Rob & Laith's Terry's Chocolate Orange Chip Cookies

Dearest darlings, 

How are you? I'm fine and I'd like to tell you something.

If I didn't meet you for dindins in London, I would have never been introduced to Terry's Chocolate Orange... ever. I would have been in London and gone home without ever knowing about them.



Lovely, lovely chocolate

If I didn't buy them I wouldn't have made these lovelies. They, in turn would have never delighted the hearts of some friends (big and small) in Phnom Penh whom I visited recently. They were well-received by said friends and polished-off pretty quickly.

Butter, sugar and orange rind

The lucky M who was visiting me while these lovelies were being baked also enjoyed them. She said they were just what she was dreaming off. A soft, chewy cookie that hits the spot. 



Cookie dough waiting to be baked



Here's the recipe my darlings. For you to try at home. In hope that it will hit 'that spot' whenever you're needing some comforting and tender-loving-care.

I have dedicated them to you from my heart.

Rob & Laith's Terry's Chocolate Orange Chip Cookies

Rob & Laith's Terry's Chocolate Orange Chip Cookies

360g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
120g cold butter, cubed
150g castor sugar
150g light brown sugar
Grated zest of 1 extra-large orange
75g Terry's Milk Chocolate Orange, chopped
80g small chocolate chips

• Preheat oven at 160C.
• Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

1. Put both sugars and orange zest into a large bowl. Rub zest into the sugar with your fingers until the mixture gives off a strong citrus fragrance. (Put the bowl over a smaller pot of boiling water without touching the water and then rub the sugar/zest if it's a cold day.)
2. Add the cold, cubed butter into the sugar mixture and cream for about 5 minutes with an electric beater.
3. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Gently fold in the flour.
5. Gently fold in the chocolate orange bits and chocolate chips into the mixture.
6. Scoop 2-tsp sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets.
7. Bake at 180C in the lower-top half of the oven for 8 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and cool on sheet for 2 minutes. Then transfer all the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Note:

• You may need less flour than I did because of the climate. Start with 270g flour and measure in any additional you may need from there. You should get a cookie dough that just leaves the sides of the bowl cleanly when trying to make a ball of dough.
• This recipe makes a soft, chewy cookie.
• Do not bake or leave them on the baking sheet to cool any more than the given time or they will dry out and be hard, chewy instead.
• The rubbing of the sugar and zest is a trick I learnt from Dorie Greenspan. She uses the large-bowl-over-boiling-water method, but in the tropics I find that we don't necessary have to do that. The warmth of my fingers is enough.
• Try it with cranberries. I'm going to. I think it would be really luscious!

Much love,

Ann