Description
Remember those orange creamsicle popsicles that would drip all over your hands during summer? Yeah, I turned those into cookies. These babies are like summer nostalgia in cookie form – soft, pillowy cookies bursting with bright orange flavor and little pockets of creamy white chocolate that melt in your mouth. They’ve got this gorgeous orange hue (from real oranges, not that fake stuff) and the vanilla cream flavor that’ll transport you straight back to chasing the ice cream truck. My friend’s kid described them as “sunshine cookies,” and honestly, that’s pretty spot on.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Cookies:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (don’t get fancy with specialty flours here)
- 1 tsp baking soda (check that it’s fresh – old baking soda = flat cookies)
- ½ tsp salt (I use kosher, but whatever’s in your pantry works)
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (leave it out for at least an hour, seriously)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed (dark brown works too, just gives a deeper flavor)
- 2 large eggs (room temperature makes a difference, trust me)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (the real stuff, not that imitation nonsense)
- 2 tbsp fresh orange zest (from 2–3 oranges, depending on size)
- 3 tbsp fresh orange juice (just squeeze those oranges you zested)
- ¼ tsp orange extract (optional, but adds extra orange punch)
- 1–2 drops orange food coloring (optional – I usually skip it)
- 1½ cups white chocolate chips (or chunks if you’re feeling fancy)
For the Glaze (optional but worth it):
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- Extra orange zest for sprinkling