Chocolate Orange Cookies

The flavour of chocolate orange always transports me to Christmas, so this year it felt only right to make it the focal point of these cookies. They are chewy, melty and indulgent but have been made using only whole ingredients and a lot less sugar than you would get in shop-bought cookies. They are just as easily made gluten free by switching out spelt for buckwheat flour and you will find that buckwheat brings a lovely nutty dimension to them.

Makes 14-15

20 minutes

Ingredients

110g butter or coconut oil (room temperature)

120g muscovado or coconut sugar

2 eggs

150g spelt flour or buckwheat flour for gluten free cookies

30g cacao powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

100g dark chocolate chips (minimum 70% cocoa)

2 tsps orange extract

---

Method For Chocolate Orange Cookies

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C/360 degrees F.

Start by creaming the butter/oil and sugar in a large bowl - the mixture should be smooth and mid-brown in colour once done. Stir in the whisked eggs. Add the flour, cacao and bicarbonate of soda and stir until just mixed. Finally fold through the chocolate chips and orange essence.

Using a tablespoon, spoon the cookie mixture onto lined baking trays and pat them down a little. They don’t need to be cookie shaped yet, this will happen in the bake. Keep around 2 inches of space between each one to allow for the spread.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 12-13 minutes. Once done, leave them to cool completely on a wire rack and then dig in!

These will keep in an airtight jar for up to a week and the freezer for 4 weeks.