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Photograph of Chewy Orange Cookies Loaded with Chocolate Orange Mini Eggs

Chewy Orange Cookies Loaded with Chocolate Orange Mini Eggs

Orange flavoured chewy cookies, crispy on the outside, and absolutely loaded with chocolate orange mini eggs; these Easter treats are utterly irresistible. Makes 30 - 32 cookies (or 1 or 2 large cookie cakes or cookie bars!)

Course afternoon tea, Morning Coffee, Snack, treat
Keyword Cookies, Easter, orange chocolate
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Author Susan

Ingredients

  • 125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 75g soft brown sugar 
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt 
  • 1 large egg 
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract/paste
  • 200g plain/all-purpose flour 
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder 
  • grated zest from 3 oranges
  • 300g Terry's chocolate orange mini eggs

Topping:

  • extra Terry's chocolate orange mini eggs

Instructions

  1. Timings

    If making cookies: start making your cookies around 1 hour and 15 minutes before you want to cook them.

    If making a cookie cake, you can cook it as soon as you have made the dough

  2. Collect together your equipment (see Recipe Notes below) and ingredients.

  3. Make the cookie dough: put the butter, salt and both of the sugars into a large bowl and using an electric whisk mix until fluffy. This should take 3-4 minutes. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure it mixes evenly.

  4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and add the egg and vanilla extract. Beat again with an electric whisk until thoroughly mixed.

  5. Add the flour and baking powder to the butter mixture. Either beat with an electric whisk on the slowest speed (to avoid a cloud of flour covering your kitchen!) or mix in with a wooden spoon.

  6. Chop the eggs – I like quite large chunks so I just halve them. It is a bit fiddly and I find that the easiest way, is to do one at a time. Add to the mixing bowl.

  7. Grate the orange zest directly into the mixing bowl.

  8. Finally fold through the chocolate chunks. However, hold a few chunks back before mixing in. The last cookie dough ball to be made may have no or very few chocolate chunks in it. If you hold a few back you can simply mix into the final cookie.

  9. How to make a cookie cake: preheat oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4

  10. Round 15cm/6in greased and lined cake tin - tip in half the cookie dough mixture and level the surface. Add any extra toppings and cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes.

    Round 23cm/9in greased and lined cake tin – use all the cookie dough and level the surface. Add any extra toppings and cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

    Square 20cm/8in greased and lined cake tin – use all the cookie dough and level the surface. Add any extra toppings and cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes.

  11. Leave in the tin for around 30 minutes to cool.

  12. Lift out of the tin and transfer to a cooling rack. Slice when cool.

  13. How to make the cookies: use a small ice cream scoop or a 1 tablespoon measure to divide the mixture into balls – you should make around 28 – 32 cookies - and place on a baking parchment lined baking tray or flat surface.

  14. Top each cookie dough ball with a mini Easter egg.

  15. Cover with cling film and place in the freezer for a minimum of 1 hour – or up to 3 months!

  16. When you are ready to cook them, preheat the oven to Fan Oven 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas 4

  17. Place, spread out on a baking sheet, and cook from frozen in a pre-heated oven for 11 – 13 minutes. (I cook 5 per sheet but it depends on the size of the baking sheet – they do spread quite a lot.)

  18. Baking one tray at a time: bake for 11 – 13 minutes. (I cook mine for 12 minutes.)

    Baking two trays at a time: add one minute to the total time to cook. Bake for half this time and then quickly swap the trays over i.e. put the top tray on the lower shelf and the tray from the lower shelf and on the higher shelf and cook for the remaining time.

    (So for one tray I cook for 12 minutes and 2 trays for 6½ minutes, swap the trays and then another 6½ minutes = 13 minutes on total.)  

  19. The cookies are cooked when: they have spread out, are starting to brown on the edges and look ever so slightly underdone. They should still be soft in the middle. Let them cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Recipe Notes

Equipment:

  • Kitchen scales and measuring spoons
  • Electric whisk and mixing bowl
  • Chopping board and knife
  • Baking sheets lined with baking parchment, if necessary

Softening brown sugar:

Have you ever taken soft brown sugar out of the cupboard and found it was rock solid? If this has happened to you and you need to know how to fix it using the microwave rather than a hammer, please see here.

Weighing the ingredients:

You can either weigh your ingredients and then add them to the mixing bowl or you can weigh your ingredients directly into your mixing bowl. Simply put the bowl on the scales and zero the scales. Make sure you remember to zero them in between adding each new ingredient.