Choc Orange Swirl Biscuits

These biscuits are hypnotic and almost too pretty to gobble, but rest assured the whole lot vanished within a few moments at the club! Chocolate and orange will always be a match made in heaven, especially when intertwined within a deliciously light, short biscuit. The perfect tea time companion.

If you would like to give them a go, here is the recipe:

What you will need for the dough(s)

Orange Shortbread

120g plain flour 

80g unsalted butter (room temp)

1 free range egg yolk

2 tsp orange essence oil (or just a glug if you are feeling wild)

Pinch of salt

50g icing sugar

Chocolate Shortbread

 80g plain flour

40g cocoa powder

80g unsalted butter

1 egg

Pinch of salt

50g icing sugar

Making each dough separately (bit of a faff, but worth it) beginning with the orange…

Cream the butter, sugar, egg yolk, salt and orange essence in a large bowl until light and fluffy

Add the flour (plus cocoa powder in the choc dough) to the butter mix and rub together with your (preferably cold) fingertips until the mixture resembles crumbs. 

Lightly flour a worl surface and tip your crumby goodness out of the bowl. Use your hands to gently knead and bring the dough together until totally blended. 

Wrap the dough and pop it in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.

Repeat the process for your choc dough!

Once both dough balls are cool, remove once from the fridge and begin to roll out. The width you manage to roll this dough out will determine your measurement for the second dough ball. Patience and a bit of confidence is key here - short biscuits like this crack and crumble all over the place - stick together with fingertips and persevere. 

Our tip for rolling dough is to keep the movement going. Continue lifting dough away from the surface so it doesn’t get stuck - adding dustings of flour when needed. 

Once both doughs are rolled out (try to get the same thickness of each) then it is time to swirl. 

Place the chocolate dough on top of the orange and use a ruler to even out your edges to a neat square / rectangle. From the shortest edge, begin to roll using your fingertips - take it slow, be gentle with the dough and try to keep the roll as tight as possible! Once you have you have your delicious choc orange sausage, wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight if you have time!

Remove and unwrap your dough. Using your sharpest knife, use a ruler to slice 1cm rounds and place on a tray lined with baking paper. 

Bake for around 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool completely and then tuck in and share with chums.