If you are a fan of citrus, then these Orange cookies are for you! They have a soft melt-in-your-mouth texture and a delicious fresh orange flavor.
These are simple butter biscuits with a fantastic zing to them. They are simple to make yet deliver amazing zesty flavors. These cookies have orange zest, fresh orange juice, and orange extract to ensure you get a great orange flavor. They all add different levels of orangeness to the cookies.
They make an excellent cookie for afternoon tea, and as there is no need to chill the cookie dough, you can eat the finished cookie in 30 minutes!
Ingredients
- Salted butter: Salted butter balances the sweetness and brings out the orange flavors. Ensure your butter is at room temperature. You want to be able to push your finger into the butter with ease. See the recipe notes if you are using unsalted butter.
- Granulated white sugar: Regular white sugar is perfect. We don't want superfine sugar; the granulated sugar helps the cookies have that balance of crisp and chew.
- Flour: Use All-purpose flour or Plain Flour for those not in the US.
- Baking soda: This gives the center of the cookies the lightness we want. Don't get it confused with baking powder.
- Egg: I use a large room temperature egg.
- Orange Zest and Juice: Zest the orange before you cut it, as it is tough to zest a cut orange. You won't need all of the orange juice. One-half of an orange will be more than enough.
- Orange extract: This boosts the flavor and helps to bring out the natural citrus taste in the juice. You can buy orange extract in the baking section of larger grocery stores. A little goes a long way, so you'll get value for money.
The secret to a genuinely orange-tasting cookie
Pushing as much orange into the cookies with orange zest, fresh orange juice and orange extract adds a fresh bright zingy orange flavor to the cookies. And the three orange elements add different things to the flavor of these cookies.
The zest add that deep essential orange flavor.
The fresh juice adds a bright sweet orange flavor.
The extract adds the perfume and enhances the orange that is already there.
The three layers of orange really amp up the flavor of orange, but there is one last trick that adds extra depth to the cookies. Mix the orange zest with the sugar for several minutes before it is creamed with the butter. This helps the zest to release all the natural oils, and perfumes the sugar with orange; this carries through the entire biscuit and gives you a super orangy cookie.
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Recipe Tips
- The dough doesn't need to be chilled; simply combine the ingredients and form balls.
- To measure the dough, use a tablespoon. You will receive uniformly sized cookies that bake as per the recipe.
- The cookies should be spread out across a lined baking sheet, so leave at least 3" between each.
- I use the back of my cup measure to gently press the cookie dough balls into discs.
- I use a baking sheet; this allows the cookies to spread smoothly without hitting an edge and creating a flat side. If you only have edged trays, you can use them upside down.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper, which helps the cookies spread, so you end up with a thin cookie instead of a cakey cookie. Lightly spray the pan with oil to keep the paper from moving.
- Set your oven to the standard bake setting; if using a fan oven, reduce the temperature by 20°C.
- Don't overcook the cookies; they should start to turn slightly golden on the edges and look almost soft on the inside. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then carefully transfer them to a cooling rack.
How to store orange cookies
The orange cookies can be stored in an airtight container and kept at room temperature for up to three days. Or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
How to freeze orange cookies
The cookies can be kept for three months in the freezer. Then, place them in an airtight container or freezer bag. To make defrosting the cookies simple, either individually wrap them in glad wrap or sandwich them with parchment paper before freezing.
Enjoy x
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Any questions about the recipe? Use the comments section below.
Get the Recipe
Orange Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 zest of an orange
- 8 tablespoon salted butter - see note 1
- 1½ cup AP flour - see note 2
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1¼ teaspoon orange extract
- 1 egg - see note 3
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (See note 4)
- Use a stand mixer or hand-held mixer to mix the sugar and zest of the orange together until it looks like wet sand. This will take around 4-5 minutes.
¾ cup granulated white sugar1 zest of an orange - Add the butter to the sugar mixture and cream together until it is light and fluffy.8 tablespoon salted butter
- While the butter, sugar, and orange zest are creaming, measure out the flour and add the baking soda. Mix to combine. 1½ cup AP flour¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Add the orange juice and orange extract, then mix to combine thoroughly.1 tablespoon orange juice1¼ teaspoon orange extract
- Add the egg to the butter mixture and mix well.1 egg
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter and mix slowly until the dough just comes together. Don't overmix.
- Use a tablespoon measure to scoop out cookie dough balls. Roll them in your hands to create a neat ball.
- Place the rolled ball onto the lined baking sheet and use something flat to flatten the cookies.
- Bake your cookies for 8-10 minutes, until the edges turn light golden and the center is still slightly soft.
- Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes when you first remove them from the oven. After 5 minutes, transfer them to a cooling rack.
Notes
- Make sure your butter is at room temperature. You want to be able to push your finger into the butter easily. If you have unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of salt to your flour when you add it to the mix.
- All-purpose flour is plain flour for those not in the US.
- I use a large room temperature egg.
- The oven temperature is for a conventional oven on the bake setting. If using a fan oven, reduce the temperature by 70ºF/20ºC.
Nutrition
Nutrition is per serving
Sherry says
What a great cookie recipe!! I love the awesome citrus flavor and how easy it was to make! My family devoured them in no time! Your Orange cookies are the best!
Anne says
These are great! The taste is fresh and I love how simple the recipe is.
Catherine Cunningham says
The flavor was fantastic but the texture over all was unappealing to me. The photo you have of the cookies was not achieved by me. Not sure what went wrong. 🤔
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am sorry to hear this.
If you want to try and trouble shoot then email me and we can see why the texture was so off.
Cx
Maryanne Michalak says
Just love these cookies! Used Grand Mariner instead of orange extract. I'm now on my 4th round of making these. They're so light you won't think about calories! My husband loves them as much as I do!!! Definitely a keeper recipe that I'll keep passing to friends and family!!! Next is lemon!!! Pucker up Baby!!!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Oh I am so happy you love them Maryanne, they are a favorite of mine and 2 of my kids 😉
Cx
Lexi says
Amazing! This was such a nice change from the regular chocolate loaded cookies! My whole family loved them!!
Donna Lindsay says
Well it tasted good with all the butter and orange. BUT my first pan of cookies turned into one gigantic pan sized cookie!
I even put the dough in the refrigerator for a bit because it seemed so soft!
Expensive dough I’m not sure what to do with the rest of it! I don’t need pan sized cookies!
I have everything chilling in fridge right now.
Surely won’t be using your recipe for the Sprinkle Cookies now!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Hi Donna,
I suspect the issue is in measuring the flour. When using cups there is so much variety in the weight of the flour.
The cookies do spread but they shouldn't fill a cookie try!
If you want to use more of the dough I would mix a little more flour into the mixture.
I always use weight when baking as it is just more accurate.
Hope that helps
Cx
Lisa says
The tastiest cookies. To loose to roll into a ball. Even after refrigeration. I plopped them in sugar, flattened and put zest on top. They spread more like a florentine than a cookie. Absolutely delicious. Wish I had left them in the oven little longer because the sides had a wonderful crunch.
laura says
The orange flavor makes these cookies SO tasty!! They are perfect. Thanks!!
Jennifer says
I love the touch of orange in these cookies! They were perfect, and a nice change from chocolate!
Claire | Sprinkles and Sprouts says
Thank you 🙂
Cx