5 from 6 reviews

Orange shortbread cookies just taste like the holidays; they’re comforting and soft, pleasantly sweet and creamy, especially when filled with goat’s milk caramel sauce flavored with Irish whiskey cream! These shortbread cookie sandwiches make a fabulous Christmas gift, and to make these tasty cookies, you only need seven convenient ingredients. Read on to learn a little something about caramel sauce and goat's milk caramel sauce (cajeta).

A Close up photo with two Shortbread Cookie Sandwiches on top of each other. The cookies are filled with caramel sauce and dusted with powder sugar. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com — *Recipe post may have affiliate links; read our* *disclosure policy*. *Photographs ©Carlos Leo, Spoonabilities*

Hello my friends. Picture a bite-sized shortbread cookie sandwich filled with the creamiest and sweetest goat’s milk Irish whiskey cream caramel sauce. You can smell the cinnamon and taste the buttery goodness. The flavors are warm and inviting, and after the first one you know you want to grab another cookie.

If you’re looking to make orange shortbread cookies for Christmas, look no more because these caramel-filled cookies are the very spirit of Christmas past, present, and future.

You can make your own caramel sauce, but we prefer to use the Fat Toad Farm Goat’s Milk Caramel Sauce flavored with Irish whiskey cream for a completely different and much easier experience.

Black wire cooling rack with shortbread cookies filled with Goat's milk caramel sauce flavored with Irish Whiskey cream. The main cookies are in the center of the photo with two sandwiches cookies on top of each other. Recipe at spoonabilities.com

Here’s the secret behind proper holiday-infused cookies: fine ingredients, and the fresher, the better. We’re infusing today’s cookies with some lovely aromatics from cinnamon and finely grated orange rind; you’ll be amazed to see how a little of these goes a long way.

The rest of the ingredients; flour, cornstarch, and butter, we’re sure you already have on hand, so let’s make some Orange Shortbread Cookies! Before we put on our baking gloves, we have some tasty information about caramel to share with you.

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What you Need to Know about Caramel Sauce

Caramel is basically burnt sugar, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. There are a few skills involved if you don’t want to literally burn your sugar to a char.

Caramel sauces, on the other hand, have another element to them: dairy. Sugar and dairy, like what you find in a can of condensed milk, is the source of the creamiest caramel sauce. Cajeta is velvety caramel sauce made from goat’s milk which is a not-too-sweet dessert sauce perfect to go with ice cream, fruit, cheeses, and other desserts.

A good artisan cajeta, made with sweetened goat's milk, is a decadent treat that we could only call the king of caramel sauces. Our food product supplier makes their caramel sauce with real simple ingredients like fresh goat’s milk, pure cane sugar, heavy cream, Irish whiskey, baking soda, and sea salt. We love their caramel sauce flavored with Irish whiskey cream, but there are several flavors, and original/plain to choose from.

We heard of an ancient recipe for making caramel sauce by directly boiling a sealed condensed milk can for a few hours. But be careful because heat expands the contents of the can, and it might explode. If you’re in a hurry, and want to stay safe, we recommend getting a ready-to-use jar of caramel sauce.

A open jar of Caramel sauce and a hand with a spoon with caramel sauce. in the background the shortbread cookies in a cooling rack ready to be filled. Recipe at Spoonabilities.com

More Recipes Using Caramel Sauce

This goat’s milk caramel sauce is a golden-brown, smoky, and nutty sauce that is super versatile. Sure, it’s the heart and soul of today’s caramel shortbread cookies, but you’ll be surprised by the many uses of a proper caramel sauce. It brings pure joy to your baking repertoire. Here are some other recipes using our caramel sauces:

These crisp and slightly crumbly shortbread cookie sandwiches are flecked with orange zest and filled with the decadent and creamy caramel sauce flavored with Irish whiskey cream. Shortbread cookies are perfect to give away for Christmas to your loved ones. The flavors are warm and inviting, and after they taste them, you know your friends and family will want to grab another cookie, and another.

I hope you get a chance to make these Orange Shortbread Cookies. Did you make this or another recipe? Tag @Spoonabilities on Instagram or add a photo or comment on Pinterest, so we can find you! And we love to hear from you in the comment section below.

Carlos Leo
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Orange Shortbread Cookies filled with Caramel Sauce

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5 from 6 reviews

Author: Carlos Leo
Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Yield: 36 halves = 18 sandwiches 1x

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Description

This orange shortbread cookie recipe delivers the most comforting holiday cookies ever. The goat’s milk caramel sauce filling is insane. Making cookies is a fun project for the cold season, and these are perfect to give away for Christmas to your loved ones.

Ingredients

Units Scale

8 ounces butter
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
¾ cup plus 2 teaspoons (separated) sifted powdered sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons Goat's Milk Caramel Sauce

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Instructions

Let butter reach room temperature.
Preheat oven at 350°F. Line baking trays with parchment paper.
Beat together the butter, orange rind and powdered sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, and cinnamon. Then stir half into the butter mixture, and combine. Then stir in and combine the rest.
Roll rounded teaspoons of dough into balls and place them about 1-inch apart on the baking trays. Flatten balls with your hands, and then gently mark them with a fork.
Bake the shortbread cookies for about 12-15 minutes. The edges should begin to slightly turn a tan color.
Remove from oven and put tray on cooling rack for 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Sandwich two cookies between the caramel sauce when the cookies are completely cooled.
Dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Notes

You can use any flavored (or regular) goat’s milk caramel sauce, or any regular caramel sauce

Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Dessert
Method: baking
Cuisine: American

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Orange Shortbread Cookies filled with Caramel Sauce

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