes the texture.
- Chocolate Chunks. Chop your own chocolate bars into chunks for best results. We like Ghirardelli 60% bars! You want a variety of shapes & sizes in your chocolate chunks. Pre-cut chocolate chunks tend to look too uniform and don't have the same texture.
- Salt. If you're using fine table salt instead of kosher salt, reduce the salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
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Find the recipe:
sweetsandthankyou.com/orange-chocolate-chunk-shortbread/