Orange, Pistachio and Chocolate Shortbread
Updated Dec. 5, 2023
- Total Time
- 50 minutes plus 8 hours’ chilling
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 3cups/383 grams all-purpose flour (see Tip)
- 1teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- 1¼cups/284 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- 1large egg yolk
- ½cup/76 grams roughly chopped candied orange peel
- ½cup/76 grams shelled unsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
- 4ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Nutritional analysis per serving (48 servings)
109 calories; 6 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 41 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using an electric mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), beat at medium-high speed until the mixture is pale in color, about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula, as needed. Add egg yolk and blend until combined.
- Step 2
Add flour mixture and mix on low until combined. If there are dried bits of flour left around the bowl, use a rubber spatula to incorporate. Add orange peel, pistachios and chopped chocolate and fold in with a rubber spatula. (The dough will be crumbly. If necessary, use the electric mixer to add the mix-ins, or work them in with your hands until fully incorporated.)
- Step 3
To form the cookies, line an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with plastic wrap and leave a generous amount of overhang on all sides. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and press very firmly to flatten in an even layer. Cover with plastic wrap and chill dough 8 hours or overnight before baking.
- Step 4
To bake the cookies, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Step 5
Using the plastic wrap overhang, remove the dough from the pan and cut the square into three equal rectangles. Cut each rectangle crosswise into roughly ⅓-inch-thick slices (about 48 cookies total) and lay them flat on the prepared baking sheets, about ¾-inch apart. (If the dough crumbles when slicing, simply push the mixture together to reform the cookie.) Bake until lightly golden on the bottom but still blonde on the edges, 15 to 17 minutes.
- Step 6
Remove from the oven, allow cookies to cool on the sheets. The cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
- If using volume measurements, using a spoon, fluff and scoop the flour into a measuring cup, then scrape with a straight edge to level. This will help prevent adding too much flour, which can yield overly crumbly dough.
Private Notes
Comments
For those not fond of candied orange peel, dried dark cherries would make a good substitution.
I think she means you should line the 8x8 pan with plastic wrap--with enough overhang to cover the dough once it's in the pan. I believe there is a mistake in Step 5 where it says, "Using the parchment overhang, remove the dough from the pan"--I think that's supposed to be "Using the plastic wrap overhang." The sheet pans are lined with parchment paper, because the cookies are actually baked on those.
Please recommend candied orange peel that doesn't taste like a chemical concoction.
I’ve made these for the holidays for the past 3 years now and I can say without a doubt they’re not only the best cookie I’ve ever made, they’re the best cookie I’ve ever eaten. The recipe is very fiddly and you need to weigh the flour (375g, not what the recipe says.) I also always mix it a little more than I would with any other baking recipe, I make sure the mixture comes together, because otherwise yeah, it’s too crumbly and falls apart while slicing and just generally pisses me off and bakes uneven. But when you do it right— these are absolutely perfect. I use dried cherries in place of the orange (too lazy to make my own and impossible to find any local that doesn’t taste weird and chemical-y) and they are divine with the pistachios and dark chocolate.
Ver pretty, very tasty cookies! Made as written except I rolled the dough into a log in plastic wrap, refrigerated for a few hours, and sliced as some others suggested. Came out perfectly. The dough is a little crumbly but by following this process I had no issues with it coming together and slicing cleanly. I used a baking scale so my flour weight was exact, maybe that helped. I also ensured my fillings were chopped fairly small. Only other tweak I made: I added slightly less chocolate than the recipe called for. The chocolate and orange combo is nice but the chocolate easily overwhelms so I was happy with the reduction.
I followed the recipe to the letter. It was a disaster for me too--a crumbly mess. I baked some chunks of the dough that didn't fall apart when sliced. Unimpressed. I am going to bake the rest of the crumbs in the original 8x8 pan and try to cut into them or eat with a spoon. A real disappointment.