Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies: A Fudgy Brownie-Like Cookie with Creamy Orange Ganache

Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies

If you love the deep, fudgy middle of a brownie and the light snap of a crisp cookie edge, these Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies are made for you.

Each one is a soft chocolate cookie sandwiched with a rich orange chocolate cream, and the pairing of orange and chocolate is a classic for good reason. Together they taste bright and deep at the same time.

I bake these all year round, not just during the holidays. They suit a lunchbox treat, a coffee break, a bake sale table, or a quiet evening with a cup of tea. One warning before you start: they vanish quickly. These cookies are dangerously easy to finish, so make a double batch while you have the ingredients out.

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You do not have to sandwich them at all. The cookies are lovely on their own, and I usually keep a few plain for anyone who prefers a simple chocolate biscuit.

I also scoop them a little smaller than my usual cookies, so the batch gives you more sandwiches than you might expect. The recipe makes 18 sandwich cookies, and each tray bakes in well under 10 minutes.

RECIPE HIGHLIGHTS

Here is the quick picture before we get into the details.

INGREDIENTS

The cookie dough uses 11 ingredients, and the filling needs just two more. Here is what you will need.

For the cookie dough

• 200 g dark chocolate, minimum 50% cocoa solids
• 100 g butter
• 2 medium eggs
• 100 g light brown sugar
• 100 g caster sugar
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, or 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
• 60 g plain flour, which is all purpose flour in the US
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 pinch fine sea salt
• 80 g ground almonds

For the orange chocolate ganache filling

• 200 g orange chocolate, chopped
• 200 g double cream, heavy cream in the US

Use good quality dark chocolate with at least 50% cocoa solids, because it carries most of the flavour. Orange flavoured dark chocolate such as Lindt Excellence dark orange works beautifully here and doubles the orange hit.

Butter adds structure and flavour, and I use salted butter by default, though unsalted works just as well. Either way, bring it to room temperature so it melts smoothly.

Medium eggs at room temperature give structure and richness, and they whisk up far better than cold ones. Light brown sugar brings sweetness, structure, and a gentle caramel note, while caster sugar, or granulated white sugar, adds clean sweetness and helps the cookies hold their shape.

The Vanilla I Recommend

For vanilla, I reach for Taylor & Colledge extract, paste, or pods. The flavour is deep and rounded, and it stands up to the chocolate instead of disappearing behind it. You can use 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste, and either works well.

The rest of the dry team matters just as much. Plain flour gives the cookies their structure. Unsweetened cocoa powder deepens the chocolate flavour and adds body, and I like Dr. Oetker fine dark cocoa or Sevenhills Wholefoods organic cacao for a clean, rich result.

Baking powder lifts the dough and keeps the centres light rather than heavy. Ground almonds bring flavour, moisture, and a lovely soft texture, and they also help the cookies stay tender for longer.

Then there is the filling. Cream is the quiet hero here. Combined with chopped orange chocolate, it turns into a soft, truffle style ganache that pipes beautifully and melts in the mouth.

Don’t Skip the Salt

Add that generous pinch of fine sea salt to the cookie dough and do not think twice about it. You will not taste salt in the finished cookie.

What you will taste is a rounder, sweeter, more chocolatey bite, because salt balances sweetness, softens bitterness, and lifts flavours like chocolate, vanilla, citrus, and spice. Leave it out and the cookies taste flatter. It is one pinch doing a lot of quiet work.

WHAT VARIATIONS CAN I MAKE?

This recipe is very forgiving, so play with it once you have made it as written.

• Chocolate chips: stir 100 g of white or dark chocolate chips into the cookie dough for pockets of melted chocolate.
• Nut butter filling: swap the ganache for peanut butter or another nut butter and sandwich the cookies with it.
• Vanilla cream cheese filling: beat 50 g icing sugar with 200 g cream cheese or mascarpone and 1 tsp vanilla extract until smooth, then pipe it between two cookies.
• Coffee chocolate filling: stir 1 tsp instant espresso powder into the milk after boiling for a mocha twist.

My favourite of these is the cream cheese version in summer, when a lighter filling feels right, and the coffee filling in winter with a strong cup of coffee on the side. Try one variation at a time so you can taste exactly what changed.

STORAGE AND FREEZING

These cookies taste best on the day you bake them. After that, keep them in an airtight container for up to three days, though they will soften gradually as they sit. If you want a little crispness back, a short warm up in a low oven helps.

Freezing works well. Freeze the dough as unbaked balls, or freeze the baked cookies, both in an airtight container. What I do not recommend is freezing them once they are filled with ganache, because the filling does not come back to its best texture. Fill them after thawing instead.

EQUIPMENT SUGGESTIONS

Good news first: a stand mixer is completely optional. I have made this dough by hand with a balloon whisk and a spatula, and it works. The tools below simply make the job faster and tidier.

A milk pan with double sided pouring lips is a small thing that saves a mess. When you are boiling 200 g of cream, a wide saucepan spits and a jug is awkward, so a 1 litre pan is just right.

For mixing, an electric hand whisk is enough for most bakers. The Breville Classic Combo Stand and Hand Mixer comes with a 3.7 litre stainless steel bowl and a stand, so you can use it handheld or set it down.

If you bake often, a KitchenAid Artisan stand mixer is a worthwhile long term investment, because the egg and sugar mixture needs several minutes of steady whisking.

Scoops are the unsung heroes here. A set of three trigger scoops covers everything: large at 3 Tbsp, medium at 2 Tbsp, and small at 1 Tbsp. The small scoop gives you even 1 tablespoon portions for the standard cookies, and the medium scoop handles the larger version.

Finally, a 40 x 25 cm wire cooling rack gives the cookies room to cool without crowding.

RECIPE TIPS

Ovens vary, and that matters here more than in most cookie recipes. Take the cookies out just before they look fully baked. The residual heat sets the centres as they cool, which is exactly how you get a soft, fudgy middle. Leave them in until they look done and you will end up with dry, crumbly cookies.

Here is how I work through the whole thing, with the details that make the difference.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan, 375°F, or Gas 5, and line two baking trays with baking paper or a silicone mat.
2. Melt the chopped chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Stir now and then until everything is smooth, then take the bowl off the heat and let it cool a little.
3. In a large mixing bowl or a food mixer, whisk the eggs, both sugars, and the vanilla until the mixture is thick, pale, and fluffy. This is the ribbon stage, and it takes about 3 to 4 minutes on medium high speed.
4. Pour the slightly cooled chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and mix until smooth.
5. Add the ground almonds, then sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Fold gently with a spatula until just combined, scraping the bottom of the bowl so nothing is left behind.
6. The dough will be quite wet, so chill it for 5 minutes to firm up slightly.
7. Scoop 1 tablespoon portions onto the prepared trays, 9 cookies per tray, leaving space between them for spreading. For larger cookies, use a 2 tablespoon scoop and place 6 per tray.
8. Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, one tray at a time on the middle shelf. Larger cookies need 9 to 10 minutes.
9. While the cookies are still warm, press a round biscuit cutter around each one to mould it into a neat round shape.
10. Leave the cookies on the trays for at least 12 minutes. They are very soft straight from the oven, so this rest is not optional. Then move them to a wire rack to cool completely.
11. For the filling, bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan. Pour it over the chopped orange chocolate in a heatproof bowl and stir until smooth. Let it cool until it is thick enough to pipe, then pipe some filling onto one cookie and sandwich it with another.

Pull the cookies out early and let the tray do the last bit of baking. That single habit is the difference between fudgy and dry.

Share it from your kitchen

If these cookies earn a spot in your regular rotation, save the recipe and pass it along to someone who would love a batch. A photo of your sandwiches makes my day, and it helps other bakers decide to try them too.

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Questions and kitchen notes

Did you make these Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies? Leave a rating and tell me how they turned out. If you have a question about the dough, the filling, or the baking time, post it below, and your notes may help the next baker too.

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Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies

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Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies If you love the deep, fudgy middle of a brownie and the light snap of a crisp cookie edge, these Chocolate Orange Sandwich Cookies are made for you. Each one is a soft chocolate cookie sandwiched with a rich orange chocolate cream, and the pairing of orange and chocolate is a classic for good reason.

• Total Time: 36 min
• Yield: 18 sandwich cookies 1x

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Cookie dough
200 g dark chocolate, minimum 50% cocoa solids
100 g butter
2 medium eggs
100 g light brown sugar
100 g caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract, or 1/2 tsp of vanilla paste
60 g plain flour, all-purpose
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch fine sea salt
80 g ground almonds

Chocolate ganache filling
200 g orange chocolate, chopped
200 g double cream, US: heavy cream

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Instructions

Preparation
1-Preheat the oven 170°C fan / 375°F: Preheat the oven 170°C fan / 375°F / Gas 5.
2-Line two baking trays with baking paper: Line two baking trays with baking paper or a silicone mat.
3-Cookie dough: Cookie dough: In a small heatproof bowl, add the chopped chocolate and butter, then set over a pan of gently simmering water to create a double boiler. Stir occasionally until all the chocolate has melted. Remove the bowl from the heat and set it aside to cool a little.
4-In a large mixing bowl or a: In a large mixing bowl or a food mixer, whisk the eggs, sugars, and vanilla together until thick, pale & fluffy (the ribbon stage). Approximately 3-4 minutes on medium-high speed.
5-Continue mixing after the egg mixture has: Continue mixing after the egg mixture has thickened. Pour in the slightly cooled chocolate mixture and mix until nice and smooth.
6-Add the ground almonds, sift the flour,: Add the ground almonds, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into the bowl. Using a spatula, gently mix until just combined, ensuring you get all the dough from the bottom of the bowl.
7-The mix will be quite wet, so: The mix will be quite wet, so place it in the fridge for 5 minutes to firm up just a little.
8-Shaping: Shaping: Use a one-tablespoon cookie scoop or teaspoon and place 9 cookies onto each of the prepared baking trays. Make sure to leave space between each cookie to allow for spreading while baking. (If you want to make larger cookies use a 2 tablespoon ice cream scoop and place 6 cookies on each tray.)
9-Baking: Baking: Bake the cookies for 7-8 minutes, preferably one tray at a time on the middle shelf of the oven. (If you are making larger cookies allow 9-10 minutes for baking.) Once baked, you can use a round biscuit cutter to mould the cookies into a round shape. They will be very soft so allow them to cool on the baking trays for at least 12 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
10-Chocolate ganache filling: Chocolate ganache filling: Add the cream to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Place the chopped orange chocolate into a heatproof bowl and pour the hot cream over the chocolate, stir together until smooth. Cool the filling until thick enough to pipe and then pipe some filling onto one cookie and sandwich it together with another.

• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 16 min
• Method: bake

Nutrition

• Calories: 282.14 kcal
• Sugar: 19.51 g
• Sodium: 58.19 mg
• Fat: 18.53 g
• Carbohydrates: 26.41 g
• Fiber: 2.88 g
• Protein: 4.24 g