Chocolate-Dipped Orange Shortbread Rounds
Chocolate has been around for more then 1,500 years and we have the ancient Aztecs and the Maya in Mexico and Central America to thank. Dark chocolate with high cocoa content (minimum 70%), is high in flavonoids (epicatechin and gallic acid). Cocoa also has polyphenol antioxidant properties, countering LDL cholesterol (levels of “bad” cholesterol) as a result.
Makes about 60 cookies
recipe adapted from Canadian Living
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250ml (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
125ml (1/2 cup) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
1/4 teaspoon salt
500ml (2 cups) all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Chocolate Coating:
2 bars (100g each) good-quality bittersweet chocolate or milk chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
In a large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, orange rind and salt until fluffy; stir in flour and cornstarch to make a smooth dough. Divide dough in half and form each into 25cm (10 inch) log. Wrap each and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Slice logs into 5mm (1/4 inch) thick rounds. Place 2.5cm (1 inch) apart, on parchment paper-lined baking sheets. Bake in 160c (325f) oven until firm, about 15 minutes. Let cool on pans for 5 minutes, transfer to racks and cool completely.
For the chocolate coating, in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of hot (not boiling) water, melt chocolate; let cool to room temperature. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate, shaking off excess. Refrigerate on waxed paper-lined baking sheets until firm (about 30 minutes).
The Culinary Chase’s Note: There’s a lot of inferior chocolate out there disguised (read: slick packaging) to look as though it’s the real deal and price is sometimes a good indication. So, to help make it easier to choose a good-quality chocolate, consider these points. (1) The appearance should be evenly colored, whether it is a mahogany brown, deep red, or black. Darker is not necessarily better, as a dark color could mean the beans have been over-roasted. In fact, many top chocolatiers prefer to see a red hue to their chocolate (with dark chocolate), a rich flavor and well processed. (2) Whatever the color, the chocolate should be smooth without cracks, air-holes, streaks, blemishes or sugar bloom (moldy-looking white coating caused by moisture). (3) Cocoa butter has the same melting point as our own body temperature. However, if the chocolate does not start to melt straight away, then this is another indication that the chocolate is of a poorer quality. (4) There should be an explosion of flavor, smooth, in fact the smoother the better, and buttery, a melting pool of rich creamy chocolate. (5) It should not be grainy or gluey. If the chocolate has a waxy taste this can indicate that vegetable fat has been substituted for cocoa butter. If the chocolate has a very high vegetable fat content, then it’s not real chocolate. (6) Good quality chocolate has a bitter-sweetness, fruity – spicy, with a depth of sensual and subtle mellow flavors with a good balance of acidity and sweetness.