The classic flavour combination in these triple chocolate orange pinwheel cookies makes them incredibly delicious.
With a soft and yielding texture punctuated with chocolate chips and finished with a drizzle of chocolate, these are sure to become a teatime favourite.
This recipe came about from adapting a very old recipe I had for simple chocolate pinwheel cookie.
In this new version, almond extract used in the original gave way to orange - to me the chocolate orange combo is a wonderful combination.
Two flavoured biscuit doughs are rolled together to give an attractive swirled effect and instead of a single hit of chocolate, we now have a triple fix! Cocoa, chocolate chips plus a generous drizzle of melted chocolate!
I trust you're on board with the triple chocolate orange feel of these fun pinwheel cookies it certainly makes them more decadent than the original good but basic recipe.
Ingredients
To make these biscuits you will need:
Scroll down for quantities and full printable recipe at the bottom of this post.
Butter - I tend to use lightly salted butter as that is what I have in the fridge. If you use unsalted butter add a pinch of salt. The butter should be softened so that it will cream easily with the sugar.
Caster Sugar - I use golden caster sugar for most of my baking. It's the same as normal caster sugar, but it's unrefined, It is a little more flavoursome with light caramel tones.
Orange extract
Egg yolks - This chocolate cookie recipe is also great for using up any spare egg yolks. The eggs can be medium or large if you use the smaller size you may need slightly more milk.
Cocoa powder
Self-raising flour - for convenience, I use self-raising flour in a lot of my baking recipes. If you only have plain flour add 1 teaspoon baking powder per 100g (3½oz) plain flour. Self-raising flour in the US has a lower amount of baking powder than UK self-raising flour and contains added salt. So if you are based in the US, I suggest you use plain flour with baking powder to get the same results.
Milk - Whole or semi-skimmed
Chocolate and Chocolate chips - Use plain (dark) or milk chocolate according to your own preference. I like plain chocolate best as it is less sweet and adds a more intense chocolate flavour to the cookies. If you only have block chocolate chop this to make the chocolate chips.
Cook's Tips
- A soft dough allows the mixture to spread out during the bake, and for the two doughs to join together. If it's too dry the cookies will not spread as much, have a more dense texture and the doughs may not stick to each other during the bake.
- I used the full quantity of milk listed in the ingredients. You're likely to need slightly more milk in the chocolate dough compared to the orange-flavoured dough.
- When rolling the dough into rectangles you may need to use the edge of your hand or the side of a wide-bladed knife to knock the dough back into place and help create a neat oblong shape.
- Use the parchment paper to help roll the two doughs together in much the same way as you would a swiss roll. Aim to keep the dough fairly tight, without any gaps in the roll.
- The dough should easily unwrap from the greaseproof paper after sufficient chilling. Chill a little longer if you find that the dough is still tacky.
- Depending upon the size of your baking sheet and space in your oven you may need to bake these cookies in batches. Our baking sheet held 6 well-spaced cookies. Return any dough to the fridge until it can be baked.
Variations
I love the chocolate orange combination in these cookies but you could replace the orange extract with almond extract as in the original recipe for a tasty alternative.
Vanilla extract is also a good alternative to the orange.
Vary the chocolate you use. I think plain and milk chocolate works best but you could also use white chocolate.
Instead of creating a spiral, cut the rectangles of dough into strips and stack to create a chequerboard effect.
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To store
The cookies will keep in an airtight container. in a cool place for up to 1 week.
Freeze for up to 3 months.
How to make triple chocolate orange swirl cookies
📖 Recipe
Triple Chocolate Orange Swirl Cookies
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets
- baking parchment
Ingredients
For the orange flavoured dough
- 100 g (3½oz) butter softened
- 100 g (3½oz) golden caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 1 egg yolk
- 200 g (7oz) self raising flour
- 2½ tablespoons milk
For the chocolate dough
- 100 g (3½oz) butter softened
- 100 g (3½oz) golden caster sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 150 g (5oz) self raising flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 50 g (2oz) plain or milk chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons milk
To complete
- 50 g (2oz) milk or dark chocolate, broken into pieces
Instructions
To make the orange flavoured dough
- Beat together 100g (3½oz) butter and (3½oz) sugar until very pale and fluffy. Then beat in 1 ½ teaspoons orange extract. Add the egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of milk and beat again.
- Sieve 200g (7oz) flour into the mixture and mix together to form a soft slightly sticky dough adding the additional milk if required. Work in a further half tablespoon of milk if needed. Set aside.
To make the chocolate dough
- Beat together 100g (3½oz) butter and (3½oz) sugar until very pale and fluffy. Then beat in the egg yolk and two tablespoons of milk. Sieve 150g (5oz) flour and 3 tablespoons cocoa powder into the mixture and add the chocolate chips. Again mix the ingredients together to form a soft slightly sticky dough adding the additional milk if required. Work in the remaining tablespoon of milk if needed. Set aside.
To make the cookies
- Place a piece of baking parchment on the work surface and place the orange dough on top. Cover with another sheet or [parchment and use your hand to flatten and shape the dough into a rough oblong. Then use a rolling pin to roll it out to about 25cm x 20cm ( 10x8 in). Set aside.
- Repeat with the chocolate dough making it slightly wider,
- Remove the top piece of greaseproof paper from both of the shaped doughs. Place the chocolate dough with its long edge nearest to you. Then place the orange dough on top.
- Keeping the long edge nearest you roll up the dough into a sausage shape, using the parchment to help you do this.
- Wrap the sausage shaped dough in the parchment and chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan)/350°F/gas mark 4. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into slices, about 2cm (¾in) thick. Place onto a lightly greased baking sheet, spacing them well apart to allow them to spread. Bake for about 12 - 15 minutes, swapping the baking sheets around after 10 minutes of baking.
- Allow to cool for 5 minutes to firm up slightly before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
To complete
- Melt 50g (2oz) chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Drizzle the melted chocolate over the cooled biscuits and allow to set before serving.
Notes
- I used the full quantity of milk listed in the ingredients. You're likely to need slightly more milk in the chocolate dough compared to the orange-flavoured dough.
- Use the parchment paper to help roll the two doughs together in much the same way as you would a swiss roll.
- The dough should easily unwrap from the parchment paper after sufficient chilling. Chill a little longer if you find that the dough is still tacky.
- See post above recipe for more tips and variations.
- The cookies will keep in an airtight container. in a cool place for up to 1 week.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Have you made this recipe? I would love to hear from you. Did you enjoy it, did you change anything? Leave a comment and rate the recipe. Comments may be held for moderation before publishing.