Simple Chocolate Orange Cookies (gf + df)

Written By Raeann Boero

Overview:

This delightful and simple chocolate orange cookie recipe is absolutely perfect for celebrating the holidays and sharing joyful moments with your friends and family. Plus, they’re wonderfully gluten-free and dairy-free, making them a treat that everyone can enjoy!

Rae’s Simple Chocolate Orange Cookies:

This simple chocolate orange cookie recipe is perfect for the holidays and sharing with friends and family. Plus, they're gluten and dairy free! To begin, combine the sugar with the orange zest and rub them together until well combined. This helps release the oils from the orange zest and enhance the orange flavor of the cookies.

Next, cream your oil and sugar mixture until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and fresh orange juice and whisk together until well combined. 

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add this dry mixture to the wet mixture and mix until well combined. Because of the use of oil in this recipe, your dough may resemble more of a cake batter than a traditional cookie dough. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours. 

While you’re waiting for the dough to cool, take a break and drink the remaining fresh orange juice. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, or grease with oil, and prepare one bowl of cane sugar and one bowl of powdered sugar. 

Once your dough is sufficiently chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit or 180 degrees celsius and remove dough from the fridge. The dough may be a little sticky. Use a spoon to scoop up the dough, approximately 1 oz, and drop into the cane sugar. Completely coat the ball of dough in cane sugar and then coat it in powdered sugar. Place on the cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart and repeat this process until your sheet is full. Set the remaining batter aside. 

Bake in the oven for 7 minutes and remove from the oven. Tap the pan onto the counter or stove to flatten the cookies and return to the oven for 7 more minutes. Finally, remove from the oven and let cool. Repeat this process with the remaining batter. 

Prepare the chocolate drizzle by heating a pot of water on medium-high heat. Cover the pot with a stainless steel bowl. Add the dark chocolate to the bowl along with ⅓ cup of water. Melt the chocolate and water mixture and allow to heat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or 50 degrees celsius. 

The chocolate will be extremely bitter. However, bittersweet chocolate pairs well with the sweetness and flavor of the orange cookies. To sweeten the chocolate slightly, add approximately 3 to 5 tablespoons of honey and mix well. Taste the mixture and add additional honey if desired. 

Add the chocolate mixture to a piping bag. If you don’t have a piping bag you can use a plastic sandwich or freeze bag and cut off the tip. Pipe the chocolate drizzle over the cookies in a pattern of your choice. If your chocolate mixture is more on the bitterside, avoid covering the cookies completely in chocolate to maintain a good balance of flavors. If your chocolate is on the sweeter side, you may opt to dip half of the cookie in chocolate. 

Now enjoy these delightful treats! These chocolate orange cookies are wonderfully simple to make, gluten-free, and dairy-free, which makes them perfect for a variety of dietary needs. They make fantastic gifts during the holiday season, spreading joy and sweetness to all your friends and family.

Ingredients:

Batter

  • ¾ cups of sugar

  • Zest of 2 oranges

  • ⅓ cups of vegetable oil

  • 1 t of vanilla extract

  • 2 large eggs

  • 2 Ts of fresh orange juice

  • 2 cups of gluten-free all purpose flour with xanthan gum

Chocolate drizzle

  • 1 bar of 100% dark bakers chocolate (4 oz)

  • 3-5 T of honey

  • ⅓ cup of water

Tools + Equipment:

  • Oven

  • Sheet pan

  • Parchment paper (optional)

  • 2 small bowls

  • 2 medium mixing bowls

  • 1 large stainless steel mixing bowl

  • 1 large pot

  • Whisk

  • Zester

  • Rubber spatula

  • Measuring cups and spoons

Instructions:

1. Prepare your sugar and wet ingredients:

  • Combine orange zest and sugar + blend with fingers until well combined

  • Cream together oil + sugar

  • Add eggs, vanilla, + orange juice + whisk together

2. Prepare your dry ingredients:

  • Combine flour, baking powder + salt

3. Combine mixture:

  • Add dry mixture to wet mixture + mix well

4. Chill

  • Cover with plastic wrap + chill for 2 hours

5. Prepare for baking

  • Line sheet pan with parchment paper

  • Prepare one bowl of bowl of cane sugar + one bowl of powdered sugar

  • Preheat oven to 350 F or 180 C

6. Prepare dough

  • Spoon cookie dough + drop into cane sugar

  • Coat dough in cane sugar, then powdered sugar

  • Place on cookie sheet 2 inches apart

  • Repeat until sheet is full

  • Set aside remaining batter

7. Bake 

  • Bake for seven minutes

  • Remove from oven + tap 5 times

  • Return to oven for 7 minutes

  • Remove from oven + let cool 

  • Repeat process with remaining dough

8. Prepare chocolate drizzle 

  • Heat pot of water on medium-high

  • Cover with stainless steel bowl

  • Add dark chocolate with ⅓ cup of water

  • Melt chocolate + water mixture

  • Heat to 120 F or 50 C

  • Sweeten with 3 to 5 T of honey + mix well

  • Add chocolate mixture to piping bag

  • Drizzle over cookies

Raeann Boero
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