Crisp Orange Shortbread Recipes

CRISP ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Beat the butter, then cream it with the sugar and orange zest until light. Stir in the flour and baking powder and mix together to form a dough.
• Divide the mixture into 10 balls, arrange on a baking sheet. Press each ball fl at with the tip of a round-bladed knife. Chill for 15 mins, then bake for 12-15 mins until light golden. Leave on the baking sheet for 2 mins before releasing with a palette knife. Slide onto a rack to cool. Will keep stored in an airtight container for up to a week.

ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F.
• Blend together butter, superfine sugar, zest, and salt in a bowl with a fork. Sift flour into butter mixture and blend with fork until mixture forms a soft dough.
• Transfer dough to an ungreased large baking sheet and pat into a 10- by 5-inch rectangle. Prick dough all over with fork and sprinkle with coarse sugar (if using), pressing it gently into dough with your fingertips to adhere. Score dough crosswise with back of a knife into 6 rectangles (do not cut all the way through), then score each rectangle into 2 triangles.
• Bake shortbread in middle of oven until edges are golden but center is pale, 12 to 17 minutes. Cool on baking sheet on a rack 10 minutes, then cut into 12 triangles along scored lines while still warm. Transfer triangles with a long spatula to a rack to cool completely.

PISTACHIO ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 11-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter and sugar until combined and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and orange zest and beat until combined. Beat in the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the pistachios and beat just until evenly distributed.
• Tip the dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Sprinkle the top of the dough with sanding sugar and bake on a rimmed baking sheet until the shortbread is golden brown and set, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the baking sheet holding the tart pan to a rack to cool for a few minutes. While the dough is still warm, remove the pan edges and cut the cookie into wedges. Let cool completely.
• Carefully separate the wedges and set them on a work surface. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Let stand at room temperature until the chocolate has set, about 1 hour.

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.

ROSEMARY-ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a food processor, process the sugar, rosemary, zest and salt for several minutes, until the sugar has colored and the rosemary is chopped very fine. Add the flour, scraping up the contents at the bottom of the bowl to blend the mixture evenly. Sprinkle the butter over the mixture. Process in pulses until no bits of butter are visible; the dough should not quite be clumping or coming together. Drizzle the Orangecello or orange juice over the mixture. Process using 10 to 15 one-second pulses; stop and stir to scrape up and incorporate the mixture on the bottom as necessary. Stop processing as soon as the mixture begins to come together.
• Turn out the dough onto a large sheet of baking parchment or wax paper. Gently knead it just until evenly blended and cohesive. If it is slightly dry or crumbly, gradually knead in 1 or 2 more teaspoons of Orangecello; if it is soft, sprinkle over a tablespoon or so of flour and knead in until slightly firmer.
• Divide the dough into thirds. Roll out each portion between sheets of baking parchment or wax paper to a round measuring a generous 1/8-inch thick; be sure the thickness is uniform. Check the undersides and smooth out any wrinkles. Stack the dough portions (paper attached) on a tray or baking sheet. Freeze for at least 10 minutes and up to 24 hours. If the frozen dough is hard, let it warm up and soften just slightly before using.
• When ready to bake, place a rack in the middle third of the oven; preheat to 350 degrees. Line several baking sheets with baking parchment, or spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
• Working with one dough portion and keeping the others chilled, peel off one of the sheets of paper, then pat it back into place. Invert the dough, then peel off and discard the second sheet. Using a 2 1/2- to 2 3/4-inch (or similar) round or scalloped cutter, cut out the cookies. Use a spatula to transfer them to the lined baking sheets, spacing them about 1 1/2 inches apart. If the dough becomes too soft to work with, return it to the freezer until it firms up, then continue. Repeat the process with the other portions of dough. Combine the dough scraps and continue rolling, chilling and cutting out until it is all used.
• Bake one sheet at a time on the middle rack for 5 minutes. Rotate the sheet from front to back and bake for 3 to 5 minutes or until the cookies are just faintly rimmed with brown; watch carefully, as they brown rapidly near the end of baking. Let the pans cool on wire racks for about 3 minutes, until the cookies firm up, then use a wide spatula to gently transfer the cookies to racks. Cool completely.

ALMOND-ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a mixer or food processor bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth.
• With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mixt until dough forms.
• With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
• Cut piece of waxed paper--12" X 6".
• Roll dough into log shape (12" long by 2 1/2" wide and 1" thick. Place on waxed paper and wrap.
• Freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months.
• (If freezing longer than one day, wrap log again in double layers of plastic film.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Remove dough from freezer.
• With a sharp knife, slice into 1/4" thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at leat 1" apart.
• Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, about 20 minutes.
• DO NOT OVERBAKE.
• Cool 5 minutes on sheet; transfer to a rack to cool completely.

ALMOND-ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Make the dough: In a mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar, almond extract, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour and orange zest; mix just until a dough forms. With a wooden spoon, rubber spatula, or your hands, gently mix in almonds.
• Freeze the dough: On a piece of waxed paper, form dough into a rectangular log, 12 inches long, 2 1/2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. Wrap log in the paper, and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 months. If freezing longer than 1 day, wrap log again, in plastic wrap.
• Bake the shortbread: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Remove dough from freezer. (If dough has been in freezer a long time and is frozen solid, let it sit at room temperature 30 minutes so it slices without crumbling.)
• With a sharp knife, cut dough into 1/4-inch-thick slices; place on ungreased baking sheet at least 1 inch apart. Bake until edges just begin to turn golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheet; transfer cookies to a rack to cool completely.

CRISP LEMON SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°. In a bowl, beat butter, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest until blended. Beat in lemon juice. Gradually beat in flour., Divide dough into four portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into a 5x3-1/2-in. rectangle. Transfer to ungreased baking sheets. Cut each rectangle into six squares, but do not separate. Prick tops with a fork. Sprinkle with sugar., Bake 20-25 minutes or until light brown. Cool on pans 10 minutes. Transfer shortbread to a cutting board; recut into squares. Cool on a wire rack.

CRANBERRY ORANGE SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan with foil, leaving foil overhanging at 2 opposite sides of pan; spray foil with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, beat butter, powdered sugar, granulated sugar and orange peel with electric mixer on low speed until blended. Add vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir in cranberries. Press dough evenly in pan.
• Bake 30 to 32 minutes or until set. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack. Use foil to lift out of pan. Cut into 8 rows by 4 rows.

CRANBERRY-ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Mix together flour, salt, baking powder, and ginger in a small bowl.
• Cream together butter and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract until thoroughly incorporated. Add in 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Mix in remaining flour mixture until just combined. Stir in cranberries.
• Form dough into a 9x2 1/2-inch rectangular log. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Remove dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place 1 inch apart on the prepared baking sheets and sprinkle the top of each cookie with a little additional white sugar.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges of cookies just begin to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on baking sheets before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.