Orange Gingerbread Cookies
These orange gingerbread cookies are the perfect winter dessert! They are crispy on the outside with a soft and chewy center, and they are brimming with warm spicy flavors. The orange zest in the cookie and orange juice in the icing breathe new life into this classic dessert by adding a hint of their bright and tangy taste!
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoonsbutter (softened at room temperature; 112 grams)
- ¾ cupbrown sugar
- ½ cupunsulphured molasses
- 1egg (room temperature)
- 1 ½ teaspoonvanilla extract
- 3 ¼ cupsall purpose flour (390 grams)
- 1 teaspoonbaking soda
- ¼ teaspoonsalt
- 1 tablespoonground ginger
- 1 ½ tablespoonsground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoonground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoonground cloves
- ½ teaspoonallspice
- 1 tablespoonorange zest (2 for more citrus flavor)
- 6 tablespoonsconfectioners sugar (45 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoonvanilla extract
- ½ tablespoonorange juice
- mixing bowls
- stand mixer/hand mixer/whisk
- rolling pin
- cookie cutter
Directions
Orange gingerbread cookies
- 1
Sift the dry ingredients together into a large mixing bowl
- 2
Beat the butter in a stand mixer or mixing bowl with whisk/hand mixer until creamy. Do not overbeat as you will add sugar and beat more. This step is just to make sure sugar will incorporate better into the butter
- 3
Add brown sugar and molasses and beat on medium-low speed until combined and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined
- 4
Slowly add the dry ingredients while beating on low speed (add about 1/4 cup at a time). Make sure the previous batch is fully incorporated before adding more dry ingredients. On the last batch, add in the orange zest as well and beat until everything is fully combined and nothing is sticking to the bowl. The end result should be slightly fluffy and not stick to your hands too much. If the dough is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time and beat until the dough stops sticking
- 5
Divide the dough in half. Form each half into a ball, then flatten into a disk. Wrap separately with cling wrap and store in fridge for at least 8 hours, or overnight
- 6
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F
- 7
Take out one disk of dough from the fridge. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it's about 1/4 inch thick. Using your favorite cookie cutter, cut out as many cookies as you can!
- 8
Place the cut out cookies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely before adding icing
- 9
Repeat with the second batch
Orange icing
- 1
Sift powdered sugar in a bowl. Add the vanilla extract and orange juice
- 2
Using a fork or small whisk, mix together until fully combined
- 3
Spoon or pipe the icing onto the cooled cookies. Enjoy!