Orange Chocolate Chunk Cookies
A classic cookie with a little holiday zest!
There really isn’t anything better than a chocolate chunk cookie but when the holidays roll around it’s fun to give the classic a little twist. For the holidays this year we’re adding a little zest - orange zest that is. A decadent cookie with a hint of orange flavour, it’s the perfect nod to a fun holiday flavour.
Soft and chewy with crispy edges, truly the perfect cookie combination. We started with our go-to chocolate chunk cookie recipe and swapped some of the liquid with fresh orange juice and massages the granulated sugar with orange zest so every bite has a wonderful burst of freshness.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Crispy edges with a chewy centre.
A fun twist on a classic.
The perfect balance of chocolate and orange.
Top tips for making orange chocolate chunk cookies:
Use a scale for minimal clean up. The reason we love reaching for this recipe is two reasons; sometimes we don’t need a full batch of cookies and clean up is a breeze, especially when you use a kitchen scale. Using weighted measurements (as we have provided and recommend) means you can add flour, and other ingredients, straight to the bowl without having to dirty a measuring cup!
Massage the orange zest into the sugar. To extract the most flavour from citrus zest massage it into the granulated sugar. This releases the oils and in turn the flavour.
Mix the butter and sugar until shiny and smooth. It can be hard to tell when you have mixed enough when using melted butter in a cookie recipe. We like to look for at the texture, viscosity, and surface. You’re looking for a smooth mixture that is slightly thickened with a shiny appearance.
Don’t over mix the dough. When adding the dry ingredients just mix until it’s combined and no dry patches remain. Over mixing at this stage with create a chewy, tough, and generally unpleasant cookie texture.
How to make orange chocolate chunk cookies:
Prep Time: 16 Min | Bake Time: 14 Min | Total Time: 30 Min
Makes: 12 cookies
Ingredients
50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
1 orange, zested
150 g (¾ cup) brown sugar
113 g (½ cup) butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
7 g (1 tbsp) ground flaxseeds
1/2 orange, juiced (about 3 tbsp)
180 g (1½ cups) all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
kosher salt, to taste
50 g dark chocolate, chopped into chunks
Instructions
Heat oven to 350F and prepare a baking sheet by lining with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. Set aside.
In a large bowl add granulated sugar and the zest of one orange. Using your fingers massage the zest into the sugar to release the oils.
Add in the brown sugar and melted vegan butter and cream using an electric hand mixer until light and creamy - about 5-6 minutes. Beat in the vanilla extract, ground flaxseeds, and orange juice for about 1 minute.
Add the dry ingredients; all-purpose flour, baking soda, and kosher salt, and beat until no dry flour remains.
Fold in or quickly beat in the chopped chocolate - be careful not to overmix the dough at this stage.
Using a 3 tbsp cookie scoop, scoop the dough and place 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. You will need to bake in multiple batches if only using one baking sheet.
Bake in the heated oven for 12-14 minutes and golden brown on the edges.
To make perfect round cookies, fresh from the oven, take a round cookie cutter just bigger than the cookies and scoot it around the cookie until perfectly round. Then sprinkle with some salt and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Repeat steps 6-8 for any remaining cookie dough.
Enjoy!