Orange Crinkle Cookies

I have made many different types of crinkle cookies, and I came across these orange ones and was immediately interested. They are egg free cookies, which is not something I am usually looking for, but I thought I would try it. As these come from a vegan blog, I am going to assume that the original blogger used vegan butter, but I used regular dairy butter. I also had an orange that was nearing the end of its life, so this was the perfect recipe for this week.

I had orange extract and orange food coloring on hand, which I think is a little bit strange. The original recipe stated that these two ingredients are optional, but I used them as they were available. The food coloring that I used was powdered food color, which is hard to measure. I looked at the dough as I was making it and when it looked orange enough, I called it a day. The cookies aren’t as orange when they come out of the oven baked, but that’s ok.

When I made the dough for these cookies, it was on the dry side. In all honesty, I didn’t mix all of the sugar properly, which perhaps made a difference. The cookies I made are small, which is ok since I didn’t want to make a giant batch of these, since I knew whatever I made would be eaten here at home. The cookies didn’t flatten much, so I flattened them after partially baking them and that helped. The cookies don’t brown, except on the bottom, so you have to use your instinct as to when these are done. These could have a stronger orange flavor, but they are a nice tasty cookie to have around!

Orange Crinkle Cookies
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons orange zest
¼ cup orange juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange extract
Orange food color
Additional sugar
Additional powdered sugar

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar on medium until light. Add the orange zest and juice, vanilla, orange extract and food coloring. Mix until incorporated. With the mixer running on low, gradually add the flour mixture, stirring just until the dough comes together.

Scoop the dough into 1-1/4” balls. Roll the balls in sugar and then in powdered sugar, and place on the prepared baking sheets. Flatten the dough slightly with the palm of your hand.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, until set. The cookies won’t brown, so you need to estimate when the cookies are baked fully. Cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recipe from Vege Home Cooking