Orange Sugar Cookies are super soft sugar cookies with just a touch of orange flavor and covered with a creamy sweet orange frosting. If you love cookies, don’t miss my 50 Best Cookie Recipes in the World!
Orange Sugar Cookies Recipe
This cookie recipe does have a few untraditional ingredients like confectioners’ sugar (in the cookie!), cream of tartar, and oil. However, it all comes together perfectly to create the best sugar cookie you will try!
Can I Substitute Fresh for the Extract?
If you don’t have orange extract, you can use fresh orange juice or additional orange zest. Here is a simple equivalency:
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice = 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
1 teaspoon orange zest = 1 teaspoon orange extract
Secret Ingredient Orange Frosting
Just like the sugar cookie recipe, this frosting recipe has an ingredient that might surprise you! It’s sour cream! I absolutely love what it does to this frosting. I added the smallest amount of orange food color (red plus yellow food coloring) to the frosting to create this glorious orange color. The combination is truly fabulous!
To make the frosting, use a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. First, combine the butter, sour cream, orange juice, salt, and orange extract. After the ingredients are fully incorporated, add the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Keep an eye on the frosting until it gets to your desired consistency. You may not need all five cups of sugar. Add a drop of orange food coloring for that orange color.
How to Store Orange Sugar Cookies
Orange Sugar Cookies can be stored at room temperature for a few days, but they are really great chilled in the refrigerator as well! If you want to freeze the cookies, lay them on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer until frozen. Then, store the frozen cookies in an airtight, freezer-safe container or zipped freezer-safe bag. Be sure to label and date the containers.
More Orange Treats
Orange Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
ORANGE SUGAR COOKIE
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 226g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1¼ cups (250g) granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (94g) confectioners' sugar
- ¾ cup (168g) vegetable oil
- 3 large (6 ounces) eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5½ cups (688g) all-purpose flour
ORANGE FROSTING
- ½ cups (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (173g) sour cream
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 4-5 cups (500-625g) confectioners' sugar
- 1 drop orange food coloring, red + yellow food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
SUGAR COOKIES
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter, granulated sugar, confectioners' sugar and mix until just combined.
- Drizzle in oil and pour in eggs, orange juice, orange zest, and orange extract, and mix well.
- In a bowl add the cream of tartar and salt to the flour and roughly sift.
- Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture and allow the mixer to combine until the dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer bowl.
- Using an ice cream/cookie scoop, scoop out golf-ball size portions on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Roll out each cookie dough ball until it is smooth and round.
- Using a kitchen glass that has been pressed into granulated sugar, press down on each cookie dough ball until the center of the cookie is pressed flatter than the edges. Repeat this on all cookies.
- Bake for 7-9 minutes or until edges are just slightly starting to brown and center no longer appears wet. Let the cookies cool while you prepare the frosting.
- NOTE: It is important to not over-bake the cookies. Be sure to check your cookies at 7 minutes. Every oven is different and overbaking can result in a tough, crumbly, tasteless cookie. Let your first batch be a test batch so you can ensure the remaining cookies are perfect and soft!
ORANGE FROSTING
- In a clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter, sour cream, orange juice, salt, and orange extract.
- Once ingredients are fully incorporated, start adding the confectioner's sugar, about a 1/2 cup at a time. (You may not need all 5 cups. Keep an eye on the frosting to determine when it has reached your desired consistency. If it gets too be too thick you can add some milk to loosen.)
- Add in a drop of orange food coloring for the soft orange color.
- Spread on cooled cookies using an offset spatula.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
I made these and was not impressed when I first tasted them but when I tried them the 2nd day, I couldn’t get enough. Giving them an extra day to sit and the flavors blend must have done the trick because I will make them again. They are soft, flakey and the frosting is delicious. I, however, used salted butter and cut back on the salt in the recipe and they were fabulous.
If no orange extract can I use same in orange juice? Or vanilla extract?
I rolled the dough into rolls and chilled in the fridge for 2-3 hours. Sliced and baked. Easier to handle. Recipe is tops!
I am wanting to make your Orange cookie recipe but I do not have a stand mixer. Can I use my hand mixer?
Hi, Suzanne! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. You could use a hand mixer for this recipe. Have a great day!
Love everything💓💓💓
In the narrative at the top it says to bake 8-12 minutes and in the recipe at the bottom, it says to bake cookies 7-9 minutes. Which is it, because you say “Be sure to check your cookies at 7 minutes” I do not want to overbake because you say overbaking will result in a tough, crumbly, tasteless cookie. Please let me know. I am going to try these today.
7-9 minutes, start checking at 7 minutes. If the cookie appears to be a different color in the middle, or “wet” looking, it is not done. They will puff up SLIGHTLY and then deflate slightly when cooling. If the edges are darker or brown the cookie is over done.
How can a frosting made with sour cream not spoil?
Some of these cookie recipes sound really different. I like different.
I have made these cookies twice. They are wonderful! They are even better the next day. The only thing I did differently was I used a hand mixer, as I don’t have a stand mixer, and I added more orange extract to the icing. Storing them in the fridge and eating them cold is just amazing!
I was surprised that there is no soda or baking powder? Is it because of the cream of tartar? thank you.