DIY December: Chocolate Orange Cookies

Hi guys. Today I thought I would do something that I have never done before...a food-related blog post! Over the past few weeks, I have been heavily influenced by Miss Glamorazzi's (Ingrid Nilson's) DIY December videos on YouTube. She has been making lots of yummy Christmas themed treats, as well as cute homemade presents and decorations, so I thought it would give it a whirl myself. I have been meaning to do something like this on my blog for some time now and I've finally gotten around to it. Normally, I tend to stick to baking cakes or cupcakes but sometimes is nice to branch out and try something new. With that in mind, I decided to bake some Chocolate Orange Cookies. 

Although these cookies are not technically Christmas themed, I think they are a lovely little treat for this time of year and would be great accompanied with a cup of tea or coffee whilst sheltering from the cold, winter weather too. I originally got this recipe off of the BBC Good Food website which you can view here, however, I altered the recipe slightly as I did not have any white chocolate at hand. 

To make 15-18 small cookies or 10 larger cookies, you will need:

125g dark chocolate

150g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2tsp salt
75g light brown sugar
125g softened butter
Zest of one large orange
200g milk chocolate chips
1 egg

At this stage, you will need to pre-heat your oven to 170°C (Gas Mark 6) and line a baking tray so that your cookies do not stick.

Step 1
Break up the 125g of dark chocolate into a microwave-proof bowl and melt it in the microwave in 30 second intervals, checking and stirring it as you go, until it is completely smooth. Alternatively, you could do the same over a pan of simmering water until fully molten. Then, leave the chocolate on the side to cool.

Step 2
Measure out the plain flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and set aside for later. Cream the 125g of butter and 75g of light brown sugar and beat it in a bowl until it's light and fluffy (using an electric whisk for this step makes it a lot easier!) Then, add the melted dark chocolate into the mixture and whisk once again.

Step 3
Add in the orange zest and egg and whisk until the mixture is combined. Then, fold in your flour mixture which will eventually create a sticky dough. Throw in the chocolate chips and give the mixture a final stir to ensure that the chips are evenly distributed. 

Step 4
Now for the messy bit! Roll the dough into small or large balls (depending on your preference) and place them onto the lined baking tray. Bake for roughly 15-18 minutes or until a skewer or knife inserted into the middle of a cookies comes out clean with no mixture on it. 

Step 5
Once the cookies are done, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool on the tray for up to 10 minutes. Then, you can transfer them to a cooling rack or a plate. At this stage, the cookies may seem quite soft and may appear un-cooked but I can assure that they are. As they cool, the cookies will harden. Do not try and cook them for any longer otherwise they will either burn or become dry.

And viola, that is how you make delicious chocolate orange cookies! I hope that you enjoyed this post and please let me know if you give this recipe a go yourself, I would love to see the outcomes! Hopefully I will be able to start incorporating some more food-related posts into my blog on a more regular basis as and when I can :)