Sweet and salty slice and bake-style chocolate orange shortbread cookies based on Alison Roman’s famous riff on chocolate chip cookies.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
This is a brief summary of the recipe. Jump to the recipe to get the full details.
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
13 minutes
Chilling Time
2 hours
Total Time
2 hours 43 minutes
Servings
24 cookies
Difficulty
Easy—mix, chill, slice, bake.
Calories *
192 kcal per serving
Technique
Cream dough, fold in chocolate and zest, chill logs, slice, bake, and dip in chocolate.
Flavor Profile
Buttery, crisp shortbread with bright orange zest, rich chocolate chunks, and flaky salt.
* Based on nutrition panel
I made these for Christmas. By far, they were the fanciest! […] they kept very well for a week and the orange flavor was more pronounced as they aged. These are a new favorite! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Linda
Table of Contents
Honestly, you don’t need to make any other cookie — these slice and bake chocolate orange shortbread cookies should be your go-to, now and forevermore. Made with salted butter, citrus zest and chunks of semisweet chocolate in a buttery shortbread dough, I dare you — DARE YOU — to eat just one at a time.
You guys, I know I say this a lot, but when it comes to these cookies? I think we can just stop here. I’ve reached full cookie potential with these BBs.
Because when you combine the flavors of sea salt, chocolate, orange and a buttery shortbread cookie, it’s the closest thing to dessert perfection, in my book. And we have one person to thank for it all.
Tips for the Best Shortbread Cookies
Shortbread can sometimes be a finicky dough to work with, since it’s lacking in eggs for added binding. Nevertheless, it becomes less tricky with practice, and with these tips you’ll be on your way to cookie bliss in no time:
1. Be sure to incorporate the ingredients completely. Scrape the sides of the bowl after adding in each ingredient so everything gets mixed together evenly.
2. Don’t skimp on chilling the dough! Two hours minimum is absolutely necessary for these cookies to bake right.
3. Make sure to use a very sharp serrated knife to cut the log into slices, and use a gentle sawing motion when you hit a large chunk of chocolate. If the dough crumbles slightly after slicing, just gently press it back together into a round before baking and it should come together in the oven.
How to Make Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ever since I heard of these cookies, I knew I had to make them. But here’s the thing — for whatever reason, I was attracted to the idea of adding a citrus flair to the cookies. Maybe it’s because I’ve made chocolate orange mousse before and it’s kind of AMAZING, so I knew it could only be an upgrade here. In any case, I went that route, and I have zero regrets. I also like to think it sets this recipe apart from the legions of others out there.
So here’s the situation: You start with a salted butter-based shortbread dough (yes, please go out and buy salted butter just for this recipe — you won’t be sorry, I promise times infinity). You stir in the chocolate chunks (use a bar of semisweet or bittersweet chocolate here and chop it up into larger, coarse pieces. No thin shards of chocolate or, heaven forbid, chocolate chips allowed). Add in a couple tablespoons of fresh orange zest, roll the dough into logs, let them chill until really set, then slice and bake.
And if that wasn’t enough, let’s go ahead and dip them in chocolate and top them with sea salt and more orange zest, shall we? WE SHALL.
All right, my friends — it’s time for you to make The Cookies, GVD-style. I hope you love them as much as I do (because, like, I really, really do).
The Story Behind ‘The Cookies’
That person is Alison Roman whom, if you have any connection to the food world, you’ve probably heard of before. She’s the star behind the cookbook Dining In, and she’s also the person who invented The Cookies — which is what started me down this tasty road of cookie tinkering until I developed my own riff on her famous treat. And so, here we are.
If you’ve never heard of The Cookies, just Google it and you’ll instantly be bombarded with scroll after scroll of recipes and photos of Roman’s game-changing dessert. It’s her take on the chocolate chip cookie — a classic that she says is “deeply flawed” — with a shortbread base, decadent chocolate chunks and the intriguing use of salted butter (she says it gives the cookie a better depth of flavor, and I have to agree).
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If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below! I love hearing from you and your comments make my day!
Chocolate Orange Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 18 tablespoons salted butter, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons, or 2 ¼ sticks cold salted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, divided
- Zest of 1 medium orange, about 2 tablespoons
- Flaky sea salt and more orange zest, for topping (optional, but highly recommended)
Instructions
- In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter, sugars and vanilla on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Scrape down sides of the bowl, then stir in flour on low speed until just combined. Stir in 6 ounces chocolate chunks and 2 tablespoons orange zest until just incorporated.
- Divide dough in half. Place each half on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Fold over plastic wrap to cover dough, then use your hands to roll each piece of dough into a log about 2-2 1/4 inches in diameter. Wrap dough in plastic wrap to cover completely and chill at least 2 hours until firm (can be chilled up to 1 week).
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Uncover one log and, using a sharp serrated knife, gently slice log into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (use a sawing motion to cut through chocolate chunks). Place cut side-up on prepared cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired.
- Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until edges of cookies are just beginning to brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Repeat with second log of dough.
- Melt remaining 6 ounces semisweet chocolate in microwave or in a double boiler according to package directions. Dip one end of each fully cooled cookie into melted chocolate; let excess chocolate drip off, then place cookie on cooling rack. Sprinkle with more sea salt and orange zest, if desired. Chill dipped cookies in fridge 30 minutes until chocolate is set.
- Store cookies in an airtight container up to 5 days.
Notes
Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Technique:
Slice with a gentle sawing motion to preserve those big chocolate shards and keep the logs from crumbling. Variation:
Swap the orange zest for lemon, or roll the logs in coarse sugar before chilling for extra sparkle and crunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hi, I saw the butter was updated. Does this reflect in the metric measurement? it seems 1 cup of butter + 2 tbsp is 254g and the recipe says 141g. I just wanted to make sure before I scaled the recipe to a bigger batch.
Hi Taylor! Great catch — and yes, the metric should now reflect the updated butter. This recipe uses “1 cup plus 2 tablespoons” salted butter, which is 254 g. If you’re seeing 141 g anywhere, that’s an outdated/cached value. Use 254 g (per batch) before scaling up. Thanks so much for double-checking! ~gvd team
this recipe definitely changed from what it was last Christmas, I had the same issue as the other bakers below, the dough was sand. I salvaged it by adding more butter but even after refrigerating for 2+ hours they broke apart trying to cut. Can you update this recipe? Its so good every year and I want to continue making it!
Hi Kara! Thank you so much for calling this out, and I’m really sorry the dough gave you trouble this year. While we were updating the post for mobile, the site briefly surfaced an older cached version of the ingredient list with the wrong butter amount, which caused the sandy texture. The recipe is fully corrected now. It should use 1 cup + 2 tablespoons salted butter, which brings the dough together properly. I’m so grateful you flagged this, and I love that these cookies are part of your yearly baking. They should behave exactly as they used to now. Thank you for sticking with them (and us)! ~gvd team
Just a quick one, the metric measurement for the butter hasn’t been updated – currently reads at 141g and the recipe goes like sand. Use the US measurements unless it’s updated and reads as more than 141g 🙂
Hi Heather! Great catch — and yes, the metric should now reflect the updated butter. This recipe uses “1 cup plus 2 tablespoons” salted butter, which is 254 g. If you’re seeing 141 g anywhere, that’s an outdated/cached value. Use 254 g (per batch) before scaling up. Thanks so much for double-checking! ~gvd team
Made these a few years ago and excited to make them again. Could I freeze half the dough to bake later?
Hi McKenna! I’m so glad these cookies are making a comeback for you! Yes, you can definitely freeze half the dough. Wrap the logs tightly (I like an extra layer of foil) and freeze up to 2–3 months. Thaw in the fridge until firm enough to slice. Happy baking!
This recipe has something wrong in the proportions, the dough was sandy and didn’t come together – definitely low on butter: flour. I like the flavor combo though
Hi Kelly! Thank you so much for letting us know, and you’re totally right. While we were updating the post for mobile, it briefly pulled an older cached version of the ingredient list. The correct butter amount (1 cup + 2 tablespoons salted butter) is now restored, and that fixes the sandy texture issue. Really appreciate you flagging it, and I’m glad the flavor combo still hit the mark. Thanks for baking with us! ~gvd team
This recipe is incorrect. 10tblspoons of butter is not enough for the dough to form. It needs to be at least 1 cup of butter or else it will just crumble and not form a log.
Hi Abbey! Thank you so much for catching this. We were updating the post so it would display correctly on mobile, and it briefly pulled an older cached version of the ingredient list. The correct amount (1 cup + 2 tablespoons salted butter) is now restored. I really appreciate the heads-up and your patience while we sorted the tech glitch, made me feel like I wasn’t alone in the kitchen! Thanks for baking with me! ~gvd team