Soft Orange Sugar Cookies
Soft Orange Sugar Cookies with a Lofthouse-style, cake-like texture and flavorful orange icing. These orange-flavored cookies are soft-baked, topped with an easy icing, and have tons of fresh orange zest.
Soft Orange Sugar Cookies
There’s just something about those super soft Lofthouse cookies at the grocery store. The cake-like texture. The sweet topping. The vibrant colors. You either love them or you hate them. And before I was dairy-free, I was totally down for a Lofthouse cookie. These Soft Orange Sugar Cookies are based off my version of a Lofthouse cookie. The dough has powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar for an extra soft, pillowy cookie texture. I topped mine with a simple orange icing to make them a tad less sweet than the grocery store cookie, but still indulgent and delicious. The fresh orange zest is like the cherry on top of these bright, orange-flavored cookies.
Why You’ll Love These Cookies
- Quick & easy recipe
- Dough bakes right away & needs no chill time
- Melt-in-your-mouth texture
- Bright orange flavor that isn’t overpowering
What You’ll Need
- Plant-based butter helps make these cookies buttery soft (and delicious!). If you aren’t dairy-free, regular butter will work just fine in this recipe.
- Powdered sugar is a key ingredient to get the cakey, soft texture we want in these cookies. You won’t want to use any other sugar. Same goes for the icing – only powdered sugar will work.
- Eggs bind the ingredients. I haven’t tested this recipe with any egg replacers.
- Orange zest adds a fresh orange flavor to the cookies and the icing. I like to add fresh zest on top of the cookies after icing, but you can add the zest straight to the icing if you prefer.
- Orange extract brings extra orange flavor to the cookie and icing. Feel free to use extra orange zest in place of the extract. The general rule is that 1 tsp of zest = 1/2 tsp of extract.
- Baking powder + baking soda work together to perfectly leaven these cookies; I don’t recommend any substitutes.
- Salt enhances flavor and cuts sweetness.
- Corn starch keeps these cookies fresh and soft for days. You should be able to use arrowroot or tapioca starch in its place, though I haven’t tested either of these myself.
- All-purpose flour is part of the cookie dough base. I like to use an unbleached variety when I bake. A gluten-free all-purpose flour may work here, but I haven’t personally tested it.
- Orange juice thins out the icing to make it smooth and easy to spread over the cookies.
FAQ for Soft Orange Sugar Cookies
Can I bake these ahead of time? Definitely! You can bake the cookies, freeze them in an airtight container once cool, and ice them before serving. Or you can bake and ice the cookies per the recipe, allow the icing to totally set, and stack the cookies between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container before freezing.
Will orange zest work in place of the orange extract? Yes! If you’d like, you can add extra fresh orange zest to the cookies and icing in place of the orange extract. It is recommended to use 1 tsp of fresh zest (or more if you like) for every 1/2 tsp of orange extract.
Can I freeze the dough? I don’t recommend freezing the dough as that may affect how the cookies spread in the oven.
How do I store these after baking? After baking and icing the cookies, the icing needs to set completely before you can store the cookies. The icing will be firm once set. When storing the cookies, I recommend placing parchment paper between each layer before stacking them. Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature, or freeze for a future date.
Soft Orange Sugar Cookies
Soft Orange Sugar Cookies with a a tender, cake-like texture. Topped with an easy orange icing and plenty of fresh orange zest.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2/3 cup (150g) plant-based butter (or regular butter), softened
- 2 cups (240g) powdered sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp orange extract
- Zest from 1 large navel orange
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (32g) corn starch
- 2 3/4 cup (358g) unbleached all-purpose flour
Icing
- ~2 cups + 2 tbsp (255g) powdered sugar
- 1 tsp orange extract
- 3 Tbsp orange juice
- Zest from 1-2 large navel oranges
Instructions
Bake the Cookies
- Bring your eggs to room temperature by placing them in a glass of warm water for around 10 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. The mixture will seem crumbly and dry but keep beating until you get a smooth, uniform texture.
- Beat in the eggs, orange extract, and orange zest. Beat in the baking powder, baking soda, salt, and corn starch. Finally, add the flour and use a large spoon to mix until the dough comes together (it's okay if it's a bit sticky).
- Allow the dough to rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 15 minutes. The dough will firm up in this time so it can be easily rolled (it will no longer be sticky).
- Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Once the dough has rested for 15 minutes, scoop dough balls 3 Tbsp in size, 6 at a time. Roll each dough ball smooth, place on your prepared baking sheet, and slightly flatten to a disc shape (I baked 6 at a time).
- Bake cookies at 350°F for 9-10 minutes. Allow the cookies to set on the baking sheet for 1 minute before carefully removing to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Repeat steps 6 & 7 until all cookies are baked, making sure your baking sheet is cooled to room temperature before adding more dough balls. Allow the cookies to cool completely before icing.
Ice the Cookies
- Once the cookies are completely cool, you can make the icing. In a small bowl, add 2 cups (240g) of powdered sugar, orange extract, and orange juice. (If you're adding the orange zest directly to the icing, now is the time to add it; if not, you'll add it in Step 4 below.)
- Whisk until completely combined and no lumps remain. Your icing should be thicker than a glaze but thin enough to spread over your cookies. Using the ribbon test (drizzling the icing back into the bowl), it should take 3-4 seconds for the ribbons to disappear into the icing. Add the extra 2 Tbsp (15g) of powdered sugar at this point, if needed.
- Spoon the icing over the surface of each cookie, gently spreading it to cover the tops. If you spread the icing to the edges of the cookies, it will drip down the edges slightly. To avoid this, leave ~1/8" of cookie free of icing around the edges.
- Add fresh orange zest to the top of each cookie before the icing is totally set.
- Allow the icing to set before storing the cookies (it will be firm and no longer shiny or sticky). I recommend storing these cookies between layers of parchment paper in an airtight container. They can be stored at room temperature or in the freezer for a later day.
Notes
- Butter: I used Country Crock Plant Butter Sticks with Olive Oil.
DID YOU MAKE THESE SOFT ORANGE SUGAR COOKIES? I WOULD LOVE TO SEE!
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I saw 3Tbsp cookie size an knew that was too much. I used 2Tbsp and they were still huge. Next time I will use 1 Tbsp which should be about the right size for a cookie.
Hi Jim! I hope you still enjoyed these! I tend to go for the bigger size when baking, but I can see where one might want smaller cookies. Glad these still worked for you!