These Chocolate Orange Cookies taste exactly like a Terry's Chocolate Orange! They have a brownie-like cookie baseinfused with fresh squeezed orange juice and zest! The dough is rolled in orange sugar prior to baking which results in a fluffy interior and a slight crispy exterior! They're then drizzled with a chocolate orange glaze and sprinkled with more zest! If that wasn't enough, they're gluten free, nut free, eggless and can easily be vegan!
Wash and dry the 2 oranges. Take a zester and zest the 2 oranges. Put the zest in a little bowl and set aside.
Take 1 orange, cut it in half and juice it. Make sure to remove any seeds if they get in the juice. Set aside. There should be about 2 tablespoons of juice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the 1 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons gluten free flour, ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powders, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder and the ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a small bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the ½ cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick and 1 ¼ cups of the dark brown sugar until it is soft and creamy. About 2-3 minutes.
Slowly beat the cornstarch water mixture, 2 tablespoons milk, 1 tablespoon of orange zest, 1 tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange juice and ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract into the creamed butter and sugar. It will look brown and chunky. That's normal.
With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the gluten free flour mixture a little at a time and mix until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with the spatula and combine again.
Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and 30 minutes. You must not skip this step or the cookies will be way too sticky to form into balls.
When the dough has 15 minutes left of chilling, preheat your oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Once the dough is done chilling, in a small bowl, whisk together the 3 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 1 teaspoon of orange zest. Mix until completely combined.
Take the dough out of the fridge. Using an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop, scoop the dough out into 12 scoops. Note: The cookie dough will be quite sticky and may stick to your hands if they're warm. If this happens, rinse your hands and then shake off any excess water. You want them slightly wet but not dripping wet. This will help prevent the dough from sticking. You can also wash the cookie scoop half way through to remove any stuck on dough.
After they're scooped, roll each dough ball in the orange sugar and coat completely.After rolling in the orange sugar, flatten each dough ball into a thick disc versus a ball. If you don't do this step, the cookies will remain in the ball shape when baking and will not spread out.
Place dough discs about 3-4 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheet. Bake the cookies at 325 degrees Fahrenheit for 14-15 minutes. Store extra dough discs in the fridge while the rest are baking. I bake no more than 6 at a time.
Immediately reshape the cookies when they come out of the oven by using a spatula to push them into a circle shape and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 min before transferring to a cooling rack. If you don't do this, the cookies will break apart into a giant mess.
Make the Glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of confectioners' sugar, the ¼ cup cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice, the ¼ teaspoon orange zest.
Start adding in the 1 tablespoon plus 1.5 teaspoons water a little at a time until you reach the desired consistency. You may not need all the water. The glaze should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and not thin and watery.
Drizzle the chocolate orange glaze on top of the cool cookies. If you drizzle it on warm cookies, the glaze with melt. It is easier to hold your hand about 6 inches above the cookies and move your arm side to side while drizzleing to create a horizontal pattern. Then get more glaze and move your arm from top to bottom to create a vertical pattern.
Sprinkle with more orange zest while the glaze is wet if desired. Let the glaze harden.
Video
Notes
For smaller cookies: Use a small cookie scoop or roll the dough into 1 inch balls before rolling in sugar and flattening into a thick disc. Bake at same temperature for 12-13 min. Make sure to keep dough in the fridge in-between baking the batches.Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks and a non dairy milk.All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 2 packed cups of regular flour (210 grams plus 2 tablespoons), packed ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder (58 grams plus 2 tablespoons) and only 1 tablespoon of milk. Still chill the dough.Storing: Once the glazed has solidified, keep extra cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Freezing the Dough: Wrap dough in a disc in plastic wrap and then pop it in a zip top bag. Freeze for up to 30 days. Thaw dough in the fridge the night prior to using. No need to chill again prior to baking.Freezing Baked Cookies: Add the glaze but do not add extra zest on top. Once glaze has hardened, place cookies (not stacked) on a parchment lined baking sheet and pop in the freezer uncovered. Freeze for 10 minutes or until the cookies are completely frozen. Once frozen, you can store them stacked in a freezer safe airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. To defrost, take the container out and leave at room temperature until soft.Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.