Chocolate Dipped Orange Shortbread Hearts Recipes

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, sugar, 2 tablespoons orange zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add butter and beat until mixture resembles crumbs and starts to stick together. Work until dough sticks together and forms a smooth ball that is not sticky, adding milk if mixture is too dry. Press into a disk shape and wrap in wax paper. Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Lightly flour a clean countertop. Roll dough to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake cookies in the preheated oven until bottoms are lightly golden, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Line the countertop with wax paper. Dip tops of cookies into the melted chocolate, allowing excess to drip back into the bowl. Place cookies on the wax paper and immediately sprinkle tops with remaining 1 tablespoon orange zest. Let dry.

CHOCOLATE-DIPPED ORANGE SHORTBREAD HEARTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• In a bowl whisk together flour, zest, and salt. In another bowl with an electric mixer beat butter, juice, and confectioner's sugar until light and fluffy and beat in flour mixture until a dough is just formed. Pat dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, 30 minutes, or until firm.
• On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin roll dough into a 13- by 12-inch rectangle (about 1/3 inch thick). Cut out cookies with a
• 3 1/2- to 4-inch heart-shaped cutter dipped in flour and arrange 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Using dough scraps, roll and cut out more cookies in same manner. Bake shortbread in batches in middle of oven 10 to 15 minutes, or until pale golden, and cool completely on baking sheets on racks. Carefully transfer cookies to a platter.
• In a double boiler or in a metal bowl set over pan of barely simmering water melt chocolate, stirring until smooth. Pour warm chocolate onto a plate and dip in half of top side of each cookie, transferring cookies, chocolate sides up, to a wax-paper-lined tray. Chill cookies until chocolate is hardened. Cookies keep, chilled, in a airtight container 4 days.