Orange Chocolate Shortbread Bites

In large bowl and using wooden spoon, beat butter until light; stir in sugar and orange rind. Stir in rice flour; stir in all-purpose flour, one-third at a time, to make smooth dough. Divide in half; flatten into discs. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.

Between waxed paper, roll out discs to about 1/4-inch (5 mm) thickness. Freeze on pans until firm, about 15 minutes.

Using floured 13/4-inch (4.5 cm) round cutter, cut out cookies, rerolling scraps. Place, 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, on 2 parchment paper–lined rimless baking sheets. Bake in top and bottom thirds of 325°F (160°C) oven, rotating and switching pans halfway through, for about 14 minutes or until edges are light golden. Let cool on pans on racks for 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; let cool completely. (Make-ahead: Store in airtight container for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 1 month.)

Filling: Meanwhile, in heatproof bowl over saucepan of barely simmering water, melt together chocolate chips, condensed milk and butter, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; whisk in orange rind. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Beat until consistency of icing, about 3 minutes. Refrigerate until cooled completely and thick enough to spread, about 30 minutes.

Reserve 1/4 cup (50 mL) of the filling. Spread about 1 tsp (5 mL) of the remaining filling over bottom of half of the cookies; top each with remaining cookies. Pipe reserved filling onto centre of each cookie. Let stand until dry, about 30 minutes.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: December 2007