Orange Butter Christmas Cookies
A delicate and unbelievably delicious treat no one can resist! These easy Orange Butter Christmas Cookies are so buttery and soft that they will melt in your mouth. They burst with orange flavor, thanks to the fresh orange juice and zest in the dough & glaze.
It’s Christmas time which means it’s cookie time. Every year since I can remember, I make Christmas cookies. Growing up, I made them with my mom – I loved making cookies with her. A Christmas without these small little treats is unimaginable. And every year, I wish I could be in my mom’s kitchen, baking away, laughing, and spending time with her. But, unfortunately, Switzerland is thousands of miles away.
But now, I have little helpers that love to roll the dough and cut the cookies, which is a joy to watch. We make at least five different types of Christmas cookies during the holidays. My family loves the Spitzbuben – Linzer Cookies and the Zimtsterne – Cinnamon Star Cookies.
My absolute favorite cookies, however, are these melt-in-your-mouth Orange Butter Christmas Cookies. They are irresistible! I love them so much that I even wrote an essay on them in school one day! Thanks to the orange flavor, it makes them the perfect Holiday cookies!
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Tips for making these cookies:
➙ Use a kitchen scale!! I think this is the one essential kitchen item everyone needs! Being able to weigh all the ingredients will lead to beautiful, even results every time!
➙ Keep the dough cold! After making the dough, wrap it in plastic foil, place it back in the refrigerator, and let it chill for at least three h hours, preferably overnight. It is a lot easier to work with a nice chilled dough! You will get sharp edges on the cookies, and they won’t have any fingerprints imprinted.
➙ The dough will be hard the next day. Take it out of the fridge, cut it in half, and place the other half back in the refrigerator. You might need to knead the dough slightly to soften it. But, it will still be cold and the perfect firmness to roll and cut out the cookies.
➙ Remember to keep the dough cold. As soon as the dough gets soft and tacky, place it back in the fridge and start working on the other dough piece from the refrigerator.
➙ To achieve nice and sharp cookie edges, I recommend putting the baking sheet with the cut-out cookies back into the fridge or outside, if it is cold enough where you live, for 30 minutes before baking.
➙ To give these cookies an extra festive touch, sprinkle some glitter gold onto the still-wet glaze.
E Guete, (Bon appétit)!! Don’t forget to share some pictures with me and tell me how you liked these Orange Butter Christmas Cookies. Also, it would make my day if you tag @mirjamskitchenyodel on Instagram, share on Facebook or pin on Pinterest.
If you love this recipe, you might also like the following:
Chocolate Cinnamon Winter Cake
Orange Butter Christmas Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Dough:
- 125 g Butter softened
- 80 g Granulated sugar
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 2 Egg yolks
- 1 Orange zest
- 1 tbsp Orange juice fresh
- 250 g All-purpose flour
- 1/8 tsp Baking powder
Glaze:
- 150 g Powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp Orange juice more if needed
Decor (optional)
Instructions
Dough:
- Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl, and with a hand or stand mixer, beat until small peaks form, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the sugar, salt, and egg yolks and mix until the mixture is lighter in color.
- Then add the fresh pressed orange juice and zest and mix until well combined.
- Combine the all-purpose flour and baking powder and fold them into the butter mixture, incorporating well until a soft dough forms. Don’t knead for too long, or the dough becomes rubbery, and the cookies will be dense.
- Wrap the dough in plastic foil and place it in the refrigerator. Let it chill for at least two hours, preferably overnight.
Roll out the dough:
- Line a baking sheet with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
- Take the dough out of the fridge and cut it in half, placing one half back in the refrigerator. Place the other dough half onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out the dough, with a rolling pin, to about ½ cm (¼ inch).
- Cut the dough with small tree cookie cutters. Since it is a Christmas cookie, I like to use Christmasy cookie cutters.
- Place the cookies on the lined baking sheet. If the dough starts getting soft and tacky place it back in the refrigerator and start working on the other dough half that’s waiting in the refrigerator.
- Repeat these steps until you have used up all the dough. Then, place the baking sheet with the cut cookies back in the refrigerator for half an hour.
Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 390°F or 200°C.
- Bake the cookies for about 7-10 minutes. Every oven bakes differently, and therefore the baking times can vary. Watch the cookies closely as they will brown/burn quickly.
- Let them cool completely before glazing them.
Glaze:
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and orange juice; you might need to add a little more orange juice if the glaze is too thick or more powdered sugar if the glaze seems to be too runny.
- Glaze each cookie individually using a knife or small spatula, and place them on a drying rack.
- Optional: While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle some gold glitter over each cookie. Let them dry completely before you store them in an airtight cookie jar.
