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Prep time
10 minutes
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Cook time
45 minutes
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Serves
20 cookies
Author Notes
Ballerina cookies are, I would say, the Swedish equivalent of an Oreo. You can buy them at any grocery store or gas station, and they come in a packaged tube. They also sell a version at Ikea, so I’ve even heard some people call them “Ikea cookies.” Like Oreos, they’ve expanded their range of flavors over the years, but the traditional version is a chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookie with a chocolate hazelnut filling.
Although I love the classic, I added orange zest to the vanilla dough and used orange-flavored milk chocolate for the filling. Ballerinas also aren’t typically dusted with powdered sugar, but since I was going for a more festive holiday look, that’s the route I went.
Tips & Tricks:
• These should stay good for up to 1 week if stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or 2 weeks if stored in the fridge. You could also freeze them for up to 3 months, but they’re definitely best eaten fresh.
• To make these in advance, I recommend making the dough and freezing or refrigerating it until use, rather than fully baking and assembling them far in advance.
• If you don’t like orange and chocolate as a combination, omit the orange zest in the cookie dough and use regular milk chocolate instead of orange chocolate.
—Nea Arentzen
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Ingredients
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COOKIE DOUGH
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9 tablespoons
(127 grams) unsalted butter
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1/4 cup
(28 grams) powdered sugar, plus more for dusting
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2 teaspoons
vanilla extract
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1 1/2 cups
(180 grams) all-purpose flour
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1/4 teaspoon
kosher salt
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1
orange, zested
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2 tablespoons
cocoa powder
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1 teaspoon
water
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FILLING
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2/3 cup
(13 “orange” slices/100 grams) orange chocolate, melted
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1/3 cup
(100 grams) hazelnut spread
Directions
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In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat together the butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Add the flour and salt; mix until the dough starts to come together into large crumbs, then stop and press the dough together with your hands to avoid overmixing. Divide the dough in half.
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To one half, use your hands to fold in the orange zest. To the second, mix in the cocoa powder and water. Wrap both halves in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until cold to the touch and semi-solid, about 30 minutes.
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In the meantime, heat the oven to 350ºF/180ºC with a rack in the center position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
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Roll the vanilla-orange dough out between two sheets of parchment paper, then press into circles using a 2-inch cookie cutter. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, placing them at least 2 inches apart. If they lose their circular shape as you transfer them, you can place the cookie cutter back onto the cookie and wiggle it slightly to reshape. Use a smaller circular cookie cutter (1/2 to 3/4-inch wide) to cut out the center. Bake until very slightly golden on top, about 10 minutes. Repeat with the chocolate dough, except don’t cut out the center, leaving the cookies whole.
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Let cool completely and repeat with any remaining dough. Dust the top vanilla-orange cookies with powdered sugar.
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While the cookies cool, mix together the melted chocolate and hazelnut spread. Let it cool slightly to thicken.
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Spread a generous layer of filling across the chocolate cookies, then sandwich with the dusted vanilla-orange cookies. Set aside to let the filling harden, then store in an airtight container at room temperature until ready to eat.
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