Chocolate Orange Cookies

Why You'll Love These Cookies

• Fans of Terry's chocolate orange will LOVE these chocolate orange cookies. There's no need to locate it in stores for this recipe as it uses basic ingredients to replicate its flavor.
• They may look like basic double chocolate cookies, but they have a more unique flavor that will stand out on a holiday cookie tray.
• They're versatile. Chill them (or don't), freeze the dough in one big ball or in individual scoops, etc. It handles well for just about anything.

Recipe Ingredients

• Sugars: An equal mix of granulated and brown sugars to balance cookie spread and chewiness.
• Orange Zest: One medium navel orange will result in about one tablespoon of moderately-packed zest.
• Flour: Make sure to measure with the scoop-and-level method to avoid ending up with cookies that are too dry. Stir the flour up in its canister, spoon it into your measuring cup without packing it in, then level off the top.
• Cocoa Powder: Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is used here as it's acidic and will react with the baking soda to leaven. While I love its flavor (especially in chocolate spritz cookies), Dutch-process cocoa powder is neutral as far as acidity goes and will not do as good of a job.
• Cornstarch: This is a cookie secret ingredient that brings an extra chewy texture. I use it in a few different cookie recipes, like Whoppers cookies or black forest cookies. It's not an absolute must if you're out, but highly recommended.
• Leavening: Both baking soda and baking powder work here to provide lift.
• Espresso Powder: This is optional but works to amplify and deepen the chocolate flavor. It's something I started adding to chocolate pizzelle and love the impact. Don't worry - it doesn't make these chocolate orange cookies taste like coffee.
• Cinnamon: I love the subtle warmth cinnamon adds to the orange and chocolate combination in Italian mostaccioli cookies, so added some here as well.
• Chocolate Chips: Use your favorite! For this particular batch I used a blend of semisweet, dark, and milk chocolate. All good.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Cream together the butter and sugars. This might take longer than you think: around 2-3 minutes with an electric mixer. You want it to become lighter in color and fluffy.
2. Add wet ingredients. Mix in the egg, orange zest, and vanilla extract.
3. Separately whisk the dry ingredients. Break up the cocoa powder especially so it's not in dense clumps.
4. Combine and stir in chips. Mix the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients until just combined, then stir in the chocolate chips. Over-mixing can cause the gluten in the flour to overly develop, leading to a tougher crumb.

5. Shape. Chill dough for 1 hour (or don't - see note), then scoop 1 ½-Tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets.
6. Bake. Bake at 350°F for 11 minutes, or until the edges have set and the tops appear dried. Cool on the pan for 10 minutes before transferring cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

• Substitute orange extract - In the past I've used orange extract in these chocolate orange cookies in place of orange zest with good results. It's pretty pungent, so I would go with one-half teaspoon of orange extract to replace the zest.
• Zesting the orange - Use a microplane to grab just the top orange layer of the rind, avoiding the white pith underneath as it's bitter.
• Be careful scooping - It bears repeating: chilled cookie dough is very firm, and scooping cookies right out of the fridge is grounds for your cookie scoop to break. It doesn't take much for those things to give out! Let the dough sit out for a small amount of time to take some of the chill out.
• Picture perfect cookies - Press a few extra chocolate chips into the cookies right as they come out of the oven. Be gentle as to not squash the whole cookie and flatten it.

Storage and Freezing Options

These chocolate orange cookies store and freeze very well, with a few good make-ahead options along the way. They'd make a great choice for mailing around the holidays.

• Store at room temperature. Once cooled completely, store cookies in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 5-7 days.
• Chill dough longer. Tightly wrap the bowl of dough with plastic wrap or wrap the ball of dough directly to prevent it from drying out in the fridge. Cookie dough can be chilled for up to 2 days. Let the dough slightly warm up before scooping so you don't break your scoop as it'll be very hard.
• Freeze dough. Scoop cookies and place unbaked dough balls next to one another in a single layer in a zip-top freezer bag. Carefully press out all excess air and freeze for 3-4 months. The dough doesn't need to be thawed before baking, rather you may need to extend the bake time a minute or two.
• Freeze baked cookies. Store cooled cookies in an air-tight container or freezer bag with all excess air pressed out and freeze for up to 3 months. After this time they may begin to take on a "freezer burnt" flavor. Repurpose the used parchment paper from baking between layers to prevent cookies from freezing and sticking together.