Orange and chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations. These orange chocolate chip cookies remind me of the orange chocolate ball that comes in pre-cut slices that I get for Christmas every year. There’s something about orange and chocolate combined that I just adore!
Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
This orange chocolate chip cookie recipe is very similar to regular chocolate chip cookies with orange zest added to the mix. You can use dark chocolate, like I did, or milk or semi-sweet chocolate, depending on what you like best.
Tips & Substitutions
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- Unbleached flour – Unbleached flour is simply my preference and I use it in all my baking. You can use regular all-purpose flour instead if you like.
- Butter/shortening – I used both the shortening and the butter in this recipe. If you like you can substitute with all butter. Be sure the butter is “softened” which means that there should be a little give when pressure is applied with your finger. Your finger should not be able to easily plunge into the butter, and definitely don’t melt it. You can remove butter from the fridge and cut it into thin slices with a sharp knife. Within a few minutes the butter will be softened enough!
- Zesting oranges – Use a zester like the one pictured and remove just the outer layer of the orange’s skin. The pith, which is the white layer beneath the surface of the skin is bitter, so be sure you don’t zest that as well. When you use a lemon, lime or orange, be sure to zest it first and store the zest in the freezer for recipes like these! If you only need the zest right now, be sure to squeeze the citrus juice and store that in the freezer for later use.
- Vanilla – There is a definitely flavor difference between imitation vanilla and pure vanilla extract, be sure to use pure for this recipe.
- Chocolate – I used 2 bittersweet Ghirardelli baking bars (60% cacao). You can substitute with a bag of dark chocolate or semi sweet chocolate chips, depending on your orange and chocolate flavor combo preference.
I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks: 400 Sensational Cookies. It would make a great gift along with a batch of these orange chocolate chip cookies and one of those amazing orange chocolate balls. I have made numerous recipes from this book including all of these:
- Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies
- Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cranberry Orange Spiral Cookies
- White Peanut Butter Oat Chippers
- Chocolate Chip Coffee Snack Bars
As you can see I’ve had a lot of success with this book and the recipes within its pages! I’ve bookmarked some other recipes to try with orange flavors, including these orange kissed cookies, these orange ricotta cookies with dark chocolate and these chocolate and orange sandwich cookies.
The recipe and full instructions are below, click the print button to get a clean ad free page.
Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies
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Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 ¾ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and line insulated baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In mixer on medium speed, cream butter, shortening and both sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.Beat in orange zest and vanilla extract.
- Turn mixer down to low and gradually add the dry ingredients until incorporated.
- Fold in chopped chocolate with a wooden spoon.
- Use a cookie scoop to drop cookies onto baking sheet about 2-inches apart.
- Bake 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and let cool on pan for 5 minutes then move cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Amanda Davis
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Cheryl says
For freezing, do I just put the zest in a zip top bag, or does it need liquid also?
Thanks.
Amanda Formaro says
Just put the zest in the bag and freeze! :)
Katrina says
Love chocolate and orange. These are perfectly festive!