These chocolate orange cookies are a soft and thick chocolate cookie loaded with an entire chocolate candy orange. They’re perfect for the Christmas season with the great flavors of this favorite holiday treat.
December is the busiest month for me with lots of family events, and lots of blog baking too. I love coming up with lots of delicious holiday cookie recipes to share with you here. And if you love baking cookies for the holidays then this is the recipe for you.
If you’re looking for more delicious holiday cookie recipes, try my white chocolate raspberry cookies, or chocolate better than sex cookies, I just know you’ll love them too.
These chocolate orange cookies are such a great way to enjoy the flavors of Christmas during the holiday season. I’ve loved Terry’s chocolate oranges since I was a kid, and adding the pieces to these chocolate cookies is such a fun way to enjoy the same flavors. The cookies bring back all the memories of enjoying these candy chocolate oranges every Christmas.
The chocolate cookie is thick, soft, and nicely fudgy in the middle. They’ve got an amazing texture to add to their delicious chocolate and orange flavors.
Why You’ll love these cookies:
- Thick, soft and fudgy cookies that have the best texture and flavor!
- No chilling required! That’s right, you can start making the cookie dough and be eating the cookies less than 30 minutes later.
- The best chocolate orange flavor – if you love the combination of chocolate and orange you will love these cookies.
- The flavors of Christmas! If you too grew up with busting a Chocolate Orange every holiday season you won’t be able to resist these cookies!
Ingredients:
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Chocolate Orange Cookies Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- unsalted butter – if you sub for salted, cut the salt in the recipe in half
- brown sugar and granulated sugar – a mix of both gives these cookies the perfect texture and sweetness
- eggs – to help bind everything together
- vanilla extract – balances out the chocolate flavor
- cocoa powder – for the perfect chocolatey flavor, I recommend using unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- all purpose flour –
- baking soda – gives the cookies the perfect lift to give them the best texture
- salt – to balance out the sweetness
- mini chocolate chips – to give the cookies extra chocolate in every bite
- chocolate orange – to give the perfect chocolate orange bites
- fresh orange zest – to give the cookies an orange flavor throughout
How to make Chocolate Orange Cookies?
- Preheat the oven and line two baking trays with parchment paper or silicone liners. In a medium sized bowl combine the dry ingredients, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until combined.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and sugars and beat them together until combined, light, and fluffy. Add in the eggs and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
- Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, and stir it together until you have a nice soft cookie dough.
- Add in the Chocolate Orange pieces, and the chocolate chips, and the orange zest, and stir them into the cookie dough.
- Scoop 2 TBS of dough and roll it into a smooth ball. Place the cookie dough balls onto the lined cookie sheet about 2-3 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 8 to 11 minutes, or until the edges are firm and the tops look just set (no longer shiny). Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool for about 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Tips and Tricks:
- Make sure to measure the flour correctly by spooning the flour into the measuring cup then using the back of a butter knife to level the flour across the top of the cup. (If you scoop the cup into the bag or container of flour you will pack the flour into the cup much tighter and end up with more flour than you want. This will result in cookies that don’t spread as well, and have less flavor.)
- The cookies should look barely set on the top, and maybe still a little bit under baked too. The cookies will keep cooking on the baking sheet out of the oven for a few minutes, and this will keep them extra soft in the middle.
- Add some chocolate chips and additional Chocolate Orange Candy pieces on top of the cookies as soon as they come out of the oven to make the cookies look extra nice.
How to store Chocolate Orange Cookies ?
Let the cookies cool completely, then you can store any leftover cookies in an airtight container, or ziptop bag at room temperature for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze the cookies by placing the cooled cookies in a freezer safe container or bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. Then let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours before enjoying again.
How to store cookie dough?
You can also store the cookie dough in the fridge for up to 6 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months, so you can enjoy fresh warm cookies next time. Personally I like to pre-scoop the cookie dough into balls so I can bake them directly from frozen.
You’ll roll them into balls and place them on a lined cookie sheet to freeze for about 1 hour until the balls are frozen solid. Then transfer them to a freezer safe container and freeze.
Bake the cookies directly from frozen by adding 2 to 3 minutes to the baking time. The cookies may bake thicker from frozen instead of spreading out so much.
These Terry’s chocolate orange cookies are going to be a new holiday classic! They’ve got the great flavor of the beloved holiday Chocolate Oranges, all wrapped up in a soft and chewy chocolate cookie that no one will be able to turn down!
More cookie recipes:
- Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Hot Chocolate Cookies
- Buckeye Brownie Cookies
- German Chocolate Cake Cookies
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Chocolate Orange Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 TBS vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups chopped Chocolate Orange candies
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1 TBS orange zest
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk them together until combined.
- Add the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar to a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer) and cream them together for about a minute or two until combined.
- Add in the eggs, and vanilla extract and stir them in until just combined.
- Slowly add in the dry ingredients while mixing until you have a nice, soft cookie dough.
- Add in the chocolate orange candies, chocolate chips, and orange zest and stir it into the cookie dough until mixed evenly.
- Scoop 2 Tablespoons of cookie dough and roll it into a smooth ball, and place it onto the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with additional dough placing them at least 2 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 8 to 11 minutes, or until the sides are done and the tops look barely set.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let the cookies cool on the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Sandy says
What is chocolate orange candies?
Aimee says
You can find Chocolate Orange balls, its chocolate flavored with orange. Most grocery stores in the USA will have them this time of year, Walmart, Kroger, etc. I like Terry’s Brand
sarah says
recipie tastes great! but my cookies turned out very britle n cakey.. is there a way to make it more crispy on the outside and also less sweet?
Aimee says
You could try leaving an egg out with less flour and see if that makes the cookies less cakey. Mine are fudgy, but not cakey at all – so yours sound a little overbaked? Bake till just set and they will keep baking out of the oven on the baking pan. You could try a little less sugar, but that can also make the cookies spread less as well.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
This is such an easy and delicious recipe, I cannot wait to make it again!
Aimee says
So glad you loved them!
Brandi says
We loved the flavor of these. They literally melt in your mouth! I will make them again.