Orange Shortbread Cookies with Chocolate Chips

At last year’s Skills Showdown there was a special cooking challenge for dinner, where the food each patrol made had to be something they had never made on a campout before, and it had to be shared with the whole Troop. This activity went over so well that we decided we had to do it at this year’s Skills Weekend!

At the Skills Showdown, one patrol decided to bake orange shortbread cookies with chocolate chips. They used a small propane oven to bake them (limiting them to six cookies at a time), and they turned out so good! I’m sharing this recipe as a part of the Virtual Cookie Exchange.

• 1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons (packed) grated orange peel
• 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
• 1 large egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons whipping cream
• 8 ounces double chocolate chips (such as Ghirardelli)

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350�F. Butter and flour large baking sheet. Whisk first 3 ingredients in medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar, orange peel, and orange extract in large bowl until fluffy. Beat in yolk, then cream. Add flour mixture; beat until dough comes together in moist clumps. Stir in chocolate chips.

Drop dough by generous tablespoonfuls onto baking sheet, spacing 3/4 inch apart. Using moistened fingertips, flatten each to 1/2-inch-thick round. Bake cookies until golden, about 18 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.)

Sometimes, food tastes better on a campout because it’s been such a long day and you’ve worked up such an appetite. But definitely not these cookies! Sherree has even made them in the kitchen with a real full-sized oven and they turned out great!