Ginger Orange Shortbread Cookies

Ginger Orange Shortbread Cookies

Spring should be here soon, right? I love fresh flavors that come out around this time of year. Fresh oranges, lemons, and clementines fill the shelves. Even if it does not look like spring in your neck of the woods these ginger orange shortbread cookies will definitely make your kitchen smell like spring.  Not too long ago I attended the Blended Conference and was introduced to a company named Gourmet Garden.  “Gourmet Garden is all about making fresh herbs and spices easy for weekday cooking.  ”Their herbs are organically grown and are simply washed, chopped, blended and packed into tubes to maintain all their fresh taste and nutrition. These handy herbs in a tube keep their fresh taste for months so there’s no waste.”  You can find them in the refrigerator section of your local grocery store.

I love using ginger while baking and cooking. There are so many health benefits to ginger. One of the drawbacks though is that they can be annoying to peel and they sometimes go bad before I can use them all. In one tube from Gourmet Garden it contains 21 pieces of finely chopped fresh ginger  and can last up to three months. Now that’s a long time! They have no artificial flavors added to them and they are grown without pesticides. {Yeah for no chemicals}

Ginger Orange Shortbread Cookies

• 2 1/4 cups unbleach flour {King Arthur}
• half cup of pecan halves
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter {softened}
• 1/4 cup fine ground sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. fresh orange zest {approximately 2 oranges}
• 1 tbsp. Gourmet Garden Ginger

Directions:

• Combine flour, pecans and salt in a food processor and pulse with metal blade. Process the mixture until the nuts are finely ground.

• Mix sugar and butter in a stand mixer on low until combined.  Then beat on medium for approximately 45 seconds.
• Turn the mixer to low and add extracts, ginger and orange zest.
• Gradually add in flour mixture, about 1/2 cup at a time.
• Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix till fully incorporated.

• Flatten dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap
• Refrigerate dough approximately 3 hours before rolling out on a floured surface
• Roll shortbread cookies out on a floured surface to your desired thickness
• Baked the shortbread cookies 25-30 minutes at 300 Degrees.

One the things I love best about these delicious shortbread cookies is that you can dress them up so many different ways. Chocolate dipped. Orange zest glaze. Plain. My favorite is the chocolate dipped. There is something about orange and chocolate together that is alluring to me.  Here is how the voting broke down at our house.  My mom and I love the chocolate dipped cookies the best. I loved the chocolate dipped cookies so much they are going to have to leave and go to my husband’s office.  My husband loved the icing covered cookies, and my plain jane child liked the cookie without anything on it. How did I give birth to such a boring eater? I can’t wait to hear how you like it!

It’s no secret that I love Callebaut chocolate. I love it’s intense flavor.  What you probably don’t know is that it is in a lot of products you probably already love. When you are at Williams Sonoma take a gander and some of their products with chocolate. You will often find the name Callebaut on the ingredients list.

Chocolate Glaze

• 6 ounces chocolate
• 1 tsp. organic shortening {Spectrum}

Directions:

1. Chop chocolate bar or chips into small pieces {makes it easier to melt}
2. Melt chocolate and shortening in a double broiler on medium
3. Once the chocolate is melting turn the burner to low. You don’t want the chocolate to overheat
4. Once it is completely melted and smooth place in a small bowl that is not very wide.
5. The wider the bowl, the harder it is to dip the cookie to evenly cover the shortbread cookies
6. Dip the shortbread cookies in the chocolate. Place on baking sheet with parchment to dry.
7. Once all your shortbread cookies are covered place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to chill.

I am on a shortbread kick right now.  What is your favorite kind of shortbread? Any recipes that you can’t live without. Do you like to roll your shortbread thick or thin?

Related posts:

Margarita Cookies {Recipe} Grand Marnier Chocolate Spice Cookies Tango Tangerine and Valentine Designs {Sugar Cookie Style} White Chocolate Pear Cookies