Our pillowy soft orange cookies are a family favorite packed with fresh, citrus flavor and a light and chewy crumb. These delicious cookies are ready in less than 30 minutes, using only simple ingredients. One batch makes 38, so it’s great for a crowd. Plus, there’s no need to chill the dough!
These sweet orange cookies would be the perfect addition to your dessert table or brunch spread next to a batch of orange muffins. While they make great holiday cookies the amazing flavor can be enjoyed year round because they are so refreshing.
If you love citrus flavors, don’t miss our orange creamsicle truffles and orange cranberry bread. Our favorite flavor combo when it comes to brunch drinks is the cranberry orange mimosa!
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🍊 Ingredients:
This orange cookies recipe contains a number of basic ingredients, and all of them are easy to find at your local grocery store. Let’s talk about the most important ingredients.
Cookie Ingredients:
- fresh orange zest and orange juice – fresh orange juice really adds a ton of flavor and zest packs the flavorful orange oil into a small quantity. Choose organic produce and wash well since we are using the exterior of the orange.
- unsalted butter – soften at room temperature so you will end up with the perfect cookies. Creaming butter and sugar together helps with the soft consistency and reduces spread on the pan during baking.
- buttermilk – the tanginess in buttermilk complements the citrus in these cookies. It also locks in moisture, giving the cookies a nice chew and cake-like texture. If you do not have buttermilk, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to ½ cup cow milk and let it set for 5 minutes before adding to the recipe.
Icing Ingredients:
- powdered sugar – sweetens and thickens the glaze.
- unsalted butter – in this recipe, we use melted butter to produce a glaze. Whipping the icing ingredients together with softened butter would give more of a buttercream consistency.
- orange zest – adds more orange flavor.
- heavy cream – use more or less to get the desired consistency.
For a full list of ingredients and their measurements, 📋 please view my printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Optional Garnish:
Garnish your cookie tray with fresh orange slices for a nice pop of color!
Substitutions and Variations
- Glaze – we like the creaminess of the frosting with butter included, but you could also make a sweet glaze using cream, confectioners’ sugar, and orange zest.
- Frosting – these citrusy cookies would also taste great with orange infused cream cheese buttercream frosting.
- Orange oil/extract – can be swapped in place of the orange zest. Orange extract isn’t as potent as the oil, so you may want to use a little more.
🔪 Instructions:
PREP: Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Step 1: Mix the sugar and orange zest together in a small bowl using your fingers. This helps to get the oils into the sugar.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, combine the orange sugar and softened butter. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes at medium speed.
Step 3: Add the vanilla and egg; continue mixing with a standing or hand mixer for 2-3 minutes on high speed until the mixture is creamy and fluffy.
Step 4: In another large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
Pro Tip: Alternating the ingredients ensures they are mixed well without over mixing everything at one time.
Step 5: Add part of the buttermilk and the orange juice, then the rest of the flour mixture and the rest of the liquids. Beat until combined. Note the orange cookie dough will be very soft.
Step 6: Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough on the prepared pans leaving 2 inches in between.
Step 7: Bake for 10 minutes or until the tops and center of the cookies look set and dry.
Step 8: Cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 9: Mix the frosting ingredients together until fluffy and smooth.
Step 10: Spread the icing over the top of the cookies and allow 10-15 minutes for it to set.
SERVE: If desired, garnish with a little more orange zest, and enjoy!
Recipe Tips for Orange Cookies
- Creaming the butter, eggs, and sugar well is what makes chewy cookies. Even though the dough is ultra soft, they will still hold their shape.
- Avoid over-baking the cookies. The bottoms should be barely golden. If baked too long they will be dry.
- Using your fingers to massage the orange zest into the sugar is my favorite trick to really infuse the intense orange flavor.
- To zest an orange us a microplane grater or box grater. Rotate the orange on the grater to remove the orange zest, just be sure not to grate into the white part. The rind is bitter.
Fun Fact
Oranges are one of the fruits that do not ripen any more once they are picked from the tree. -Apeel
Recipe FAQs
Keep the cooled cookies in a tightly sealed airtight container or covered in a tray with plastic wrap in a single layer. If you have to stack frosted cookies, add a sheet of parchment paper between each. These will keep on the counter for 5 days or can be frozen for 3 months.
More Fruity Cookie Recipes
If you tried this Orange Cookies Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you liked it in the 📝 comments below.
Orange Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIE INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup orange juice
ICING INGREDIENTS:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 4-5 tablespoons heavy cream as needed to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a small bowl, use your fingers to mix together the sugar and orange zest, massaging the oils from the zest into the sugar granules.
- Place the softened butter and orange sugar into the bowl of a standing mixer and beat for 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat for 2-3 minutes more, on high speed, until the mixture pales in color and is fluffy and creamy.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder in a separate bowl. Then, add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture.
- Add part of the buttermilk and orange juice, followed by the remaining flour mixture, and then the remaining liquids. Beat just until combined. The dough will be very soft.
- Scoop using a cookie scoop or teaspoons and place scoops of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets, spacing cookies 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until the tops are set and appear dry on top.
- Cool for several minutes and then transfer cookies to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Beat together frosting ingredients until smooth and fluffy.
- Use an offset spatula or knife to spread the frosting over the tops of the cookies. Frosting will set after 10-15 minutes.
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Notes
STORAGE:
Store unfrosted cookies in an airtight container for up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months. Frosted cookies can be stored on the countertop in an airtight container, stacked with sheets of parchment paper between. Frosting will crust over slightly, but will not stay neat if cookies are stacked. NOTES:
Creaming the butter, eggs, and sugar well is what makes chewy cookies. Even though the dough is ultra soft, they will still hold their shape. Avoid overbaking the cookies. The bottoms should be barely golden. If baked too long they will be dry. They are best with a soft, cake-like consistency with a bit of chew. Using your fingers to massage the orange zest into the sugar is my favorite trick to really infuse the intense orange flavor in. Try it! It makes a huge difference in contrast with simply adding the sugar and orange zest to recipe. To zest an orange, use a microplane grater or box grater. Rotate the orange on the grater to zest off all of the orange bits; just be sure not to grate the white part. The rind is bitter.
Nutrition
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