out of this swirled

These tasty treats are the perfect blend of chocolate and citrus...and they're so pretty to look at!  Although these aren't the quickest cookies I've ever made don't let that deter you from trying them out.  You can also change the orange flavor to just about anything you'd like to pair with chocolate...cherry, mint, peanut butter...the options are endless.

I chose to stick with the orange since I have a soft spot for those chocolate oranges that you whack on the table and break into delicious little slices.  The flavor was comprable, which I was pleasantly surprised about.

First, you're going to beat 1 cup of butter in an electric mixer until it's nice and creamy.  Gradually add in 1 cup of sugar followed by 1 large egg and 1tsp of vanilla extract. In a separate bowl you're going to combine 3 cups of flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt and slowly add it to the butter mixture (make sure it's on a low speed or you and everything around you will be covered in white powder. No need for Scarface reenactments around the dough).

After you've put together the base of these cookies you're going to want to separate the dough into two equal portions, taking one out and adding 2 1/2 teaspoons of orange extract and 1/2 tsp of fresh orange zest to the remaining dough.  Give that a mix and set aside, preparing for the second half to take over the KitchenAid.

This half uses 2 ounces of melted semisweet chocolate to flavor the dough which makes it super delicious.  Beat well before taking it out of the mixer, wrapping both halves (separately), and refrigerate for an hour.

Once they've firmed up you're going to roll out both into approximately 15x8 inch rectangles on floured wax paper. Don't skimp on the flour, you definitely don't want these to stick.  Of course you don't need exact measurements for this--just eyeball it so they have a similar size and thickness before placing the rolled out orange dough on top of the chocolate.  From here the obvious next step is to roll them together, starting from the short end.

You might have to coax the dough from the wax paper (hence the abundance of flour).  Once it's all rolled up you're going to wrap it and send it back for the fridge for another hour.

The next part is the most gratifying.  You get to see your hard work swirled perfectly around each other--something that totally seems doable in theory but let's face it, it's still surprising when it comes out as perfectly as you'd hoped.

Cut these puppies into 1/4 inch slices, place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350º for 10-12 minutes.

Picture perfect!

And there you have it! An impressive little cookie that is full of chocolatey, orangey goodness.  Enjoy!

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