Hello lovelies,
You didn’t think the shortbread bar series would be over now it’s christmas… did you? Well, I’m bringing you some good news, it certainly hasn’t ended and I’m back today with a festive special.
I have been planning my festive shortbread bars for a good 4 months now and I can’t tell you how excited I’ve been to put the planning into action and create utter deliciousness.
If there’s one thing I LOVE about christmas, it’s the endless amount of christmassy flavour combinations there are (and you guys know by now what a good flavour combo means to me) and with heart I can certainly say that todays combination will not disappoint.
I told you a couple of posts back about my love for the chocolate orange combination at christmas, it just fills my heart with happiness and warmth, so I just knew the pairing would be the perfect addition to my shortbread bar series.
Only this isn’t flavoured with terrys chocolate orange like my cookies I shared last week, today’s shortbread bar uses orange marmalade and dark chocolate as its flavouring and damn, did they together create something magical.
I’m not a marmalade fan to be completely honest so I was certainly taking a big risk by adding it to my shortbread bars but it definitely worked in my favour as it complimented the dark chocolate and vanilla shortbread perfectly.
So, if you’d like to make these chocolate orange shortbread bars yourself, you know the drill. Keep on scrolling below and you’ll find todays recipe.
Category: Sweet Treat
Servings: 9-12 Bars
Prep Time: 10 Minutes
Bake Time: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes
Overall Time: 1 Hour, 20 Minutes
Ingredients You Need For The Shortbread Base & Topping:
- 170g Of Unsalted Butter
- 105g Of Caster Sugar
- 65g Of Light Brown Sugar
- 2tsp Of Vanilla Bean Paste / Extract
- 280g Of Plain Flour
Ingredients You Need For The Filling:
- 1x Jar Of Orange Marmalade
- 200g Of Dark Chocolate, Chopped Into Small Pieces
How To Make The Shortbread Bars:
- Firstly, gather together your equipment and ingredients, line a 8” square, loose bottomed baking tin with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 190C / 170C Fan / Gas Mark 4.
- Secondly, in a large bowl, using an electric whisk, beat together the 170g of unsalted butter with the 105g of caster sugar, 65g of light brown sugar and 2tsp of vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
- Next, slowly add the 280g of plain flour and mix until incorporated and a shortbread dough begins to form.
- Transfer one third of the shortbread dough into a clean bowl and using a fork, break the dough into coarse crumbs. Then, place into the freezer.
- Now, using your hands or a rubber spatula, press the remaining shortbread dough evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking tin.
- Using a fork, prick the dough all over (this stops the dough from puffing up whilst baking).
- Place the tin into the oven and bake for around 25 minutes, until the shortbread is golden brown.
- After 25 minutes, remove the shortbread base from the oven and evenly spread over the entire jar of orange marmalade.
- Sprinkle the 200g of chopped dark chocolate over the top of the orange marmalade.
- Then, remove the remaining shortbread from the freezer and sprinkle it evenly over the top of the chocolate orange filling.
- Place back into the oven and bake for a further 35-40 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the filling is bubbling.
- When baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the tin.
- Finally, once fully cooled, carefully remove from the baking tin and cut into 9-12 squares and serve.
Notes:
- For a cleaner cut of these shortbread bars, once cooled, place into the fridge for 30 minutes. This allows it to harden making it easier to cut.
- These chocolate orange shortbread bars should last 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature.
- Once baked and completely cooled, these shortbread bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. I’d recommend taking out the freezer the night before using and put into the fridge to thaw and then bring to room temperature before serving.
Now these shortbread bars may be a lot simpler than the ones I’ve shared previously but my word, do these pack a punch in flavour!
I just love how the orange marmalade compliments the dark chocolate and vanilla shortbread. They harmonise beautifully with one another to create something quite magical.
These are an absolute must-try this festive season!
Let me know in the comments below if you make these shortbread bars yourself and if you do, what your thoughts are on them. Are you a chocolate orange lover? Did these shortbread bars tingle those tastebuds?
Sending you all tons of love & hugs as always,
Elle xo
