Makes 2 dozen
I've been on a cookie hiatus, but was lured back to create a special cookie for the middle sister's baby shower. I had made a lemon crinkle cookie a while back that she really enjoyed, so suggested modifying the recipe to match her "Little Cutie" clementine theme. Surprisingly, this wasn't as simple as just swapping out the lemon ingredients for orange (assuming because of higher sugar content???). With a few ingredient and process tweaks, I think I got these where they needed to be - at least the mom-to be thinks so, which is all that really matters!
You'll see below that I include food coloring in the ingredient list, but this is not strictly necessary. The zest and juice definitely impart a light orange hue to the cookie without the addition of coloring, but sister and I thought these would be prettier with a little extra color pop. I use gel food coloring for baking, which I think results in more saturated color, but you can certainly use drops instead. I added the coloring to my butter mixture so that it incorporated more evenly without risking over-mixing the dough. Use more coloring than you think you need as the visual impact will dilute once all the ingredients are mixed together.
Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
2 1/4 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 c granulated sugar
1/2 c light brown sugar, packed
2 large eggs + 1 large egg yolk
1 large navel orange (to be used for zest in 2 ways and juice)
2 tsp triple sec
Orange food coloring (optional)
Additional granulated & powdered sugars for rolling
DIRECTIONS
Use a vegetable peeler to create large strips of peel from half of the orange. Add these to a small pot with the butter and heat on the stove over low heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is just melted. Remove from the heat to cool and allow the orange strips to steep in the butter while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Use a fine grater to zest the remaining half of the orange. Set aside.
Juice the zested orange to result in 2 Tbsp of orange juice. Set aside.
Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, add the 1 c granulated sugar, 1/2 c light brown sugar, eggs and yolks, triple sec, grated zest, and orange juice. Whisk until combined.
Remove the orange strips from the melted butter and discard. If using food coloring, mix it into the melted butter now.
Whisk the butter into the sugar mixture until combined.
Fold the remaining dry ingredients into the sugar mixture until no dry pockets of flour remain.
Cover the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 325 F and line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Take out two shallow bowls or small plates and pour granulated sugar in one and powdered sugar in another.
With slightly wet hands, scoop dough by the leveled Tablespoon and roll into balls.
Roll the scooped dough to coat first in the granulated sugar, then in the powdered sugar and place on the prepared cookie sheets 2-3 inches apart.
Bake about 15 minutes until the cookie centers appear set and are barely glistening.
Cool for 3 minutes on the cookie sheets, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
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