Orangenplaetzchen
Submitted by krkall
Orangenplätzchen: German orange chocolate cookies with bright citrus zest, finely chopped chocolate folded into the dough, and a tart orange-lemon glaze brushed on warm. A traditional Weihnachtsplätzchen for Christmas tins.
YIELD
36 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
20 minREADY
3 hrsOrangenplätzchen translates simply as “orange cookies," and they’re a fixture on German Christmas Plätzchen platters. The dough is essentially a butter shortbread brightened with two tablespoons of fresh orange zest and dotted with finely chopped chocolate, then glossed after baking with a sharp orange-lemon glaze that crackles when it dries.
The chill is non-negotiable. Two hours minimum, overnight if you can wait. Cold dough rolls without sticking, holds its shape in the oven, and develops better flavor as the orange zest perfumes the butter.
The five-minute freezer trick after cutting is the move worth borrowing. Firming the cut cookies before transferring to the baking sheet keeps the edges crisp and prevents that floppy-shape problem you get from soft dough. Cookies that go into the oven cold spread less and brown more evenly.
The glaze is mostly lemon juice with a splash of orange, which sounds backwards but works. The lemon’s sharper acidity cuts through the sweetness of the powdered sugar and balances the orange in the cookie itself.
Kitchen Tips
- Brush the glaze on while the cookies are still warm (not hot), it adheres better and dries to a clean, opaque finish.
- Grate the zest with a microplane, not a coarse grater, large pieces won’t dissolve into the dough.
- A 2½ inch round cutter is traditional, but any small shape works as long as you adjust bake time.
- Store with wax paper between layers; the glaze gets sticky if cookies touch.
Variations
- Use bittersweet chocolate instead of semisweet for a sharper contrast against the orange.
- Add a pinch of cardamom or ground ginger to the dough for a more wintery, spiced version.
- Dip half of each glazed cookie in melted dark chocolate for an extra-fancy holiday gift cookie.
Ingredients
Directions
Cream butter, sugar, orange peel, and salt in the mixer at high speed for 1 to 2 minutes, untill light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat 1 minute more at medium speed. Add the chocolate and the flour and beat at low speed just enough to combine.
Divide the dough, flatten each half into a 6 inch circle, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours or, better yet, overnight.
When ready to proceed, preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃). Roll out each circle of dough, one at a time, between sheets of lightly flowered waxed paper until scant ¼ inch thick, sprinkle with flour once during rolling.
Carefully pel off the top piece of paper and, using 2½ inch round cutters, cut the dough-still on the bottom sheet of wax paper- into rounds but do not lift from paper.
Slide the paper of dough on a cookiesheet and set in the freezer for 5 minutes. Then use small spatula to remove the cookies and space 1 inch apart on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Bake the cookies in the middle of the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.
Transfer at once to wire racks. For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar with the juices until smooth. Using pasrty brush, brush the glaze on the still warm cookies.
As soon as glaze is hard you can store them with waxpaper between the layers in airtight containers.
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