Orange Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

To make these easy orange sugar cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• You’ll need both orange zest and orange juice for this recipe! The orange zest will be massaged together with the granulated sugar to release its natural oils, which will enhance the orange flavor in the cookies. The orange juice will be added to the cookie dough batter.
• Extra granulated sugar is for making more orange sugar to roll the cookies in before baking.
• Softened unsalted butter will be lightly creamed together with the orange sugar.
• I used white and milk/dark chocolate melting wafers to decorate the orange cookies, but you can also use chocolate chips. The milk/dark chocolate wafers are for the orange stem, and the white chocolate wafers are dyed with green food coloring to draw on the leaves.
  •  It’s best to use oil-based food coloring so the chocolate doesn’t seize. However, if you don’t have it on hand (like me), you can always stir in 1-2 tsp neutral oil (canola, vegetable) to the melted chocolate so it comes back together.

For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.

How to Make Orange Sugar Cookies

Step 1: Rub together orange zest and granulated sugar. This will help release the natural oils in the zest, enhancing the orange flavor in the cookies!

Step 2: Add softened butter and lightly cream, about 2-3 minutes.

Step 3: Beat in an egg, vanilla extract, and orange food coloring until fully combined.

Step 4: Stir in half your dry ingredients until mostly combined. Mix in all of the fresh orange juice, then stir in remaining dry ingredients. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Step 5: Scoop 2-3 tablespoon cookie dough balls and roll into orange sugar, placing cookies about 3-4 inches apart. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 10-13 minutes, or until edges are set.

Step 6: Decorate cooled cookies with melted chocolate and enjoy!

For full instructions, see the recipe card below.

📖 Recipe & Video

Orange Sugar Cookies

Bianca Fernandez

Deliciously light and refreshing orange cookies made with fresh orange zest + juice. They're cakey, fluffy, and adorable!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 13 minutes mins

Chill time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 3 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 16 orange sugar cookies

Equipment

• ▢
  Kitchen scale/measuring cups
• ▢
  Measuring spoons
• ▢
  hand whisk or electric mixer
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  silicone spatula
• ▢
  Medium cookie scoop
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  small mixing bowl for orange sugar
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  medium mixing bowl for dry ingredients
• ▢
  large mixing bowl for cookie dough
• ▢
  plastic wrap
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  Cookie sheets
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  Parchment Paper
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  Wire rack
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  microwave-safe bowls, for melting white chocolate
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  Piping bags for decorating

Ingredients 

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Dry Ingredients:

• ▢ 1 ¾ cup (218.75 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ tsp (2 g) baking soda
• ▢ ¾ tsp (4.5 g) table salt

Wet Ingredients:

• ▢ ½ tbsp (3 g) orange zest from ½ medium orange
• ▢ ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 1 (1) egg room temperature
• ▢ 1 tbsp (13 g) vanilla extract
• ▢ orange food coloring
• ▢ ⅓ cup (78.86 ml) orange juice from 1-2 medium oranges

For orange sugar:

• ▢ ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ ½ tbsp (3 g) orange zest from ½ medium orange

Decorating:

• ▢ 1 tbsp (14.79 g) milk/dark chocolate melting wafers can sub 1:1 milk/dark chocolate chips
• ▢ 3 tbsp (44.36 g) white chocolate melting wafers can sub 1:1 white chocolate chips
• ▢ green oil-based food coloring

Instructions 

For the cookie dough:

• In a medium bowl, stir together all of the dry ingredients: 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ½ tsp baking soda, and ¾ tsp table salt.
• In a large bowl, use fingers to massage ½ tbsp orange zest with ½ cup granulated sugar until fragrant. This releases the oils from the zest, enhancing the orange flavor in the cookies.
• Add the softened ½ cup unsalted butter and lightly cream using an electric/stand mixer or hand whisk.
• Mix in 1 egg, 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and orange food coloring until smooth.
• Add about half of the dry ingredients and stir with silicone spatula until it is mostly incorporated. Pour in ⅓ cup orange juice and stir until mostly mixed in. Add remaining dry ingredients, stirring until no dry spots remain.
• Cover dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Scoop & bake cookies:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F/177°C. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Add ⅓ cup granulated sugar and ½ tbsp orange zest to a small plate/bowl. Massage together until fragrant.
• Use a medium cookie dough scoop to gather dough (about 2-3 tablespoons each). Roll into sugar then place onto lined baking tray, about 3-4 inches apart.

  Tip if dough is sticky: Plop the dough from the cookie scoop straight into the granulated sugar. Work quickly to roll it around to avoid it sticking to your fingers. They do not need to be shaped into perfect balls. 🙂
• Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until edges are set. Let cool on pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

  Optional: For rounder, more aesthetic cookies, take a something circular and larger than your cookies (cookie cutter, mug, cup), and place it on top of a warm, freshly baked cookie. Move the circular object around to shape the edges of the cookie until it becomes rounder.

Decorate:

• Note: You can a piping bag, toothpick, or cookie scribe to add on the details. I used piping bags.
• Add 1 tbsp milk/dark chocolate melting wafers to small microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until fully melted. Use this this to draw on orange stems.
• Melt 3 tbsp white chocolate melting wafers in another small microwave-safe bowl. Mix in green oil-based food coloring and use this to draw on orange leaves.

  If you don't have oil-based food coloring, then the chocolate will seize/become lumpy. To counter this, stir in a tsp of neutral oil (canola, vegetable) at a time, until it becomes smooth again.
• Enjoy!

Notes

• Storage: Store cooled, freshly baked cookies in airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. They will get soggy over time due to their moistness, so I recommend eating them as close to the day they’re baked as possible!
• Tip for measuring ingredients: I weigh my ingredients with a kitchen scale, rather than using measuring cups because it is more accurate. If using measuring cups, I recommend spooning flour into the cup and overfilling it, then leveling it off with a knife.

Show Nutritional Information Hide Nutritional Information

Serving: 1 cookieCalories: 171kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 151mgPotassium: 49mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 210IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 13mgIron: 1mg

The nutritional information is an estimated value per serving.

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