Jessica
Delicious shortbread cookies that have a hint of orange flavor and are covered with chocolate on one side. If you love the combination of chocolate and orange you will love these delicious, delicate chocolate clementine shortbread cookies. This recipe makes 20 to 24 chocolate clementine shortbread cookies depending on the size. You can easily double or even triple the recipe when baking for a crowd.
A note on some of the ingredients:
Gluten free flour: I always use Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 Gluten free flour blend (in the blue bag) for baking. Make sure the flour blend used contains xanthan gum. I also always recommend weighing the flour when baking, this will ensure the results are the same every time you bake.
Vegan butter: For baking I always use Becel plant based butter sticks, unsalted. It is simple to measure because one stick is half a cup. If using salted butter simply omit the salt from the recipe. Soften the butter at room temperature for about 45 minutes prior to starting the recipe.
Clementine juice/zest: Bring your clementines to room temperature if you store them in the fridge before you begin baking. It is much easier to juice fruit when it is not cold. Zest the two clementines first, being careful not to zest too far into the clementine. Depending on the size of the clementines two should generate enough juice for this recipe. If you don’t have clementines on hand any orange would make a good substitute.
Chocolate chips: I use President’s Choice semi sweet chocolate chips which are accidentally vegan and gluten free. I find chocolate chips easier to melt, especially in the microwave, but feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips or plain chocolate bar in this recipe.
How the cookies are made:
The first step is to preheat the oven to 300°F and line two baking sheets with either parchment paper or silicone mats.
In a large bowl, weigh the flour and then add in the cornstarch, icing sugar, salt and zest. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated.
Next, add in the softened butter and mix well. The dough will become crumbly and resemble wet sand.
At this point add in 2 tablespoons of the clementine juice and mix. If there are still some dry patches add in an additional tablespoon of clementine juice. The dough will be soft but hold together well.
Using a 1/2 inch cookie scoop, or 1 1/2 tablespoons, roll the dough into balls and place about an inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. With the heel of your hand or your finger tips gently press the dough dough until it is between 1/4 and 1/2 and inch thick.
Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, watching them closely at the 20 minute mark. The very edges of the cookies will brown when they are done. If you don’t have room for both trays of cookies in the oven you can store the dough in the fridge while the first batch is baking.
Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 to 10 minutes, then move them them to a cooling rack. Let the cookies completely cool. Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave or over a double boiler until the chocolate is shiny and free of lumps.
Using the back of a spoon, gently spread the melted chocolate over half of the cookie. Place the cookie back on the rack until the chocolate has set.
Store the chocolate clementine shortbread cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Enjoy!
Gluten free Chocolate Clementine Shortbread
Soft shortbread cookies with a mild orange flavor throughout and chocolate on one half.
21
servings10
minutes20
minutes143
kcal30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup gluten free 1:1 flour blend (180g)
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup vegan butter, softened
2 – 3 tbsp fresh clementine juice
zest of 2 clementines, plus more for garnish if desired
1/2 – 3/4 cup vegan, gluten free, chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl mix together the cornstarch, icing sugar, flour, salt and clementine zest. Add in the butter and combine well until the dough is crumbly. Add in 2 tbsp of the clementine juice and mix until there are no dry patches left adding in the extra tablespoon of clementine juice if needed.
- Using a 1/2″ cookie scoop, scoop the dough and roll into balls. Place on the lined baking sheet and using the heel of your hand gently press the dough down until it is 1/4 inch thick.
- Bake the cookies for 20 to 25 minutes, just until the edges begin to brown.
- Let the cookies cool on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.
- Once the cookies are completely cool melt the chocolate chips either in the microwave or over a double boiler. If using the microwave melt on high for 30 to 40 seconds then in 7 to 10 second increments, carefully stirring the chocolate after each time. The chocolate should be shiny and the consistency of molasses.
- Using the back of a spoon spread the chocolate over half of each cookie. Sprinkle the cookies with more zest if desired.
Notes
- Nutritional information is a rough estimate.
- Ensure all of your ingredients are gluten free if required.
- This recipe has only been tested with Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour (blue bag).
Nutrition Facts
- Total number of serves: 21
- Calories: 143kcal
- Carbohydrates: 16.3g
- Protein: 0.9g
- Fat: 8.5g
- Saturated Fat: 4.4g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g
- Monounsaturated Fat: 0g
- Trans Fat: 0.1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
- Sodium: 29.2mg
- Potassium: 34.1mg
- Fiber: 0.7g
- Sugar: 5.3g
