Spiced Orange Sugar Cookies
Spiced orange sugar cookies are a soft, chewy sugar cookie loaded with orange zest and juice and just enough warm spices. You can't help but think of the holidays when you eat them!
Ingredients
Cookies
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon orange juice and zest from the orange
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) butter room temp
- ⅓ cup (72.67 g) coconut oil, melted any vegetable oil will work if you don't like coconut
- ⅓ cup (40 g) powdered sugar
- 1 large egg room temp
- ½ tsp (0.5 teaspoon) baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cloves
- 2¾ cups (385 g) all-purpose flour
Frosting
- 6 tablespoon butter room temp
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- ⅛ teaspoon (0.13 teaspoon) salt
- 3 cups (360 g) powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- 2 tablespoon (3 tablespoon) orange juice and a little zest
Instructions
To make cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Start by adding granulated sugar and orange zest to a mixing bowl. Rub together until zest is fragrant and all mixed into the sugar.
- Add butter, oil and powdered sugar to the sugar/zest in the bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add egg and orange juice, mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Add baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, cinnamon, cloves and flour to the bowl and mix on low, being careful not to overmix. The dough will seem crumbly, but it's fine as long as it will hold in a ball. If you need to, add a bit more orange juice til it will hold.
- Scoop the dough into large balls. I like to use a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop.
- Place 8 cookie balls on your baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls with a glass until they are about ½ inch thick. I like to spray the bottom of my glass with cooking spray and dip in sugar before flattening. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. You're looking for a barely light golden brown outside rim. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make frosting:
- Mix together butter, sour cream, salt, cinnamon, cloves and 2 cups of powdered sugar on low until completely combined. Add orange juice, zest and another cup of powdered sugar and mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Add more orange juice or powdered sugar to get desired consistency. Frost on cooled cookies.
- I like to eat these cookies chilled, but whatever you prefer is great!
Notes
I prefer these cookies to be chilled before eating. It is not necessary to chill them, but might be worth a try for you to see if that's how you prefer them too! Just place them in an airtight container after the frosting has set and they should keep fresh in there for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for longer.
It is best for butter and eggs to be at room temperature before starting to mix.
If you would rather use a regular buttercream frosting you can swap the orange juice and zest for milk and add a little vanilla to the recipe.
I have given both cups and grams as measurements. Grams will be more precise, especially when measuring flour. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, no problem! Just lightly spoon flour into your measuring cup to insure its not packed in there. Light and fluffy is the key.
Nutrition
Calories: 365kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 3gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 214mgPotassium: 48mgFiber: 1gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 279IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!