Dining and Cooking
Chefs’ Collections

Orange Butter Cookies

The most common mistakes made by home bakers, professionals say, have to do with the care and handling of one ingredient: butter. Creaming butter correctly, keeping butter doughs cold, and starting with fresh, good-tasting butter are vital details that professionals take for granted, and home bakers often miss.

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1 ⅔ cups cake flour or more all-purpose flour (cake flour gives a finer texture)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
  • 2 packed teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
  • 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature

For the icing (See note):

  • 1 orange
  • 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
  • 2 drops almond or vanilla extract
  • Pinch fine salt
  • Nutritional Information
    • Nutritional analysis per serving (48 servings)

      108 calories; 4 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 16 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 21 milligrams cholesterol; 70 milligrams sodium

      • Note: Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available data.

About 4 dozen cookies

Preparation

  1. Position two oven racks in top and bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a bowl, whisk flours, baking soda and salt together. In a mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and orange zest at medium speed until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of bowl frequently. Add egg and mix. Add one egg yolk and mix. Add remaining egg yolk and mix. Stir in dry ingredients just until combined.
  3. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto parchment, leaving more than 1 inch between cookies. Press each one down lightly with 2 fingers to flatten to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Leave any ridges and valleys on top of cookie intact, but smooth the edges.
  4. Bake about 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. Cookies should be pale but baked all the way through. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool before storing in airtight containers up to 1 week.
  5. When ready to serve, make icing: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Peel orange, being careful to remove only outer orange zest, and cut into thin strips. Blanch in boiling water 1 minute; drain. Sift confectioners’ sugar into a bowl. Whisk in 2 tablespoons milk. Whisk in more milk if needed to make mixture thin enough to spread. Add extract, salt and zest, and whisk to combine.
  6. Place cookies on a rack and drizzle icing over each one (make sure there is some orange zest in each spoonful). Icing will settle into cookie crevices; let harden.
  • Instead of icing, cookies can be sprinkled with coarse crystal sugar before baking.

1 hour

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