Best Orange Spiced Gingerbread Cookies Recipes

ORANGE GLAZED GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, cloves, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and molasses until combined and creamy, about one minute.
• Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until creamy and well combined.
• Continue beating on low speed while slowly adding the dry ingredients. Stop beating once the dough comes together and is no longer crumbly.
• Split the dough in half then press each half into a disc between two layers of parchment paper, put it in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for at least three hours, but no more than 72.
• Once the dough is chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Line a large baking sheet or two with parchment paper and set aside.
• Lightly flour a flat surface and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll the dough until it is approximately 1/4-inch thick. Cut the cookies out, stamp them if desired, and transfer to your baking sheet(s) separated by at least one inch. *I used a circular cookie cutter that was three inches in diameter. Keep in mind if you use a different size cookie cutter the yield will be different.
• Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow them to rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
• Meanwhile, whisk together the ingredients for the orange glaze in a small/medium-sized bowl until smooth.
• Once cooled, dip the top side of the cookies in the glaze, shake off any excess, and place them on a sheet of parchment paper (you can recycle the same pieces of parchment paper you used to bake the cookies atop.

ORANGE SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 c granulated sugar, 1 c powdered sugar, butter, shortening, and eggs. Beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
• 2. Add flour, peel, cream of tartar, baking soda, cardamom, ginger, and salt to a separate bowl.
• 3. Slowly add flour to sugar/butter mixture. Beat at low speed until soft dough forms.
• 4. Cover with plastic wrap and chill 1 to 2 hours or until firm.
• 5. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1 inch balls.
• 6. Roll balls in sprinkling sugar or granulated sugar. Place balls 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
• 7. Flatten balls with bottom of a drinking glass.
• 8. Wipe the glass with a damp cloth to prevent sticking.
• 9. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown.
• 10. Let cool for 1 minute before removing from cookie sheet. Cool completely before storing.

CITRUS GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey and molasses. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand 20 minutes. Stir in butter; let stand 20 minutes longer., Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest and spices; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into three portions. Roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray., Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients; brush over cookies. Let stand until set., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap in plastic and place in a resealable bag. Store in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.

THE SPICIEST GINGERBREAD COOKIES EVER

Steps:

• Make the cookies: Whisk together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, baking soda, allspice, nutmeg, cayenne, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes (scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed). Beat in the molasses until combined, then the egg (the mixture will look curdled). Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until the dough comes together. Divide the dough in 2 pieces, flatten each half into a disk and wrap each disk in plastic wrap. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
• Position 2 racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Keeping one disk refrigerated, roll the other disk on a well-floured work surface to 1/4 inch thick, sprinkling flour on and under the dough as needed and sliding a spatula underneath every so often to prevent sticking (If the dough looks crackly or breaks apart, press it back together from the outside edge in). Using cookie cutters, cut out gingerbread shapes as close together as possible. Pull away the extra dough around each shape then use a small offset spatula to transfer the shapes to the prepared cookie sheets, spacing them 1 inch apart. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. Freeze the cookies until firm, about 15 minutes.
• Bake the cookies, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back halfway through cooking, until they are slightly firm to the touch but not browned at the edges, about 12 minutes. Repeat the rolling, cutting and baking with the remaining dough disk.
• Cool the cookies for 5 minutes on the baking sheet then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 20 minutes (The cookies will continue to firm as they cool).
• Make the icing: Combine the confectioners' sugar, meringue powder and 3 tablespoons water in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on low speed until the frosting thickens, trying not to incorporate too much air. (The icing should be pure white and thick, but not fluffy and bubbly.)
• Scrape the icing into a resealable plastic bag and snip the corner to the desired size. Pipe the icing onto the cookies to decorate, as desired, sticking the candy onto the icing while it is still wet. Let the cookies stand at room temperature until the icing hardens, at least 1 hour.

ORANGE SPICED GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• in large mixer bowl combine brown sugar, 1/3 cup butter, molasses, egg and orange peel. beat at medium speed scraping bowl often until smooth and creamy.
• add remaining cookie ingredients, reduce speed to low. continue beating scraping bowl often until well mixed.
• cover refrigarate at least 2 hours.
• heat oven to 375*F.
• roll out dough 1/2 at a time (keeping remaining dough refrigarated), on well floured surface to 1/4inch thickness.
• cut into 3 to 4 cookie cutters.
• place 1inch apart on greased cookie sheet.
• bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until no indentation remains when touched.
• cool completely.
• in small mixer bowl combine all frosting ingredients, beat at low speed, craping bowl often until fluffy.
• if desired color frosting with food coloring.
• decorate cookies with frosting.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, add the butter, sugar and orange zest and beat until smooth, 5 to 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, dry ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Whisk to blend. Set aside.
• In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, molasses and lemon juice.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• When the butter and sugar are integrated, lower the speed of the mixer and add the dry ingredients. Add the egg mixture and when blended, remove the bowl from the machine. Divide the cookie dough in half. Press the first half of the dough in between 2 sheets of waxed paper or plastic wrap and chill for 15 minutes. Repeat with the second half. This step will make it easier to finish rolling out the dough when it has chilled. It will also mean you only have half of the dough getting warm as you roll it.
• Lightly flour a flat surface. Use a floured rolling pin to gently roll the first half of the dough about 1/2-inch thick. Lightly flour the cookie cutter(s) and cut the shapes, making as few scraps as possible. Use a metal spatula to gently transfer them, cookie by cookie, (the cookies should be similar size) to a baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough and transfer them to another baking sheet. A note about crowding the tray(s): these particular cookies can spread a little. Leave room between the cookies. Better to use 3 baking sheets with fewer cookies than to crowd them on 2 trays. Bake until brown around the edges, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Got scraps? Form the scraps into a ball, press it flat and chill in the refrigerator. These cookies may be a little more "tough" because the dough will have been worked a little more than the others. Why not have a little frosting on your gingerbread?
• In a medium bowl add all of the ingredients and whisk together to combine. If too thick in consistency, add a touch more orange juice or water to thin out.
• Use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to pipe the frosting between 2 of the gingerbread cookies. Press the 2 cookies halves gently together.
• Variation: I love springerle, the German anise-flavored cookies, for the delicate molds (and carved rolling pins) used to make them. I have made this recipe with springerle molds with stunning results. The kind of cookies that make people marvel at how great they look before they eat a half a plate of them! Simply dust the decorative molds (or rolling pin) with flour, shaking lightly to remove any excess. Roll the dough very thin (between 1/2 and 1/4-inch thick). Press or roll the dough into the molds and trace the shapes with a sharp knife to extract the cookies. Arrange them on a greased baking sheet (with some space between them) and bake for 6 to 8 minutes. Not using molds? Scoop the batter in teaspoons and roll them into balls. Press the balls onto a greased baking sheet or press with the tines of a fork to make ridges. Bake until brown around the edges, about 10 to 12 minutes. These cookies are so beautiful, they can stand alone. Or...make gingerbread sandwiches using the above frosting as the filling...

ORANGE SPICE COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat both sugars, 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, and cream cheese together until creamy, at least 5 minutes. Add egg and mix well. Mix in molasses. Mix in vanilla, orange, and maple extracts.
• Stir flour, orange zest, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, cloves, and nutmeg together in another bowl until well combined and no clumps of zest remain. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir together just until incorporated; don't overmix.
• Drop spoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until edges are golden, about 12 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet briefly before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

SPICED ORANGE CRUMBLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
• In a medium bowl, combine the flour, almond flour, brown sugar, salt, cloves and black pepper. Rub the butter into the flour mixture using your fingers until small pebbles form. (Alternatively, use a food processor to pulse the dry ingredients with the butter.) Pour the cream over the mixture, stir just until combined and squeeze until the dough forms ¾-inch clumps. Transfer a little less than half of the crumble (1½ loosely packed cups/210 grams) to a small bowl and refrigerate.
• Transfer the remaining dough to the buttered pan and flatten into an even layer by pressing into the bottom of the pan with a glass. Bake on the middle rack until the edges are golden brown and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 22 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes. If you tap the surface of the cookie, it should sound hollow.
• Spread the orange marmalade in an even layer over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved crumble over the top. Return to the oven and bake until the top is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Zest the orange directly over the top while the crumble is still warm. Cool completely in the pan, then run a knife along the edges of the crumble before releasing the sides. Dust with confectioners' sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

ORANGE GINGER COOKIES

Steps:

• Cream together butter and sugar.
• Add egg and mix well.
• Add grated peel and molasses and mix again.
• Stir together dry ingredients and add to butter mixture, stirring well.
• Wrap up dough and chill for several hours or overnight.
• Roll dough very thin and cut out cookies with cookie cutters.
• Bake on greased cookie sheets at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes.