Bursting with orange flavor and boasting an incredibly chewy and melt-in-your-mouth texture, these orange glazed orange cookies are about to become your new favorite!
This post is for my sister, Sarah.
Don’t worry, the rest of you guys can read along.
You see, when Sarah got married a couple of years ago and moved to Israel, I went from seeing her almost daily, to seeing her…once or twice a year. And then she had a baby, but I didn’t get to meet my adorable niece until she was about ten months old. It was tough…missing all of her early milestones. Phone calls, photos, even videos – it just isn’t the same. It’s a big world, and even with technology making it smaller, family sometimes feels so far away.
When Western Union asked what I thought about their Home Cooked Love From Around the World video, I instantly connected to the people on the video. I love the idea that food and flavors are so much more than they seem on the surface. Cooking for family is not just about sustenance it’s about love. Flavors of home aren’t just tastes you recognize, but tastes that you connect with. This video shares stories of people who left their families and homes, but manage to reconnect to their family’s love through the familiar flavors of home. It’s emotional – especially for anyone who has a family member living far away.
I love the concept the video shares, because recipes and cooking is one of my favorite ways to connect with my sister. It might have been months since I’ve seen my sister, but when I share a new recipe and my sister makes it, we connect through the food. Today’s recipe is a surprise for my sister Sarah, because it’s my attempt to recreate a cookie I made for her years ago – a cookie that she loved. The cookie is bursting with orange flavor and boasts an amazing texture. Sarah has always been a fan – and supporter – of my baked goods and recipes but this one sticks out in my memory as one she enjoyed more than most. I lost that original recipe, but here’s my fresh take on it. I kept the ingredients basic – because we can’t both get the same products on opposite sides of the ocean. With this recipe, my sister and I can connect through common flavors and foods…even if an ocean separates us.
Sarah, I hope this recipe makes you feel a little closer to home…
One more thing I wanted to tell you guys: On her last visit home, Sarah and I were shopping, when I fell in love with the vintage-y looking background you see in this photo, so she bought it for me as a present. What better post to use the background in than one dedicated to my sister?!
- 1 cup oil
- 1½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest of one orange, minus 1 teaspoon for the glaze
- 1 egg
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest (reserved from cookies)
- 4 teaspoons orange juice
- Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the oil and sugar until combined.
- Add the orange juice, baking powder, vanilla, orange zest and egg. Beat until creamy.
- Add the flour and beat until combined.
- Scoop the dough onto the prepared cookie sheets using a small cookie scoop.
- Bake at 350 for 9 minutes. Set aside to cool completely before glazing.
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.
If you liked this recipe, you’ll also love:
Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies
Tools needed for this recipe:
What did you think of Western Union’s video? Share your thoughts on it using #WUHomedCooked or in the comments below. Do you agree that food is one of the ways that we can make this humongous world a little smaller?
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you enjoy the cookies, and the video! Maybe you’ll get inspired to make something special for someone you care about? -Miriam
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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Disclosure: this post contains affiliate link(s), which means that a small percentage of every purchase made through that link goes to help support this blog.
I love this post cuz I moved to Israel after living near my parents for 15 years as a married adult. I’m so sad and I miss my mom so much. We definitely still connect through food but it’s more of a generational thing. When I cook or bake the things that I grew up eating in her home, I feel close to her.
These cookies are really amazing! Love the texture and flavor.
Can you give a slightly more precise measurement for how much zest is “zest of one orange”? I often freeze citrus zest in large amounts so I don’t know how much one orange worth is. Thanks!
About 2 tablespoons. Subtract a teaspoon for the glaze. Enjoy!
What am awesome surprise! These cookies bring back such fantastic memories. I can’t wait to try them at my side of the world. Thanks a million Miriam! I am so touched by this post.
-Sarah, the sister
What a beautiful post! Those cookies look divine! Can’t wait to bake them! As soon as I get to buy myself a long – overdue microplane that is!
Thank you! I’m sure you’ll love them!
Miriam, these are so good! I already made them and they were a huge hit. Thank you!
Sara Hanna
So I made these today (no microplane! Just chopped up the zest really well!) And they came out delicious! Love the added citrus flavor infused with the zest!
I just made these and they are awesome! They’re chewy and crumbly at the same time. The batter was crumbly, but it baked into a perfect texture. The flavor is so yummy too! Thank you for your help.
Do you think I can make the dough one evening put it in the fridge and only bake them the next day?
Do u press down on the cookies to flatten them? Or just scoop onto the cookie sheet?
Thanks
No need to flatten.
Is that shortning or veg oil?
Oil
My dough was very sticky
What could be the reason?
Was it because the oil and sugar had to beat until the sugar melted and then that is consider combined?
Help! I did lemon instead of orange and when I put in the vanilla extract it started fizzing. Is this supposed to HAPPEN????
I made these with my kids. Great cookies! I would let them cook longer than is listed, but that could just be because of my oven. Thanks for posting. We wanted to make cookies and realized we didn’t have any butter!
Can you use the cookie base for thumbprint cookies? I’ve been thinking of making butterless lemon-curd topped thumbprint cookie, and your recipe seems like it would work.
I think it would work too! Let me know what happens!
I think that would work nicely!
Very good recipe!
Awesome!
These cookies are amazing!! The orange flavor is incredible and the recipe is very easy to follow. I can’t wait to try your coffee cookie recipe next!!
I have some questions about texture and baking time. When I baked them for only 9 mins, they were still very pale and seemed raw in the middle. I then baked the next batch for around 13 to 14 mins and they seemed completely cooked and more crumbly.
What is the texture that you were aiming for in the original recipe? How do they turn out for you after only 9 mins?
Thank you!
Can this dough be made and put in the fridge and used another day?
👍☺
can you substitute the orange for lemon?
Sure
Its a delicious recipe. I made it and yumm👍👍👍👍
These cookies are delightful. Thank you very much for the recipe. I tried a different glaze. I used melted dark chocolate with zest and orange juice. I love the chic/orange combination.
I love these biscuits, I am trying to find as many recipes as I can using oil instead of butter as butter is now so expensive. These are brilliant ,thanks for the recipe
Had all ingredients and ready to go. Turned out great and so many. My next potluck offer! I think I’ll keep a few for myself. 😄
I made these last Christmas because I have 2 people who can’t have dairy. These wew perfect and delicious. QUESTION: can you freeze them after baking?
Salt!
Perhaps half a teaspoon. Definetly needed.