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    Home » Cookies

    Orange Cream Cheese with Vanilla Bean Icing Cookies

    Published: Feb 10, 2023 · Modified: Mar 3, 2023 by Barbara · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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 thick skin, and the zesting is easy. You only need a little orange juice, so a Navel orange worked great.

    Orange cream cheese with vanilla bean icing cookie on a wooden plank.

    Cream cheese always adds 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 cream cheese cookie recipes.

    Ingredients

    Orange cream cheese with vanilla bean icing cookie ingredients.
    Jump to Recipe for Amounts

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • Cream Cheese 
    • Butter unsalted
    • Powdered sugar
    • Egg 
    • Orange zest
    • Orange juice 
    • Orange extract - I used McCormick pure orange extract, I have not tried the new McCormick Culinary pure orange extract since they do not sell it here in my area. I didn't even know they had created a Culinary section for cooks and bakers.
    • All-purpose flour
    • Baking powder

    VANILLA BEAN ICING

    • Powdered sugar
    • Butter unsalted softened
    • Vanilla bean paste
    • Vanilla extract
    • Half and Half - You can certainly use heavy cream if that is what you have on hand. However, regurlar milk does not make the icing as creamy and thick.

    Zest and Juice an Orange

    Zesting and juicing an orange is pretty straight forward as long as you have the right tools. The juicer I use is a cheap one from the grocery store I got a lot of years ago. This is a very common type with a glass screw-on jar under the yellow reamer. Here is a cheap juicer at Target, not exactly like mine, but close.

    My zester is a fine grater that I use for all my fruit. This one is called Microplane® Master Series Walnut-Handled Zester from Williams Sonoma.

    juice and zest an orange on a cutting board.

    The important takeaway is when you are zesting fruit, only zest the top part of the skin. If you start seeing the white underneath the orange skin, you have gone too deep. This white part can be bitter, which is not what you want in your cookies.

    Making Orange Cookies

    First, I weigh my powdered sugar into one bowl and set it aside. Next, weigh or measure the flour and baking powder into a bowl and whisk to blend.

    Add the butter and cream cheese into your mixer bowl and blend them for a couple of minutes. Then, stop the mixer, scrape down the side, and turn the mixer back on to a slow speed. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix for another couple of minutes. Again, you want it to be a light color and look fluffy with soft peaks.

    Butter and cream cheese mixed in a mixer bowl.

    Add the egg and incorporate it before adding the orange juice, orange zest, and orange extract. By now, you are smelling the wonderful aroma of orange. Next, I scrape down the bowl sides and, on a low mixer speed, gradually add the flour mixture. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.

    Preheat your oven to 350°, and line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. I used a medium cookie scooper to get 21 cookies, so I put 11 cookies on the first sheet pan and 10 cookies on the second.

    Cookie dough scooped onto parchment paper lined sheet pan.

    Bake for 9-11 minutes, checking after 9 minutes you don't want the bottom of the cookies to be too brown. Then, move them to a cooling rack and repeat with the second sheet pan of cookies.

    Cool your cookies completely before starting the vanilla bean icing.

    Creamy Vanilla Bean Icing

    I love this icing! So easy with a bold vanilla taste.

    Take the softened butter and beat it with your mixer. Beating the butter alone ensures it is soft and will blend well with the powdered sugar.

    Vanilla bean icing after 2 minutes mixing.

    Now on a slow mixer speed, slowly add the powdered sugar. After the sugar has been incorporated, turn the mixer speed to medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes. You want soft peaks along the sides of the mixing bowl.

    Vanilla bean icing after the 2 mintues, then scraping the sides down and mixing for 3 more minutes; thick and creamy.

    Scrape down the sides and add the vanilla bean, vanilla extract, and the half & half creamer and turn the mixer to a medium-high setting for 3 to 4 minutes. This icing will become a thick and creamy extra vanilla-tasting icing.

    Grab a butter knife and add icing to the tops of the cookies. I love seeing the specks of vanilla beans in my icing.

    Close up of vanilla beans icing to see the bean specks.

    Now you can watch these finished cookies disappear after setting them on the counter.

    Round cookies with icing on top sitting on a wooden board.

    Storage

    Because these cookies have icing on them, I store them in a Rubbermaid container with half a sheet of parchment paper between layers. These containers are perfect for storing cookies.

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    Recipe

    Orange cream cheese with vanilla bean icing cookie on a wooden plank.

    Orange Cream Cheese with Vanilla Bean Icing Cookies

    Barbara Hall
    Orange and Vanilla go together so nicely and this is an easy cookie to make that will sure to be a hit.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Bake Time 9 minutes mins
    Chill 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 24 minutes mins
    Course Cookies
    Cuisine American
    Servings 21 cookies
    Calories 220 kcal

    Ingredients
     

    COOKIE DOUGH

    • 3 ounces (85.05 g) Cream Cheese room temperature
    • ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted room temperature
    • 1 ½ cup (180 g) Powdered sugar
    • 1 (1) Egg room temperature
    • 1 Tablespoon (1 Tablespoon) Orange zest
    • 2 Tablespoon (2 Tablespoon) Orange juice fresh
    • ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) Orange extract
    • 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
    • ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Baking powder

    VANILLA BEAN ICING

    • ½ cup (113.5 g) Butter unsalted softened
    • 2 cups (240 g) Powdered sugar
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla bean paste
    • 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) Vanilla extract
    • 2-3 Tablespoon (2 Tablespoon) Half and Half

    Instructions
     

    COOKIES

    • In a bowl, weigh 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, then juice the orange. You should get a packed tablespoon of zest and 2 tablespoons of juice.
    • With a hand-held or stand mixer, add the butter and cream cheese and mix. Add the powdered sugar slowly, and then turn the mixer to medium speed for 3 minutes. You want light and fluffy. Next, blend in the egg and add the orange juice, orange zest, and orange extract. Finally, gradually add the flour and baking powder and blend until all the flour is incorporated.
    • Cover the bowl and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Preheat your oven to 350°, and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Next, using a medium cookie scooper, add 12 scoops of cookie dough to a prepared sheet pan. I space the scoops a couple of inches apart.
    • Bake for 9-11 minutes. I start to check them at 9 minutes. You only want the bottom of the cookies to be a very light brown. Move them to a cooling rack once they are out of the oven.

    VANILLA BEAN ICING

    • Add the softened butter to a mixer bowl and mix for a minute. You want the butter to lay against the bowl and have soft peaks. If it is clumpy, the butter is still cold, so let the mixer run longer. Now add the powdered sugar and mix on a low speed. Once the powdered sugar has been incorporated, turn the mixer to medium speed for 2 minutes.
    • Scrape down the bowl and add the vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons of the half and half. Blend until incorporated, then turn the mixer to a medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes. You want thick and buttery vanilla icing. I use a butter knife and put the icing on the cookies.

    NUTRITION DISCLAIMER

    I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below are provided through a program and are only a guideline.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 220kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 2gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 29mgPotassium: 30mgFiber: 0.4gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 345IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 17mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword cream cheese cookies, orange cream cheese cookies, vanilla bean icing
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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