These orange crinkle cookies have brightest orange flavor from one simple trick, rubbing the sugar and orange zest. They bake up soft inside with slightly chewy edges, and are perfect for the holiday cookie collection.
These orange crinkle cookies are made just like the chocolate crinkle cookies, only with fresh orange flavor and color. The dough balls are rolled into sugar and as the bake, the tops crack sightly, showing the bright color of the cookie underneath. I chose oranges for this recipe, because that smell you get when you peel the orange is my favorite holiday scent. It takes me right back too my childhood, when the oranges my parents bought at the market felt like the biggest treat. I wanted to capture that smell and bring it into these cookies. When I tested this recipe one last time to finalize the ingredients, my son tried a warm cookie and immediately told me I had post it as soon as possible so other people could make and enjoy them too.
Nataliia
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Why this recipe works
- Bright citrus flavor without any extracts: rubbing orange zest with sugar released orange oils that give the cookies bright and fresh flavor in each bite.
- Made with the right amount of fresh orange juice: If you add too much orange juice, the dough may curdle. The right amount will create a good consistency and also adds some slight orange acidity to the cookies.
- Special rolling technique for perfect crinkles: each cookie ball is rolled into granulated sugar and then into powdered sugar. If you use only powdered sugar, it will melt into the cookie fast and the crinkles might not be visible. Granulated sugar creates a barrier.
What You'll Need
You can find the recipe quantities in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Orange: You will need zest of one orange and 2 tablespoons of juice, which is about the juice of half of the orange.
- Sugars: you will need granulated sugar and powdered sugar for this recipe.
- Butter: I used European style butter. The butter should be softened. You can cut it into cubes and let it stay at room temperature for about 15-20 minutes. If you need it quicker, microwave empty bowl until how and place cold butter in it for a few minutes.
- Eggs: You will need only one egg for this recipe.
- Flour: I used all-purpose flour.
- Baking powder: leavening agent will help the cookies to rise.
- Salt: Just a little bit of salt to balance the taste.
Besides the ingredients, you will need to grab two mixing bowls (large and medium), orange zester, measuring spoons, measuring cups, electric mixer and cookie scoop and 2 smaller bowls or shallow dished.
Step-by-step directions
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder.
Rinse orange well. Using citrus zester or cheese grater, zest the orange into the second large mixing bowl. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of orange juice into a small cup or a bowl and set it aside.
Add granulated sugar to the bowl. Use the tips of your fingers to rub the sugar and zest together, until it becomes orange and very flavorful. Add softened butter to the bowl and cream it with electrician mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add one egg and reserved orange juice. Mix again on low speed until it all combined, for about 1 minute.
Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix it all again on medium speed until you have thick, sticky batter. Do not over mix it. Cover the batter and refrigerate in for at least one hour.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the baking pan with parchment paper. In two separate small bowls, add granulated sugar and powdered sugar.
Take the cookie out of the fridge. Use a cookie scoop to measure about 1.5 tablespoons per cookie. Form the cookie balls. Roll each ball into granulated sugar followed by powdered sugar. Place rolled cooked into the baking sheet, leaving a few inches of space between each cookie. Bake for about 13-15 minutes, or until the tops cracked.
If you are using 1 tablespoon per cookie, bake for about 13 minutes, 1.5 tablespoons for about 14 minutes and 2 tablespoon for about 15 minutes.
Note: I used 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop and had 16 cookies.
Nataliia's tips
- Do not skip rubbing the orange zest and sugar first. This step will guarantee the orange flavor in each bite.
- Chill the dough for at least one hour, otherwise the tops will not crack and cookies will spread. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days.
- You can also place rolled cookie balls in the fridge for 15 minutes before rolling them in the sugar, as warm hands might warm the dough too much.
- Roll each cookie ball in granulated sugar and powdered sugar for best results. I the image below, the cookie on the left was rolled only into the powdered sugar and it did not come out with crinkles.
Storage and Make Ahead Tips
- Room temperature: These cookies can be stored in an air tight container at room temperature for about 3-4 days.
- Store the dough in the fridge: Prepared cooked dough can be store in the fridge for 2-3 days.
- Freezing baked cookies: You can freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
- Freezing cookie balls: You can freeze cookie dough balls for up to 2 month. When ready to bake, let hem that at room temperature for about 20-30 minutes. Roll them in both sugars after thawing or right before baking.
Frequently asked questions
If the cookie dough is not chilled enough or the cookie dough balls got too warm when you rolled them with hands, they might become flat and spread too much. Make sure to chill the dough for one hour and after rolling them into balls place them again into the fridge for 30 minutes before rolling them into sugars. If you make two batches, keep the second batch in the fridge until the first one is baked.
You will have to roll them into granulated sugar first before rolling them into powdered sugar. Granulated sugar will prevent the powder sugar from melting and turning into the crust. You can also try finding snow sugar, it is a special sugar that does not melt as much.
First of all, if your cookies did not come out with crinkles, they probably still taste great. It takes a little practice to get that perfect crinkle look, even when you follow the recipe exactly. That's why I listed all my best tips above. If the cookies don't crack on top, it could be because the dough was not chilled enough ( I recommend at least one hour), your baking powder could be not fresh, or the dough was not rolled in both types of sugar. Also make sure to coat them generously into powdered sugar.
📖 Recipe
Orange Crinkle Cookies
Equipment
- zester or cheese grater
- measuring cup and spoons
- large bowl
- medium bowl
- electric mixer
- cookie scoop I used 1.5 tablespoon
- cookie sheet pan and parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon orange zest approximately from one large orange
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 1 stick (113 grams) softened butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoons salt
For sugar rolling
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Prep orange sugar. Wash the orange well under cold water. Zest orange directly into the mixing bowl. Add granulated sugar. Use your fingers to rub zest into the sugar until it is fragrant and evenly distributed. This step blooms the orange zest and gives bright orange flavor. 1 tablespoon orange zest, ⅔ cup granulated sugar .
- Cream butter and sugar. Add softened butter to the orange-scented sugar. Using electric mixer, beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes until the mixture is pale and lightly fluffy. 1 stick (113 grams) softened butter
- Add eggs and orange juice. Add the egg and 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice to the butter mixture. Mix on low-medium speed until combined. 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons orange juice .
- Combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt and baking powder. 2 cups (250 grams) all purpose flour , 1½ teaspoons baking powder , ¼ teaspoons salt.
- Mix dry and wet ingredients. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix on low speed just until combined. You will have thick sticky batter.
- Chill the batter. Cover the cookie batter and let it chill in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Chilling will prevent the cookies from spreading too much.
- Preheat oven. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line the baking pan with parchment paper.
- Shape and roll cookies. Pour the granulated sugar and powdered sugar in a two separate bowls. Use a small cookie scoop or a table spoon to portion the cookies. Using your hands, roll the batter into 17 balls. Roll each cookie bowl in granulated sugar followed by powdered sugar. Place the dough balls on a prepared baking pan, at least 2 inches apart. ½ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup powdered sugar.
- Bake cookies. Bake the cookies at 350℉ for about 13-15 minutes, until the edges are set and the tops are slightly cracked in the center. Baking time will vary slightly depending on your oven and the cookies size.
- Cool. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minuets. Transfer them on a cooling rack to cool them down completely. Store them in an air tight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.
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