Day 11 - Chocolate Orange Shortbread by MyPersonaliTea

This is another one of the variations that has chocolate in it. Chocolate and orange go together wonderfully as we all know from Terry’s Orange Chocolate. Those Orange Chocolates were a Christmas staple in my house and I wanted to try and get that feel and taste in creating a chocolate orange shortbread. I first tried using just juice from an orange but the cookie dough just got soggy rather than orange in flavour. A quick trip out to Bulk Barn to get some orange extract did the trick and now I had a more orange flavoured shortbread. The cocoa powder isn’t necessary but it makes for a more visually appealing cookie. I like using dark chocolate chips but any kind of chocolate can be used. In any case, this is another variation that is either immediately liked or gets a luke warm reception. Either way, I like it.

Ingredients

1c flour
1/2 c corn starch
1/2 c icing sugar
3/4 c butter
1/2 c chocolate chips
1-3 tsp orange extract
juice from 1 orange
zest from 1 orange
1-2 tbsp cocoa powder

Directions

Cream together first four ingredients.
Add in orange extract and juice from 1 orange.
Mix in chocolate chips.
Once everything is mixed together, add in orange zest and cocoa powder and swirl in rather than mixing in completely.
Roll out into 1 inch balls.
Flatten with fork on cookie sheet.
Chill in fridge for 30-60 minutes.
Heat oven to 300F.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown around edges and bottom of cookie.

Notes: Again, I’m not a cook and I’m sure there are many techniques to baking that would make the above recipes tastier. In any case, I hope you enjoy the recipe and the results.

Some variations on the classic shortbread recipe involve adding in extra liquid. With those recipes I find you get a shortbread that spreads out more than usual. If you don’t want this then I suggest reducing the amount of butter a bit or increasing the dry ingredients a bit.

For the savory shortbreads I would suggest limiting the sugar content. I will keep working on the ratio of sweet to savory for those but the do smell wonderful when you take them out of the oven!

Tea Pairings: Good question. Honestly, I think shortbread goes with anything! And tea goes with anything too! So, it’s a match made in heaven. I have tried different teas with each of the shortbread varieties with no particular pairing methodology behind the pairing. Each tea I have used can stand on its own.

Modifications: OMG! There are so many modifications to the classic shortbread recipe which is from the Canada brand of corn starch. A picture of this shortbread recipe on the back of the Canada brand cornstarch box can be found in the figure below. I’m considering trying adding loose leaf tea leaves into the classic shortbread batter after it is creamed together. For example, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Lavendar, any herbal tea. Once I have gone through the 12 days of shortbread I will include a list of recipes of shortbread variations for the future such as caramel, toffee, skor, sea salt, white chocolate macadamian nut, carrot cake, pumpkin spice, cranberry and pistachio. I’m also considering more savory variations using other types of cheese like brie, havarti, smoked cheeses, maybe even some cream cheeses.

References:

17 Incredibly Perfect Tea and Biscuit Combinations, Emma Cooke, March 2016, buzzfeed.com, URL: https://www.buzzfeed.com/emmacooke24/digestives-and-breakfast-tea-is-life
The best tea and biscuit pairings, Niamh Ollerton, Nov 2016, lovefood.com, URL: https://www.lovefood.com/news/56428/tea-biscuit-pairings-breakfast-tea-chocolate-hobnob-earl-grey-ginger-nut

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Lani and Norm

I enjoy learning and sharing that knowledge.Sharing has been in many forms over the years, as a teaching assistant, university lecturer, Pilates instructor, math tutor and just sharing with friends and family.Throughout, summarizing what I have learnt in words has always been there and continues to through blog posts, articles, video and the ever growing forms of content out there!