These orange crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cookies made from scratch with fresh orange zest and juice, rolled in powdered sugar so the tops crack white as they bake. You need about an hour, most of it the 30 minute chill, and one batch makes 20 cookies.
The flavor comes from 1 tablespoon of zest and 2 tablespoons of juice. A few drops of orange gel color make them look like they taste. Chilling the dough is the step that gives you puffed, cracked tops instead of flat discs.
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- Yield: 20 cookies from 1 tablespoon balls of dough
- Oven: 350°F (175°C), parchment lined baking sheet
- Chill: at least 30 minutes, covered
- Bake: 10 to 12 minutes, balls spaced 2 inches apart
- Orange: 1 tablespoon zest and 2 tablespoons fresh juice, from 1 to 2 oranges
- Coating: ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar
- Keeps: up to 4 days airtight at room temperature, 2 months frozen
What Goes Into This Citrus Dough
It is a plain butter cookie dough: 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda and ¼ teaspoon salt, whisked together first. Using both leaveners matters here. Baking powder gives the steady puff that splits the sugar coat, and the small amount of soda reacts with the orange juice for a little extra lift.
Half a cup (115g) of softened unsalted butter is beaten with ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar for 2 to 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. If you only have salted butter, cut the added salt to a pinch. One large egg and 1 teaspoon vanilla hold the dough together. Stick with a large egg, since an extra-large one adds liquid and makes the cookies more cakey.
Zest, Juice or Extract: Where the Orange Flavor Comes From
Zest carries most of the orange taste. The oils sit in the colored skin, so 1 tablespoon of fresh zest gives more flavor than any amount of juice could. Use a microplane and stop when you see white. The pith underneath tastes bitter.
The 2 tablespoons of juice add a fresh, slightly tart note and soften the dough. Fresh juice tastes brighter than bottled, and you already have the orange in your hand. One large navel orange usually gives all the zest and more than enough juice.
Orange extract is optional. If your oranges are not very fragrant, add ⅛ teaspoon with the zest and juice. More than that starts to taste like candy. For a stronger aroma without extract, rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips for a minute before you add the butter. The sugar turns damp and smells strongly of orange.
Blood oranges work too and give a faint berry note. For color, use gel food coloring, 3 to 5 drops. Liquid coloring needs far more to reach the same shade and thins the dough.
Mixing and Chilling the Orange Dough
Beat the egg, vanilla, zest and juice into the creamed butter. The mixture may look a little curdled or wet at this point. That is normal, and it comes back together once the flour goes in. Add the gel color a drop at a time and stop when the dough is a shade brighter than you want the finished cookies. The bake and the white coat both soften it.
Mix in the dry ingredients only until no streaks of flour remain. Overmixing builds gluten and makes the cookies tougher. The dough will be soft and sticky.
Cover the bowl and chill it for at least 30 minutes. Cold dough is easier to roll, spreads less, and keeps its dome long enough for the top to crack. If your kitchen is warm, give it a full hour.
Rolling in Powdered Sugar for White, Cracked Tops
Scoop 1 tablespoon portions, roll them into balls, and coat each one generously in the powdered sugar. Place them 2 inches apart on the lined sheet. A small cookie scoop keeps the sizes even.
Here is where the cracks come from. The sugar coat dries out the surface of the dough. In the oven the soft center puffs up, the dry skin cannot stretch, and it splits into those white crinkles. A thin coat or warm dough gives you smooth tops.
This dough has juice in it, so the powdered sugar can turn damp and see-through if the balls sit around. Roll them straight from the fridge, keep the next tray of balls in the fridge while the first one bakes, and give each ball a second roll in powdered sugar just before it goes in the oven.
When to Pull Them From the Oven
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. They are ready when the cookies have puffed, the tops have cracked, and the edges look matte and set. The centers should still look a little soft and shiny. They firm up as they cool, and 5 minutes on the hot baking sheet finishes them before they move to a wire rack.
Baked a minute or two too long, they turn dry and the orange flavor fades. Pull them at 10 minutes if your oven runs hot, and check the first tray before you trust the timer for the rest.
Flat, Smooth or Pale Orange Cookies
- They spread flat: the dough was too warm or the butter was melted instead of softened. Chill the dough longer and keep the tray of shaped balls cold.
- No cracks on top: the sugar coat was too thin, or the dough had warmed up. Roll twice and bake straight from the fridge.
- The sugar looks wet or vanished: the juice dissolved it. Give the balls a second coat right before baking.
- The color is pale or streaky: pale means too few drops for your brand of gel, so add more, up to 5. Streaks mean the gel was not fully mixed in before the flour.
- Dry and crumbly: overbaked or too much flour. Spoon and level the flour, or weigh 190g.
Keeping the Cookies Soft and Freezing the Dough
Store the cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, with parchment between the layers so the sugar coat does not smudge. To freeze baked cookies, wrap them well and keep them for up to 2 months.
For make-ahead baking, freeze the shaped dough balls without the sugar on a tray, then move them to a freezer bag. When you want fresh cookies, roll the frozen balls in powdered sugar and bake. They usually need 1 to 2 minutes more than chilled dough.
Cardamom, Lemon and Chocolate Twists
Add ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom to the flour for a warm, spiced version, the same pairing as my orange cardamom cake. Swap half the orange zest and juice for lemon for a mixed citrus cookie, or bake my lemon crinkle cookies when you want all lemon. For a darker cookie, whisk 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder into the flour. Rolling in coconut sugar works for flavor, but you lose the white crackle.
Orange Crinkle Cookie Questions
Are orange crinkle cookies soft or crispy?
These are soft and chewy in the middle with a thin, crackly top. For firmer edges, bake the full 12 minutes and let them cool completely on the rack.
Can I make them without food coloring?
Yes. Leave it out and the cookies bake a pale butter yellow with the same orange flavor.
Do these use cake mix?
No, the dough is made from scratch with flour, butter and sugar. If you want a shortcut version, my cake mix crinkle cookies start from a box.
If you are building a holiday cookie box, these sit well next to gingerbread crinkle cookies and chocolate crinkle cookies, all coated and baked the same way. For more orange baking, try my orange creamsicle cookies or a jar of orange curd.
Orange Crinkle Cookies
These orange crinkle cookies are soft, chewy cookies made from scratch with fresh orange zest and juice, butter, sugar and a few drops of orange gel color, rolled in powdered sugar before baking. The dough chills for 30 minutes and bakes for 10 to 12 minutes at 350°F, and one batch makes 20 cookies with white, cracked tops in about an hour. The sugar coat dries the surface while the center puffs, which is what splits the tops into crinkles, so roll the cold dough generously. Bake them for holiday cookie trays, Christmas cookie boxes, winter citrus baking or a bright treat next to chocolate crinkle cookies. Store them airtight for up to 4 days, or freeze the dough balls and bake from frozen.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest (from 1–2 oranges)
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 3–5 drops orange gel food coloring (adjust for intensity)
- ⅓ cup (40g) powdered sugar, for rolling
Instructions
- PREHEAT AND PREP: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper to prevent sticking and promote even baking.
- WHISK DRY INGREDIENTS: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- CREAM BUTTER AND SUGAR: In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together for 2–3 minutes, until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy.
- ADD WET INGREDIENTS AND FOOD COLORING: Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, orange zest, and orange juice. Add the orange gel food coloring a few drops at a time, stirring until the desired brightness is reached and the mixture is smooth and evenly colored.
- COMBINE WET AND DRY: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together. Avoid overmixing to keep the cookies tender. The dough will be soft and brightly colored.
- CHILL THE DOUGH: Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Chilling helps the dough firm up, making it easier to shape and helping the cookies hold their crinkle shape during baking.
- SHAPE AND SUGAR: Scoop out 1-tablespoon portions of chilled dough and roll into balls. Coat each dough ball generously in powdered sugar, then place on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
- BAKE: Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the cookies have puffed, the tops are crinkled, and the edges are just set. The centers may look slightly soft but will continue to set as they cool.
- COOL: Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Roll the dough straight from the fridge and give each ball a second coat of powdered sugar just before baking; the orange juice in the dough can dissolve a thin coat. Zest only the colored skin, the white pith tastes bitter. For a stronger orange flavor, add ⅛ teaspoon orange extract with the zest and juice. Use gel food coloring rather than liquid and stop when the dough looks a shade brighter than you want. Take the cookies out when the edges are set and the centers still look soft. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature. Freeze unsugared dough balls, then coat and bake from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes.
