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Bright and citrusy orange cookies are topped with a fragrant orange glaze for a heavenly bite made in minutes!
These cookies are just as sweet and citrusy as our Frosted Lemon Cookies, but with a bright orange flavor like our Orange Brownies.
Calling all Orange Lovers!
Here in Arizona, our citrus is ripe and ready to pick in the winter, typically in December and January.
I especially love our orange trees! We juice a ton and freeze orange juice to last us all year long, but we also use it in some scrumptious desserts like today’s orange cookies.
Here’s why they’re a favorite:
- Flavor. These orange cookies are one recipe that really packs a citrus-y punch. They are bright and tasty.
- Glaze. The glaze is absolutely heavenly! The cookies are good on their own, but the glaze really completes them.
- Quick. Once you’ve gathered all the ingredients, it only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish to whip these up. Easy peasy!
If you love fruit-flavored cookies and oranges, you’ll love this sweet treat!
Ingredients
- granulated sugar
- butter softened – Be sure that the butter is softened, but not too soft, and definitely not melted.
- butter flavored shortening
- salt
- egg – room temperature so it incorporates better with the other ingredients
- light corn syrup
- orange zest – Wash the outside of the orange and dry it. Then use a microplane grater, citrus zester, or the small side of a box grater to rub the orange peel all over.
- orange juice – Juice the orange after is has been zested. You will only need one medium orange to produce the needed 2 ½ teaspoons of orange juice.
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- powdered sugar sifted
- milk
How to Make Orange Cookies
- PREP. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a stand mixer, cream sugar, butter, shortening, and salt until light and fluffy. Add egg, corn syrup, orange zest, and orange juice and beat until well mixed.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to wet ingredients.
- BAKE. Scoop (I use the medium cookie scoop tool) and roll into balls. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool until warm.
- GLAZE. Mix powdered sugar, milk, orange juice, and zest until desired consistency. Drizzle frosting over warm cookies.
Recipe Tips
- Using a cookie scoop will help you form evenly sized cookie dough balls which is important so that they all bake at the same rate.
- Variations. Easily adjust these orange cookies recipe with any of these tasty tips:
- Instead of an orange glaze for cookies, use orange extract or orange zest to flavor vanilla buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting to pipe on top of the orange cookies.
- Chocolate orange combo: whip up a batch of orange-flavored chocolate frosting. You can also mix some mini chocolate chips directly into the dough.
- Roll the dough balls in powdered sugar before baking.
- Mix in white chocolate chips.
- Serve them plain without any kind of topping.
Storing Cookies
- DOUGH. Mix up the dough and keep it covered in the refrigerator for 2-3 days before you need to bake it.
- You can also form the dough into balls and place them in the freezer. Once the dough balls are solid transfer them to a freezer Ziploc. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Bake them directly out of the freezer, but be sure to add 2-3 extra minutes to the baking time.
- BAKED. Allow the orange sugar cookies to cool completely on a wire rack before storing otherwise the steam gets trapped in the container and can cause soggy cookies that don’t last as long.
- Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Be sure to separate layers with wax or parchment paper so that they don’t stick together.
- To freeze, place the cookies in a freezer-safe container separating the layers with wax paper and freeze for up to 3 months.
For more Cookies, try:
Orange Cookies Recipe
Bright and citrusy orange cookies are topped with a fragrant orange glaze for a heavenly bite made in minutes!
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup butter softened (not melted)
- 2 tablespoons butter flavored shortening
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- ½ tablespoon orange juice
- ½ teaspoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a stand mixer, cream sugar, butter, shortening, and salt until light and fluffy.
- Add egg, corn syrup, orange zest, and orange juice and beat until well mixed.
- In a separate bowl mix flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add to wet ingredients.
- Scoop (I use the medium cookie scoop tool) and roll into balls. Bake for 8 minutes. Let cool until warm.
- Make glaze: Mix powdered sugar, milk, orange juice, and zest until desired consistency.
- Drizzle frosting over warm cookies.
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1g, Calories: 157kcal, Carbohydrates: 24g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 20mg, Sodium: 98mg, Potassium: 42mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 158IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These orange cookies are so tasty and full of citrus flavor. We love oranges so these cookies were a huge hit with us!
The orange glaze adds the perfect sweet touch. Soft and delicious, they vanished within minutes. A new favorite!