ORANGE SHORTBREAD COOKIES WITH CHOCOLATE CHIPS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (180C).
• Sift the dry ingredients together.
• Using a mixer, cream the butter with the sugar, add the orange peel, extract, egg yolk and whipping cream. The room temperature ingredients are key so that you can create a smooth, homogeneous mix.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing *just* until it is incorporated.
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• This is a pretty dry dough, so blend it with a wooden spoon to incorporate the dry bits and break up any concentrations of chocolate chips.
• At this point you can make about 1" balls of cookie dough that you can then press out on a cookies sheet covered with parchment paper. These cookies don't spread much when baking.
• Bake approximately 7-10 minutes rotating the pan during cooking as needed.
• Alternatively, you can take the whole of the cookie dough and roll it into a log, wrap it in plastic wrap, then refrigerate until firm. Next you can slice off about 1/4" cookies. This latter option makes for a more uniform cookie and a smoother appearance.
• Note: if you use a whole egg instead of just the egg yolk, the cookies bubble up a bit and have a lumpy appearance. Still tasty, though.