Orange cookies are light and refreshing, with a cake-like texture. This recipe for homemade Orange Cookies includes basic kitchen staples like butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, plus orange juice and orange zest to provide that special flavor!

Stack of orange cookies with orange glaze on a white plate.

These Homemade Orange Cookies are a family treasure. That’s right – treasure. These cookies are light, airy, and have just the right amount of sweetness.

Ingredients

For these sweet, citrusy cookies, you need the following:

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
⅓ cup orange juice
Orange zest
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

For the sweet orange icing, you need:

1 ¼ cups shortening
¼ cup orange juice
16-ounce box of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

How To Make Homemade Orange Cookies

You start by making the cookie dough. Cream together sugar, eggs, butter, buttermilk, orange zest, and orange juice.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture. Allow dough to stand 10 – 15 minutes. (This is important!).

About 5 minutes before the time is up, preheat the oven to 375 degrees (Fahrenheit). Drop cookie dough by tablespoonfuls on greased cookie sheets. (I like to use parchment paper on top of my baking stones.). Bake in batches for 12 to 15 minutes per batch.

To make Orange Cream Icing, mix shortening, ¼ cup orange juice, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.

Once the cookies have cooled, spread icing on top of each cookie.

Orange cookies with orange glaze on a plate.

These special cookies made with orange juice and orange zest are perfect all year round.

Homemade Orange Cookies

This recipe for Homemade Orange Cookies creates a cake-like cookie topped with a light and refreshing orange glaze.

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 30

Servings: batch

Calories: 274kcal

Author: Lynda – Southern Kissed

Ingredients

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
⅓ cup orange juice
Orange zest
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt

Orange Cream Icing

1 ¼ cups shortening
¼ cup orange juice
16- ounces powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream sugar, eggs, butter, buttermilk, orange zest and orange juice.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Add to creamed mixture. Allow dough to stand 10 – 15 minutes.
Drop by tablespoonfuls on greased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.
To make Orange Cream Frosting, mix shortening, ¼ cup orange juice, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth and creamy.

Nutrition

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If you love oranges and orange-flavored foods, check out my recipes for Orange Rolls with Orange Creme Icing and my recipe clone for All Steak’s Orange Rolls.