Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies

Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies with melted chocolate and mandarin zest inside take you to heaven. They are slightly crispy on the outside and soft yet chewy on the inside. They disappear faster than you blink!

Are you board of classic Christmas cut out cookies you see all around the Internet? Are you looking for a more special cookie recipe that you can give your friends as gifts? Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies hit the spot perfectly.

If you love the chocolate and citrus combo, this recipe gives you exactly what you want. I used mandarins in this recipe as I think they are the most flavorful type of citrus fruit. I love their out-of-this-world scent so much that I can live in a mandarin yard forever! You don’t have to use them though. If you can’t find mandarins, you can use oranges, lemons or even grapefruits too.

I added about 2 teaspoons of mandarin zest, but I think I should have added more. Personally I find the combination of chocolate and citrus flavors irresistible, so I will add more the next time I make these cookies.

The addition of sea salt and extra mandarin zest on top of these beauties take them up to next level, so don’t skip any of them.

What I love about the this Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies recipe is that you don’t need to soften butter. It might not be a big deal to soften it for you, but whenever I decide to make a cookie recipe, I forget to remove the butter from the fridge beforehand and have to wait till it reaches room temperature. Also, it’s great that you don’t need to melt the chocolate over double boiler. Just melt butter and chocolate together in a pot, stirring until smooth.

After some years of cookie baking experience, I can say that the key to soft and chewy cookies is the baking duration. Don’t bake these cookies more than 8-10 minutes. They will still look uncooked in the middle when you remove them from oven, but they will continue to cook when they are cooling on a wire rack. Don’t leave them on the baking sheet! You need to transfer these onto a cooling wire rack right after you remove them from oven.

These Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies are super easy to make and make perfect Christmas gifts. I guarantee even people with no baking experience will get the best result.

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Molten Chocolate Citrus Cookies

Soft and chewy chocolate cookies flavored with mandarin zest.

• Author: Zerrin
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 9 minutes
• Total Time: 49 minutes
• Yield: 3 dozens
• Category: Cookies
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 1 and ¾ cup (320g) chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons mandarin zest
• Extra mandarin zest for topping
• Sea salt for topping

Instructions

1. Melt chocolate chips and butter over low heat, stirring until smooth.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and salt until pale yellow.
3. Pour the chocolate mixture into egg mixture gradually and mix well.
4. Add in flour and baking powder. Stir until incorporated. Cover the dough and chill for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 375F.
6. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Scoop cookies on it, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Grate some more mandarin zest over them. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Don’t over bake!
7. Transfer the cookies on a cooling wire rack right after you remove them from oven. Sprinkle extra mandarin zest and sea salt over each cookie when they are still hot, gently pressing over them.

Notes

Prep time includes chilling time too.

The recipe is adapted from Reading My Tea Leaves.