Orange-Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

An easy recipe for irresistible orange flavored cookies,

sandwiched and drizzled with melted chocolate

Let the weekend start, RIGHT NOW! With these sweet and buttery, melt-in-your-mouth orange and chocolate cookies.

I bet these look familiar, right? They look (and taste) just like the orange-chocolate Milano cookies by Pepperidge Farm. The same delicate orange flavored soft cookies, and the necessary layer of rich chocolate in between. 

The difference?! These are made in your own kitchen with simple and wholesome ingredients. And for the simple joy of licking melted chocolate off my fingertips, I drizzled them with MORE chocolate :) 

This recipe is quick, easy, and makes a great, healthier alternative to the store-bought cookies. 
Check out the list of ingredients. All things that you most likely have in your pantry and refrigerator right now. The usual flour, sugar, eggs and butter... and must-have chocolate, of course!
What you might need is one orange, to add the flavorful, zesty orange aroma. And heavy cream to melt with the chocolate, and get a super creamy chocolate ganache to spread in between the cookies and drizzle on top, in a hypnotic chocolate pattern. Look!

 I'm telling you, don't stare for too long, or you might get sucked in...These are highly addictive :)

To make the cookies look somewhat similar in size, you will need to use a piping bag, or a regular ziplock bag with a hole cut in one corner.  Pipe the batter into 2 inch long (5 cm) strips and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. Make sure to leave at least one inch between cookies, because the cookies will increase in size when baking.

It is a lot easier if you use pre-marked parchment paper. Reynolds has a new "smart grid" paper that is really fantastic for this recipe. The lines are all one inch apart, making the job super easy. If you don't have or can't find this paper, draw with a pencil rows of lines 2 inch wide, 1 inch apart. And don't forget to turn the paper over before piping the batter, so the marking are on the bottom.

Check out my video recipe here:

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: to make 24-26 sandwiches cookies

• 2 cups (300 gr) of all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 6 oz (170 gr) of unsalted butter, soften at room temperature for about one hour
• 1 cup (125 gr) of powdered sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 orange, zest and  juice (about 1/3 of a cup)
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) of heavy cream
• 6 oz (170 gr) semisweet or milk chocolate chips

Preparation time: about 45 minutes
Directions: 
1. Remove the butter from the fridge and leave at room temperature for about one hour, if you haven done so yet.

2. Preheat the oven to 350° F (175° C). Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, add the butter and the powdered sugar. Cream together until smooth and fluffy.
Add the eggs, the vanilla extract, orange juice and orange zest. And mix well.

4. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.

 Scoop the batter into a piping bag (or ziplock with a hole at the corner) Pipe into 2 inch long (5 cm) strips and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. Make sure to leave at least one inch in between cookies. I use parchment paper that already has 1 inch wide lines, so my job was super easy. If you don't have that paper, draw rows of lines 2 inch wide, 1 inch apart. Turn the paper over before placing it on a baking sheet.
Bake the cookies for about 12-14 minutes,until slightly golden at the edges. Cool on a rack and prepare the chocolate.

5. Bring the cream to almost boiling point. Pour over the chocolate. Let sit for one minute and whisk until smooth, and the chocolate is fully melted.

6.Let the chocolate cool down for about 10 minutes. Spread the chocolate over the flat side of one cookie and cover with another cookie to make into a sandwich. Make sure to lay the cookies on a flat surface, or the top cookie might roll down, and the chocolate run out.  Repeat with the remaining cookies. You can set them one next to each other (like in the photo below), so they stay in place.

You can drizzle the top with any remaining chocolate. Leave the cookies on the cooling rack until the chocolate is set.

Store in an air-tight container.