Chocolate-dipped orange shortbread
Yield: About 54 servings
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
and cutting out dough
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) salted butter, room
temperature
• 1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 large egg
• Grated zest of 1 orange
• 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely
chopped
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl or stand mixer set on high speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the egg, followed by the orange zest, orange juice and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the flour mixture until just combined.
2. Divide the dough in half and shape each half into a thick disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours. (The dough can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; if it is too firm to roll out, let stand at room temperature for 15 to 30 minutes
to soften slightly).
3. Position the oven racks in the top third and center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325
degrees. Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
4. Working with 1 disk at a time, briefly knead the dough on a lightly floured work surface until smooth. Roll out the dough to ¹/8 inch thick. Dip a 2½-inch round cookie cutter or another shape of similar size in flour and cut out cookies, cutting them as close together as possible to avoid excess scraps.
5. Arrange the rounds 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets. Gather up the dough scraps and gently knead together, and cut out more cookies. If the dough becomes too soft to roll out, refrigerate until chilled. Refrigerate any remaining dough while your bake the first batch.
6. Bake, rotating the positions of the sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through baking, until the cookies are lightly browned on the edges and bottoms, about 20
minutes. The cookie tops will not brown, but do not underbake them. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to wire cooling racks and let cool completely. Repeat with the remaining dough.
7. To dip the cookies, line baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Put the chocolate in a microwave-safe medium bowl. Heat the chocolate on medium, stirring at 30-second intervals, until fully melted. Let stand, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate has cooled to 89 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.
8. One at a time, dip one half of each cookie into the chocolate. Drag the bottom of the cookie across the rim of the bowl to remove excess chocolate, and place the cookie on the baking sheet. If the chocolate cools and thickens, warm in the microwave for 15 seconds at medium power. Let the cookies stand until the chocolate sets and they can be
easily lifted from the baking sheet, about 1 hour.
Per serving: 71 calories; 4 g fat; 2 g saturated fat; 12 mg cholesterol; 1 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 4 g sugar; no fiber; 40 mg sodium; 15 mg calcium