Orange Cookies - Easy Italian Recipe (2024)

Orange cookies are the perfect companion to a cup of tea or your favorite coffee. Slightly crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside, these refreshing cookies remind me of orange flavored lady fingers.

Great for breakfast or any time of the day

This recipe comes straight from my mother’s kitchen. Nonna’s “biscotti all’arancia”, or orange cookies, are a family favorite. Our family is scattered all over the east coast and when they come to visit, Mom always makes sure she has a batch of these citrusy cookies on hand. We have some fussy cookie eaters in the family and this recipe seems to please everyone. My brother doesn’t like frosting on his cookies, the kids want something sweet, and my son doesn’t like chocolate. But everyone loves Nonna’s orange cookies.

Orange cookies make a deliciously light but sweet dessert after a big meal or as an afternoon snack. The sweet citrusy flavor combination makes this the perfect cookie to pair with a cup of espresso.

Ingredients and Notes

These cookies are made with simple ingredients.

• Granulated Sugar
• Shortening: Shortening is used in many of my mom authentic Italian cookies. This is what they used years ago because it was readily available. But these days they continue to use it because it makes cookies soft and fluffy.
• Eggs: Make sure your eggs are room temperature.
• Fresh Orange Juice and Zest: This is about the juice and zest of a whole medium orange.
• Flour: all purpose flour works beautifully for this recipe.
• Baking Powder: Check the expiration date on the package to make sure it is fresh.
• Powdered Sugar or Confectioners’ Sugar: This is all the decoration these cookies need.

How to Make This Easy Orange Cookie Recipe

Nonna’s simple orange cookies are just that…simple!

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover you baking tray with parchment paper.
• Using an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. Combine the sugar and Crisco in a large bowl and mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until the eggs are fully incorporated.
• Pour the orange juice into the egg mixture and mix well.
• Combine the flour, baking powder and orange zest in a medium bowl.

• With the mixer on low speed gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture. Beat for a minute or two and scrape down the sides to ensure that all the ingredients are evenly distributed

• Prepare a small bowl with powdered sugar.
• Drop a tablespoon of dough into the powdered sugar and roll the dough to coat it on all sides. Carefully shape the dough into an oval and place them on your prepared cookie sheets.

• Lightly tap the dough with your fingers to slightly flatten the cookie.
• Repeat with the remaining dough. Make sure to leave about 2 inches between the cookies as they will rise and expand.
• Bake the cookies for 12 minutes or until the cookies are crinkled and lightly golden. Let the cookies start to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes so they don’t break while moving them. Then transfer them to a wire rack to finish cooling

Tips

• It is easiest to grate the orange zest before you squeeze the orange juice. Use the small end of a cheese grater or a micro plane grater to remove the zest from the orange.
• If you want to increase the orange flavor in these cookies there are a couple different things you can do:
  • Add a teaspoon of orange extract, or
  • Combine the fresh orange zest with the sugar. Then work the zest into the sugar until the sugar looks a bit like wet sand. This takes a few minutes but it will release the oils from the zest and distribute the orange flavor evenly though out the cookies.
• If you want to make a smaller cookie, use a teaspoon rather then a tablespoon cookie scoop to make the cookies. You will need to adjust your cooking time for their small size

FAQ

Orange Cookies – Easy Italian Orange Cookies

Slightly crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside, they remind me of orange flavored lady fingers.

Nutrition

Serving: 36cookiesCalories: 100kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 51mgPotassium: 22mgFiber: 1gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 21IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1mg