Orange crinkle cookies are soft, chewy orange cookies with a crackly powdered sugar coating and sweet citrus flavor. They’re so fun to make, and every bite melts in your mouth!
Orange crinkle cookies are the best way to brighten up a cookie plate. I love my orange cooler cookies, so I knew that these citrus-flavored crinkle cookies would turn out delicious. Soft, chewy, and smothered in powdered sugar, you’re going to love making these. Here’s why:
Sweet orange flavor. Flavored with fresh orange juice, orange zest, and a touch of vanilla, these soft-baked orange crinkle cookies taste a bit like an orange creamsicle. You can’t beat that flavor profile!
Easy. Make these orange cookies in ONE BOWL with just a handful of basic pantry ingredients. They’re fresh from the oven in 20 minutes.
Holiday-worthy. Dress up a Christmas cookie platter, or whip up a batch of orange crinkle cookies any other time of the year. The flavors are zesty enough to brighten up the holidays and fresh enough for springtime baking.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Let’s start with some quick notes on the ingredients for this crinkle cookie recipe. You’ll find a printable ingredients list in the recipe card.
Butter and Sugar – I recommend baking with room-temperature unsalted butter. Take the butter out of the fridge about 30 minutes ahead of time. Regular granulated sugar works best in this recipe.
Egg and Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract and not imitation vanilla.
Orange – You’ll need orange juice and orange zest. If you’re juicing a fresh orange, zest the orange beforehand.
Orange Extract and Food Coloring – These two ingredients are optional. But if you’d like to boost the orange flavor and color in these cookies, you can add a dash of orange extract and a drop of orange food coloring when you mix the wet ingredients.
Dry Ingredients – Baking soda, salt, and flour.
Powdered Sugar – For coating the cookies to give them that “crinkle” effect. This is also called confectioner’s sugar.
How to Make Orange Crinkle Cookies
Here’s how to make these soft orange crinkle cookies from scratch in just a few easy steps:
Combine the wet ingredients.Stir in the dry ingredients.
Combine the wet ingredients. Cream together butter and sugar, then add vanilla, egg, orange zest, orange juice, and leavening. If you’re using extract and food coloring, add this in, too.
Add dry ingredients. Next, slowly add the flour until the dough is just combined.
Roll the dough in powdered sugar.Ready to bake!
Portion the cookie dough. Use a small cookie scoop to portion the dough into balls. One at a time, roll the dough balls in powdered sugar and place them on a lined baking sheet.
Bake. Bake the crinkle cookies at 350ºF for 8-10 minutes. The tops of the cookies should be set and crackly. Afterward, let the cookies cool on a wire rack.
Tips and Variations
It’s a tough job devouring 4 trays of orange cookies in the name of research, but someone has to do it. Here are some helpful tips and variation ideas that I noted down while recipe testing:
Use room-temperature butter. Room-temperature butter is soft to the touch (your finger should leave a small indent), but not melted. Take the butter out 20-30 minutes ahead of when you’ll use it.
Measure the flour correctly. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, make sure to measure flour by spooning it from the bag into your measuring cup. Never scoop directly from the bag, as you’ll end up with far too much flour.
Line the baking sheet. Use parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat to line the baking sheet. This prevents the bottoms of the cookies from browning too quickly.
Use a cookie scoop. It’s an easy way to ensure your cookies come out the same size. I use a small scoop, about 1 tablespoon.
Make lemon crinkle cookies. Swap the orange in this recipe for lemon juice, zest, and lemon extract. You can add a drop of yellow food coloring if you prefer.
The crinkle magic in this recipe happens when the cookies spread and crack as they bake. If your cookies aren’t crinkling, there’s a chance that your oven temperature is too low, or your baking powder is expired. Make sure your oven is fully preheated and that you’re using fresh baking powder.
Why are my crinkle cookies hard?
Overbaking can cause crinkle cookies to turn out hard and crumbly instead of soft and chewy. Take these cookies out of the oven when the tops are just set and starting to crackle.
How to Store Crinkle Cookies
To Store. Store these orange crinkle cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze. Freeze your cookies airtight for up to 2 months. Defrost the cookies at room temperature. You might notice that the cookies look a little less “crinkled” as they thaw, due to the powdered sugar melting. Dont worry, they’ll still taste delicious. You can always give them a fresh dusting just before serving.
Soft and chewy orange crinkle cookies are coated in crackly powdered sugar and filled with sweet citrus flavor. Make the dough, roll it in sugar, and bake!
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
1 drop of orange food coloring (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix butter and granulated sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes until combined.
Add in the vanilla, egg, zest, orange juice, baking soda, and salt, and mix for 1 minute until incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Turn the mixer to low and add in flour, mixing until just combined.
Place powdered sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
Using a small (1-tablespoon) cookie scoop, scoop out cookie dough. Roll each portion into a ball and then place the ball into the bowl of powdered sugar, turning to coat generously. Place the coated dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, placing balls 2- inches apart.
Bake for 8-10 minutes, until the tops of the cookies are set and the powdered sugar is crackly.
Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Store airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freeze airtight for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature. Note the powdered sugar might melt a bit in the thawing process and the cookies won’t appear as crinkled.
