Chocolate and Orange Shortbread Cookies
I was searching for Christmas baking inspiration on social media, which we could adapt to bake on the Big Green Egg.
We don’t need a big dessert after a meal. We do enjoy something sweet to nibble. These cookies can be made ahead. They are a small sweet treat that will satisfy those sugar cravings.
They’re simple to make, from store cupboard ingredients. I didn’t have enough chocolate in the cupboard so I used up some dried cranberries. You can substitute your favourite ingredients to make them your own.
For info; I’m not a fan of using cups for measuring, so I converted into grams, hence the precise numbers. I’ve added the cup quantities for reference.
NOTE: For the cookies to bake properly, the dough needs to be chilled for a minimum of 2 hours! Don’t try to skip the chilling time.
Cooking surfaces
BBQ Temperature
Ingredients
- 254g (1 cup plus 2 tbsp) cold salted butter, cut into 1 cm chunks
- 100g (1/2 cup) sugar
- 55g (1/4 cup) brown sugar (light brown will make them look lighter when cooked)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 306g (2 1/4 cups) plain flour
- 170g dark belgian chocolate chips (or you can substitute some of the chocolate with dried fruit eg cranberries)
- Zest of 1 medium orange (approx 2 tbsp), I used zest from 4 clementines
- 170g dark chocolate, for dipping, optional
- Sea salt flakes and orange zest, optional
Method
- Setup your Big Green Egg for an indirect cook with the ConvEGGtor (plate setter) feet up and stainless steel grid on top with baking stone. Set the temp to 180°C.
- Beat the butter, sugars and vanilla. I used a stand mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Scrap down mixture from sides of mixing bowl, beat in flour on low speed, until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate and orange zest until just combined. I used half chocolate and half dried cranberries.
- Divide dough in half and place on large piece of clingfilm. Fold the clingfilm to encase the dough and then roll into a log shape 6 to 6.5 cms. Ensure dough is completely covered in clingfilm I found the dough a little crumbly but firmed up whilst chilling in the fridge. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours (can be chilled for up to 1 week).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Take first log, remove the cling film and use a sharp serrated knife to slice the log into 1 to 1.5 cm discs. If you strike chocolate when slicing, use a gentle sawing action. The dough crumbled a bit, I gently pressed it back.
- Place the cookies on the baking sheet and sprinkle over a pinch of sea salt, if you wish. Space them about 2.5cm apart. Makes about 12 cookies. We cooked in two batches.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until edges are just beginning to brown. I was hesitant about taking them off the Egg as they still looked soft, but they firm up as they cool.
- Leave to cool for 5 minutes on the baking tray before moving carefully with a spatula to wire racks to cool completely.
- The biscuits will keep in a airtight container for a couple of days. If they last that long!
- If you want to make them a bit more decadent, melt 170g chocolate in the microwave or over a pan of boiling water.
- Dip one end of a cold cookie into the melted chocolate. Allow excess chocolate to drip off, then pop cookie on a cooling rack.
- Sprinkle with more sea salt and orange zest, if you fancy zhuzhing up your cookies.
- Chill dipped cookies in the fridge for 30 minutes or until chocolate is set.