I made these cookies for a New Year's Eve party. I wanted something festive and holiday feeling. I've always wanted an excuse to use edible gold dust, and this felt like the right time! These cookies give you all the buttery goodness of my traditional shortbread, with that sweet/tart orange/cranberry combo, anddddd the rich dark chocolate! They are also really fun to make!
The cookies end up looking really beautiful too! I did half the cookies with the right half dipped, and the other with the left so they would look really pretty either stacked or laying on the plate!
Ingredients
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tbsp fresh orange zest, divided
3/4 cup room temperature butter
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup dried cranberries, chopped
5 oz. dark chocolate
edible gold dust (optional)
1-2 tsp vegetable shortening
1. Use a food processor to combine the 2/3 c sugar and 1 Tbsp of the orange zest to create orange-sugar.
2. In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup butter, the orange-sugar, and salt.
3. Gradually incorporate 1 1/2 cups flour to the wet mixture.
4. Mix in the 1/2 cup chopped dried cranberries.
5. Form the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
6 Roll out the chilled dough to 1/4 inch thick on a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to create desired shapes.
7. Chill on a cookie sheet for 20 more minutes in the refrigerator.
8. Preheat 350°F
9. Bake cookies for 7-10 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, or until the edges are golden brown.
10. Once the cookies have cooled, use a double boiler to melt the 5 oz. dark chocolate. Add the orange zest and the vegetable shortening to the dark chocolate and stir until smooth.
11. Dip half the cookie into the melted chocolate, and transfer it to wax paper to set. Sprinkle on the gold dust, or any other desired topping.
P.S. I only dipped the front of the cookie so that the chocolate wouldn't be too heavy and overpower it.