Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies are a delicious spring treat! Soft, buttery cookies draped in a sweet frosting with a hint of orange flavor, then topped with pretty sprinkles.
Cookies in the springtime are a fun little snack. These Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies are my new favorite cookie! I’ll be making a big batch of these for Easter weekend, for sure.
Ingredient List
Here’s are the ingredients you’ll need to make Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies:
- Butter
- Granulated sugar
- Fresh orange zest
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Sprinkles
Making Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies
To begin, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the vanilla extract, eggs, and orange zest and mix well.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until a soft dough forms. Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
After the dough chills, use a cookie scoop or spoons to form dough balls, about 1 1/2 inch across. Roll the balls between your hands to make them smooth. Place the dough balls onto baking sheets covered with parchment paper, at least 1-inch apart. Place the cookie sheets into the refrigerator to chill while the oven heats to 350ºF.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes until set. They will be golden brown on the bottom, but should not be browned on the top or sides.
While the cookies are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches the right creamy consistency. You want it to be just thin enough to drizzle, but not too thin. Add the orange zest and mix well.
Cool the cookies completely to room temperature on a cooling rack, then scoop the frosting onto the top of the cookies.
The frosting may drip a little. You can contain the mess by placing a cookie sheet under the cooling rack to catch the excess frosting.
Finally, top the cookies with a pinch of sprinkles.
About the Orange Zest
The orange zest adds a really nice, mild orange flavor. It is not overpowering at all, but does make these cookies extra delicious.
You do need a good orange zester for this recipe. I purchased an inexpensive zester on Amazon. Click here to check it out.
If you would like to try something a little different, you can use lemon or lime zest instead of orange.
Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies
- Total Time: 2 hours
- Yield: 30 cookies 1x
Description
Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies are a delicious spring treat! Soft, buttery cookies draped in a sweet frosting with a hint of orange flavor, then topped with pretty sprinkles.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Frosting Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4–5 tablespoons heavy whipping cream or 3 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the orange zest, vanilla extract, and one of the eggs; mix until combined. Add the second egg and mix well.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and beat with an electric mixer until combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.
- Roll the chilled dough into 30 1-inch balls and place on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper leaving at least 1 inch of space between each cookie. Place the cookie sheets in the refrigerator to chill the dough balls for 30-60 minutes before baking.
- While the dough balls chill, preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Bake the cookies for 10 minutes at 350F until set and lightly browned on the bottom. Transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack to cool completely to room temperature before frosting.
- While the cookies cool, pour the powdered sugar and vanilla extract into a small mixing bowl. Add the cream or milk 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well between each addition, until the frosting reaches the right consistency. You want the frosting to be just thin enough to drizzle, but not so thin that it runs right off the cookies. If the frosting becomes too thin, add more powdered sugar. Stir in the orange zest.
- When the cookies are completely cooled, frost the top of each cookie with a teaspoon of frosting, then add the sprinkles.
- Prep Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: cookies
- Method: baked
Keywords: easter, cookies, sprinkles, orange zest
Tell me about your sprinkle cookies!
After you make Orange Zest Sprinkle Cookies, come back and tell me how you like them! You can leave a comment and recipe rating in the comments section below. You can also click here to see this on Pinterest and leave a comment there or even your own picture of your dessert. Another option would be to tag me on Instagram @MomNeedsChocolate. Can’t wait to hear from you!
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