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Orange Cookies

Soft, tender sugar cookies flavored intensely with fresh orange zest and real vanilla bean. These orange cookies are dipped in a fresh orange juice and vanilla bean glaze for a double orange flavor.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 16 cookies

Ingredients

Orange Cookie Dough

  • 100 g or ½ cup fine granulated sugar
  • Zest of 2 oranges
  • ½ tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
  • 226 g or 1 cup butter unsalted and softened to room temperature
  • 1 large egg
  • 65 g or ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 390 g or 3 cups all purpose flour

Orange Glaze

  • 260 g or 2 cups powdered sugar preferably made with tapioca starch (not cornstarch)
  • 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • Pinch fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the fine granulated sugar and zest the oranges over it.
  • Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it resembles wet sand.
  • Add the salt, vanilla and butter and affix the paddle attachment and beat until creamed; about 3-4 minutes.
  • Add the egg and beat to combine, it’s ok if the mixture looks like it’s separated.
  • Add the flour and powdered sugar and beat until you have a thick, very sticky, dough.
  • Wrap the dough in plastic wrap to loosely seal then use a rolling pin to roll it out a bit more until it stretches the wrap. Hold it on its side and roll it on the counter like a wheel (this will even out the edges).
  • Chill the dough for at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
  • The next day, line two greased cookie sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 F.
  • On a floured surface, roll the dough out to about a quarter of an inch thickness. Use a cookie cutter to stamp out shapes and carefully place them on the prepared pan.
  • Squish the remaining dough together back into a ball and repeat the roll and cut process until you’ve used up all the dough.
  • Bake the cookies until *JUST* beginning to get golden on the edges, about 10 minutes (don’t over bake them, they’ll turn crispy instead of tender).
  • Out of the oven, let the cookies completely cool. At this point the cookies can be placed in an airtight container and reserved for glazing and serving later.
  • Make the glaze by whisking together all the ingredients in a bowl; if the glaze is thick, add more orange juice, if it’s thin, add more powdered sugar, you’re looking for the consistency of elmer’s glue.
  • Dip the completely cool cookies face down into the glaze. Alternatively, spoon the glaze into the center of the cookies and use the back of a spoon to spread it around. You can also dip the whisk in the glaze then quickly drag it over the cookies in a zig zag motion to create a pretty pattern. Let the glaze ‘set’, this will take around 20 minutes depending on the thickness of the glaze layer.
  • The cookies are ready to eat or they can be stored in one layer (so as not to mess up the glaze) on a plate for later.

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