Orange Chocolate Shortbreads

I originally planned on taking these to a Christmas cookie exchange, but sadly I was much to exhausted and sick at the time to attend that (drats, but that was a bummer). So sadly, the dough went in the freezer and I figured that some day, another chance to use it would come around.

Enter: yet another office potluck. And thank goodness for frozen dough! I am not sure how much of an effect the freezing had on it, but the shortbreads didn't spread much in the oven, which was lovely.

I took 2 different Dorie Greenspan recipes and used a bit from each to come up with these, and it seemed to work quite well. I didn't want boring old regular shortbreads, I wanted something a little more interesting than that. I added some orange zest which gave them a nice orange undertone, and the tiny chunks of bittersweet chocolate gave the cookies just enough umph to shake things up a bit. All in all a very good side-of-the-saucer cookie!

Orange Chocolate Shortbreads

(adapted from Dorie's recipe)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 c. light brown sugar

2 Tbsp. orange juice or 1 tsp. orange zest

1/2 c. finely chopped bittersweet chocolate

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.

Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until the mixture is very smooth. Add the orange juice (or zest). Reduce the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until the flour is incorporated.

Add the chocolate and give the mixture a few turns, just to get the chocolate incorporated into the dough. Roll dough into a tube (log) shape, and wrap in plastic wrap.

Refrigerate the dough at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. The dough also freezes well (for up to 3 months). To bake: preheat your oven to 350 F and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Slice the dough into 1 1/2-inch slices, and transfer to baking sheets.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the sheets from top to bo0ttom and front to back at the midway point. The shortbreads will be pale - they shouldn't take on much color. Transfer the cookies to a rack. Cool to room temperature before serving.