Chocolate and Orange Biscuits (Cookies)

These recipes come from old, yellowed pages, written in my mother’s hand over forty years ago. The paper is thin, the letters faded in places, but the scents they carry remain warm, deep, and unforgettable.

Chocolate and orange in these biscuits evoke quiet afternoons and the comforting warmth of the oven. Soft and delicate, they stay that way for days, just as I remember from childhood.

I remember my mother carefully separating the yolks from the egg whites, taking her time. She would say that cakes should never be made in haste, for they remember the hands that make them. This recipe uses only yolks, giving the biscuits a rich texture and full flavour.

In old notebooks, nothing was ever wasted. Each egg white had its purpose, its own cake, its own moment. So, when you have leftover egg whites after making these biscuits, the natural next step is a recipe where you can use them — Coconut Snowflake Biscuits.

Like my mother’s famous šape and these biscuits belong to that quiet kitchen magic recipes that aren’t learned from books but are inherited, remembered and cherished.

Ingredients

• 500 g plain flour

• 200 g butter

• 6 tbsp caster sugar

• 4 egg yolks

• 60 g grated milk chocolate

• 1 tsp baking powder

• 1 orange, zest and juice

Method

1. Put the sifted flour in a mixing bowl and add cold butter (diced). Rub with your fingers until the texture turns crumbly. Add the sugar, egg yolks, chocolate, baking powder, orange zest and juice, and mix together to form a soft dough. Add the juice sparingly as you may not need to use it all. 

2. Preheat the oven to 150 C. Roll the dough to a thickness of 3mm on a lightly dusted surface. Cut out the biscuits with a flower cutter and place them on a prepared baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until they begin to brown. Transfer the biscuits onto a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar before serving. 

Tip from the Old Kitchen

Biscuits are baked at a lower temperature to keep their light colour and remain soft inside. This is how delicate pastries were once baked slowly and patiently, without rush.

Note

If you enjoy a more pronounced flavour, you can add a little finely grated orange zest or a few drops of natural vanilla to the icing sugar. The biscuits will gain another fragrant note, exactly the kind that lingers in memory.

If you try this recipe, I’d love to see your version.

Tag me @smikiscorner and share the love.

Čokoladni Keksi sa Narandžom

Ovi recepti dolaze sa starih, požutelih listova, ispisanih majčinom rukom pre više od četrdeset godina. Papir je tanak, slova su ponegde izbledela ali mirise koje nose ostali su isti; duboki, topli i prepoznatljivi.

Čokolada i narandža u ovim keksima bude sećanja na tiha popodneva i rerne koje greju ceo dom. Keksići su mekani, nežni i ostaju takvi i nekoliko dana nakon pečenja baš onako kako ih pamtim iz detinjstva.

Sećam se kako je majka pažljivo odvajala žumanca od belanaca, bez žurbe. Govorila je da se kolači ne prave na brzinu, jer pamte ruke koje ih mese. U ovom receptu koriste se samo žumanca, što keksima daje bogatu strukturu i pun ukus.

U starim sveskama ništa se nije bacalo. Svako belanjce imalo je svoju namenu, svoj kolač i svoj trenutak. Zato, kada vam nakon ovih keksića ostanu belanjci, prirodan je nastavak recept u kojem ih možete iskoristiti baš onako kako se nekada radilo u svakoj kuhinji — Pahuljasti keksići od kokosa

Kao i majkine čuvene šape i ovi čokoladni keksi sa narandžom pripadaju onoj tihoj kuhinjskoj magiji receptima koji se ne uče iz knjiga, već se nasleđuju, pamte i čuvaju.

Sastojci

• 500 g brašna

• 200 g maslaca

• 6 kašika šećera

•  4 žumanjca

• 3 rebra ribane čokolade

• 1/2 m.k praška za pecivo

• sok i ribana korica 1 narandze

Priprema

1. U prosijano brašno izmrviti hladan maslac, dodati šećer, žumanjce, čokoladu i prašak za pecivo, pa brzo zamesiti glatko testo. Testo razvaljati, zatim kalupom vaditi cvetiće. Peći u prethodno zagrejanoj rerni na 150 °C, 10–12 minuta.

2. Od ove količine dobije se otprilike 60 keksića. Po želji se mogu spajati pekmezom, ja ih ovaj put nisam spajala jer ih najviše volimo ovako jednostavne. Pre služenja sam ih samo posula prah šećerom, blago zamirisanim vanilijom.

Savet iz stare kuhinje

Keksi se peku na nižoj temperaturi kako bi zadržali svetlu boju i ostali mekani iznutra. Tako se nekada peklo sitno pecivo polako i strpljivo, bez žurbe.

Napomena

Ako volite izraženiju aromu, u prah šećer možete dodati malo sitno rendane korice narandže ili par kapi prirodne vanile. Keksi će dobiti još jednu mirisnu notu, baš onu koja se pamti.

Ako isprobate ovaj recept, volela bih da vidim vašu verziju.

Tagujte me na Instagramu @smikiscorner