Chocolate & Orange Shortbread

It has been such a fun week so far! Well, other than some horrible things that have happened to me over the past few days. In the last two days, I have not only chipped my tooth, cut my hand on a broken glass, stepped on a toothpick (injuring my foot), but I also discovered that a lively bunch of bees had built a little nest right in my chimney. It has definitely been an eventful and painful couple of days and I hope the rest of the week is a little less exciting. 

While the pain and injuries have been plentiful this week, I am happy to say that the number of new fans for Diddles & Dumplings have been as well! I am so thankful for each and every one of you who take the time to follow along and give me feedback and inspiration to create fun new dishes that we can all enjoy! 

This week, one of my good new friends, whom I met after our daughters had befriended each other at school, had a birthday! I've had such a good time getting to know her this year and we have had so much fun together (we both volunteer in our daughters' class on the same day) and thankfully I was also fortunate to have a conversation with her about one of her favorite treats: shortbread. Aha! I had the perfect starting point of what to make her to celebrate her big day! After searching around the pantry, raiding the fridge and thoroughly examining the spice rack, the end result was no ordinary shortbread, but a delicious chocolate & orange shortbread that would rival all other shortbread recipes. Of course, while this may have been a recipe created specifically for my dear friend, it was also too delicious to not share with you all. 

Chocolate & Orange Shortbread Recipe:   |Print Recipe|

Shortbread:

1 cup salted butter (2 sticks)

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Orange glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar

1/2 large orange (juiced)

1-2 teaspoon(s) orange zest

Chocolate drizzle:

1/4 cup chocolate chips (melted)

Garnish:

1 teaspoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until mixture is light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and gradually stir in flour. 

Once mixture is combined, place dough on a floured surface and roll out to 1/4" thickness. Use a 1-1/2" or 2" round cookie cutter to cut as many circles as you can. I used a 1-1/2" cutter and I got 26 circles out of the dough.

Place dough circles on an ungreased cookie sheet and put in the oven for 18-20 minutes, or until cookies begin to lightly brown on the edges.

While cookies are baking, combine confectioners sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a small bowl. Set aside.

Remove cookies from oven and place on a rack to cool. Once cookies are completely cool, use a spoon to drizzle the orange glaze over the cookies. Once the orange glaze is dry, drizzle melted chocolate over the top and sprinkle with a tiny pinch of orange zest. 

Once the cookies harden, they are ready to be devoured! If you are giving them as a gift, try not to eat them all before you get them packaged. 

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