Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Orange Gingerbread Cookies take the classic combination of orange and ginger and stuff it into sweet, delicious cookies. What you get is a sweet, zingy cookie that no one can stop eating.
We love making cookies of all kinds. From super simple sugar cookies to loaded monster cookies, we love them all. This recipe is a particular favorite because it boasts a complex flavor and wonderful texture.
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s a simple recipe that tastes far more complex than it is.
- It only uses simple ingredients that you’ll easily find at your local store.
- It’s a classic flavor combination that’s so good.
🛒Ingredients
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This recipe uses a few ingredients, but they’re all simple and readily available at your local grocery store. The major players are below, but you can find the complete list of ingredients along with amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Brown sugar
- Molasses
- Nutmeg
- Ground ginger
- Ground cloves
- Cinnamon
- Oranges
🔪 How to Make Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Making this recipe might seem complicated at first glance, but it’s actually very simple.
Step 1: Boil the Orange Peels
Peel strip of the orange skins off the oranges using a fruit/vegetable peeler. Then, cut them into 1/4-inch wide strips. Add water and orange peels to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.
When the water begins to boil, remove the pan from the heat, drain the water, and add cold water to cool off the peels. Place on the stove and bring to a boil again. Repeat this process four times.
Step 2: Make the Candied Orange Peels and Orange Syrup
After the peels are finished, drain them and place them in a medium bowl. Set aside. Whisk sugar and water together and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cook for 8 to 9 minutes.
Next, add the orange peels to the mixture and cook over low to medium heat for 45 minutes. Add sugar to a medium bowl. After the peels have boiled, remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in the bowl of sugar. Toss to coat. Set the syrup to the side to cool.
After the syrup is cooled, place it in a covered container. When the peels have dried, chop them into small bits.
Step 3: Combine the Wet Cookie Ingredients
Cream butter and brown sugar on medium in a stand mixer. Then, add the eggs and molasses and mix until the dough is fluffy.
Step 4: Combine the Dry Cookie Ingredients
Whisk the flour, cake flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Step 5: Make the Cookie dough
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, mixing on low speed until it forms a dough. Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
Step 6: Bake the Cookies
Scoop out 12 cookie balls with a large cookie scoop and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Lightly flatten each ball with your hands. Then, bake the cookies for 10 minutes or until golden on top.
Step 7: Cool
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 8: Finish the Cookies
Using a pastry brush, coat the top of the cookies with orange syrup, then sprinkle candied orange peels on top. Enjoy!
📝Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways that you can do that!
- Citrus – You can use lemon or pineapple in place of orange.
- Semi-Homemade – Buy candied orange peels and chop them up. You can also find orange syrup at the store.
If you think these look good, we think you’ll love these gingerbread truffles.
🥄 Equipment
It only takes a few simple pieces of kitchen equipment to make this recipe.
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Stand mixer
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone liner
- Pastry brush
🥫 Storage
You can store these cookies for up to a week at room temperature in an air-tight container or up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to 3 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container.
💭 Tips
- It’s important to let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack so the carry-over baking time can bake them perfectly.
- Don’t stir your syrup mixture while it simmers. It will cause crystallization.
- Be sure your cookies are completely cool before adding the glaze so it sticks to the cookies.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
Cake flour makes softer, fluffier, and more cake-like cookies.
Cake flour has less protein, which means it forms less gluten. Less gluten means more fluffiness!
The Brothers Grimm caused the rise in the popularity of gingerbread at Christmas thanks to their Hansel and Gretel fairytale.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy gingerbread? Then try these delicious recipes:
📌 PIN IT!!
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Orange Gingerbread Cookies
Equipment
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Saucepan
- Mixing Bowl
- Stand mixer
- baking sheet
- Parchment paper or silicone liner
- Pastry brush
Ingredients
- 3 /4 cup Unsalted Sweet Cream Butter cold sliced
- 1 cup Brown Sugar packed
- 1 large Egg room temp
- ¼ cup Molasses
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Cake Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ⅓ teaspoon Ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon Cinnamon
Candied Orange Peels & Orange Simple Syrup
- 4 navel oranges peeled skin only
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ cups water
- 1 cup granulated sugar for coating
Instructions
Candied Orange Peels and Orange Syrup
- Rinse the oranges and pat dry.
- Using a fruit / vegetable peeler, peel strips of the orange skin.
- Using kitchen scissors cut the orange skin into strips about ¼″ wide.
- In a medium saucepan add the water and orange peels, over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water and oranges begin to boil, remove it from the stove and drain the water from the peels. Add cold water to the orange peels and stir to cool off the orange peels.
- Now place the saucepan back on the stove and bring it to a boil once again.
- Repeat these steps 4 times.
- Once done, drain the water again and place the orange peels in a medium sized bowl. Set to the side.
- In the same saucepan, whisk together the sugar and 1 ¼ cups of water.
- Place the saucepan on the stove over high heat to bring to a simmer.
- Cook the sugar mixture for 8-9 minutes.
- Add the orange peel to the sugar mixture and cook over low to medium heat for 45 minutes. Do not over stir it will cause crystallization.
- In a medium sized bowl add ½ cup of sugar.
- Using a slotted spoon remove the orange peels and place in the small bowl with the sugar, toss to coat. Transfer the orange peels to a wire rack to dry.
- Set the syrup to the side to cool.
- Once the syrup is cooled pour the mixture into a small bowl and cover with a lid.
- Once the orange peels are dried, chop them into small bits.
- Set to the side.
Gingerbread Cookie
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add the butter and brown sugar, mix on medium speed until completely combined. Add in eggs and molasses and mix until the dough is fluffy.
- In a large bowl add the flour, cake flour, baking soda, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, ground ginger, ground cloves, and cinnamon.
- Whisk to combine.
- Slowly add the dry mix into the sugar mixture, mix on low speed.
- Cover the bowl with the dough with plastic wrap.
- Refrigerate the dough for 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Using a large cookie scoop, scoop out 12 cookie balls.
- Place the dough balls on a parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet.
- Using your hands, lightly flatten each cookie dough ball.
- Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on the top.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes.
- Then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
- Using a pastry brush, coat the top of your cookies with the orange syrup.
- Top each cookie with the candied orange peels.
