Chocolate Orange Cookies

I have no idea where this blog will take me, but I guess that’s part of the excitement.

At the moment I am training to be a lawyer and have just moved to Europe’s capital Brussels for six months after having spent the past 9 years on and off living in the UK.  I finally get to hang out with my big sister again (who is a converted Europhile) after not having lived in the same country, let alone the same city for years. When not in Brussels I visit my parents in Germany or fly to Italy to see my Italian boyfriend … ideally involving a trip to Naples to enjoy some Sfogliatelle … hmmm …

I just love love love cooking and baking and look forward to sharing my favourite recipes, learning new recipes and discovering new ingredients and new techniques.

For my first post I wanted to start with something simple and something I have been baking for years: Chocolate Orange Cookies. I love love love the combination of Chocolate and Orange and these cookies are great. You can shape them anyway you want but I would keep them on the smallish side – the recipe is adapted from the traditional German or Austrian Vanille Kipferl, so unlike a chewy chocolate chip cookie you can buy in the UK or the States, this is a rich buttery cookie with a nice crumb. In theory, this is a recipe for Christmas (and my older sister invariably asks me to bake a batch for Christmas) but I think these can (and should!) be eaten all year round. I hear you can even use these to make ice cream sandwiches … I also hear that pistachio ice cream is a perfect match for these cookies (or so I hear) …

Chocolate Orange Cookies (makes about 25-30 depending on size)

Ingredients:

grated peel of 1 orange

100 g finely chopped dark chocolate

200 g plain flour

60g cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

100g caster sugar

Vanilla extract

1 Egg

125 g salted butter (cold)

Mix all the dry ingredients with the grated orange peel. Make a well in the middle and add the egg followed by the cold butter (in small cubes). Quickly mix all the ingredients together until they come together in a small firm ball of dough. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Preheat the oven to 175 C. Form small round balls and put them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or silpat. Bake for ca. 15-17 minutes. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container.

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