Orange Cookies with Orange Glaze

Orange Cookies with Orange Glaze - made July 28, 2012, recipe adapted from Stephanie's Kitchen blog

Back to the recipes.....

After 23 hours of travel time from my hotel in Barcelona to my house, I finally made it home only to spend the weekend trying to adjust back to my local time zone.  I tried staying up so I could adjust more quickly and just ended up with some raging headaches from sleep deprivation and I still woke up at 2 am.  I love to travel but sometimes I'm not a good traveler because I can't sleep on planes and it takes me awhile to adjust to different time zones.  Nevertheless, it was good to be home and I missed baking in my kitchen so of course, sleep deprivation or not, I hit the butter, flour, sugar and eggs to start baking again.

First recipe out of the gate is this one for orange cookies from Stephanie's Kitchen blog.  I indulged shamelessly in Swiss chocolate while I was gone so I switched gears back to oranges with this recipe.  This is a good summer cookie with its citrus flavor.  I modified it slightly by increasing the flour by 1/4 cup as when I used the original amount, the dough seemed a bit too soft and I didn't want it to spread flat.  I liked the fresh orange taste of this cookie but this is one you definitely don't want to overbake or it'll easily be dry.  Err on the side of underbaking for the proper texture which is moist and almost "fudgy" had it been chocolate.  I also only used just enough orange juice to make more of a thick glaze or a frosting rather than a runny glaze.  It's the glaze that brings out the orange flavor really well.  This is not a stackable cookie unless you let the glaze set so I wouldn't recommend it for care packages or bringing anywhere really hot or else the glaze will just melt off the cookies.

I love this texture when it's just slightly underbaked

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 egg

For the glaze:

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
fresh orange juice

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
2. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and orange zest. Rub together with your fingers until zest is throughout the sugar. The sugar will become moist from the oils being released. 
3. Using a mixer, cream the butter and orange-zested sugar. Add egg and orange juice. 
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients until well incorporated. At this point you can chill for an hour or so or overnight. 
5. Scoop onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and roll into smooth round balls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes or until very lightly golden on the bottoms.
6. Mix the confectioners’ sugar, orange zest and enough orange juice to get a glaze consistency and mix until smooth and creamy. Pour glaze over the tops of the cookies and let set.