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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.
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!