Orange and chocolate shortbread cookies. Sometimes, it’s nice to make a little cookie for coffee or afternoon tea when guests come over for a short break; these crumbly and tasty cookies have a sweet and bitter contrast, with hazelnut cream that perfectly matches this simple but delicious pastry. The oranges are used when fresh with their fragrant peel. And as every year, my trusted “orange seller” offers wonders. So it’s hard to resist the temptation and the scent of those oranges that come directly from the southern lands, picked and shipped.
Orange-flavored shortbread, hazelnut cream, Nutella is fine, or dark chocolate. Finished with a stencil for small decorations with bitter cocoa.
For other pastries, check out the recommended recipes below.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 1 Hour
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 30 pastries
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Orange shortbread, Nutella or dark chocolate
- 1 shortcrust pastry (The recipe for 4 cups of flour. Add the zest of two oranges mixed with ¼ cup of sugar taken from the total weight, using a coffee grinder.)
- to taste Nutella®
- to taste unsweetened cocoa powder (For decoration)
- 2 oranges (Organic for using the zest.)
Tools
Baking tray, stencil for decorating, square cookie cutters. The tools I use can be found here
- Stencils
- Cookie Cutters
Steps
Follow the instructions to make the shortcrust pastry and add the zest of two organic oranges. Let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour, then roll it out to a thickness of 1/8 inch. I recommend rolling out half the batch at a time to avoid warming the pastry too much.
Cut the cookies and arrange them on the baking tray. Bake as recommended and when they are cool…
Fill with Nutella. If you prefer, fill with the recommended dark chocolate mousse below.
Decorate with cocoa powder using stencils. Before decorating, slightly moisten the cookies with a brush dipped in a little milk, then decorate. This will help achieve a well-defined pattern.
Serve with coffee, or fruit tea, orange, cinnamon, hot chocolate. A small sweet break. A little thought for friends.
Some Extra Tips
If you prefer not to use Nutella, you can make a mousse with: 300 g dark chocolate, softened with 50 ml of cream and mixed with 150 g of mascarpone. They can be stored at room temperature if you use Nutella, or in the refrigerator if you use mascarpone.
