This week the orange was the star flavor, and I went up and down the market stands to look for the perfect orange for this week's cookie. Oranges are a great fruit. I choose the Navel orange for this recipe. It has a thick skin, and the zesting is easy. You only need a little orange juice, so a Navel orange worked great.
Cream cheese always adds some creaminess to any cookie, so I added just 3 oz. I did not want to overpower the great orange taste, so a little goes a long way. I always use regular Philidelphia Cream cheese for all my recipes that call for cream cheese.
Finally, the icing, which I wanted a good vanilla taste, I opted for vanilla bean paste. The paste is thick and gives such a great mellow vanilla flavor. Please let me know if you liked the flavor combinations for this week's cookie.
Orange Cream Cheese with Vanilla Bean Icing Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIE DOUGH
- 2 cups All purpose flour 240 g
- 3 oz Cream Cheese room temperature
- ½ cup Butter unsalted 1 stick room temperature
- 1 ½ cup Powdered sugar 169 g
- 1 Egg room temperature
- ½ tsp Baking powder 2 g
- 1 Orange zest
- 2 TBSP Orange juice fresh
- Super fine sugar Enough to coat cookie balls
VANILLA BEAN ICING
- 2 cups Powdered sugar 220 g
- 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste
- 2-4 TBSP Milk
Instructions
COOKIES
- In a bowl, weigh out or measure your flour and baking powder. I run a whisk through to blend and then set the bowl aside. In another bowl, weigh or measure the powdered sugar and set that bowl aside. Next, zest 1 Navel orange into a small bowl and set aside. Take that orange and cut it in half and using a juicer or by hand get at least 2 TBSP's of orange juice. Set that bowl aside.
- With a hand-held or stand mixer, add the butter and cream cheese together and mixed thoroughly. Add the sugar slowly unless you like sugar all over your counter (which I have done once or twice). The confection sugar is light and flies quickly, so be careful and beat till fluffy. Blend in the egg and add the orange juice and orange zest, beat till entirely mixed. Next, gradually add the flour and baking powder and blend till all the flour is incorporated.
- Chill the dough for 1 to 2 hours; I also stick the pans in the refrigerator at the same time. Depending on how long your oven takes to come up to the 350° temperature will determine when to start your oven.
- Line your pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Take the cookie dough out of the refrigerator. I use an OXO Good Grips Cookie Scoop Small and place on the prepared cookie pan about 1 to 2 inches apart.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes, and they will look white with just a hint of golden brown along the edges. They may look underdone, but when you leave them on the cookie pan for about a minute, this helps to firm them up a little. At this point, move them to a cooling rack to finish.
VANILLA BEAN ICING
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla bean paste, and 2 TBSP of milk into a stand mixer bowl or use a hand-held mixer and mix till all the sugar is smooth. I like my icing a little on the thinner side, so I add the other 2 TBSP of milk. You will have to judge how thick or thin you want the icing on your cookies. I take a measuring teaspoon spoon and pour it on the top of the cookie. Turn the spoon around and in a circle movement smooth it over the top of the cookie. Do this for each one.
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