…that’s what my cookies have. Fresh, sweet orange steps-up for a pairing with coconut, vanilla & white chocolate for a delicate summer cookie, reminiscent of a Creamsicle. I use to love the popsicle as a kid and decided to create a desert in its likeness. After a little tweaking, I think we hit the flavors, and I will be making another batch soon since mine are already gone!
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We will use the zest to capture a true orange essence in the cookie. A little coconut for texture and a combo of both vanilla and coconut extracts. We will also squeeze the juice from one of the oranges into the batter, which will thin it a bit, so I find freezing then baking makes for perfect cookies. (Otherwise room temp dough will yield cookies that are a little flattened). These are a nice, light dessert for warmer temps and they’re not overly sweet either. We can even dial this up a notch, freeze the cookies slightly, sandwich them around some vanilla bean ice cream, and we have an awesome ice cream sandwich! Okay, enough daydreaming, let’s bake…
Orange Vanilla Cookies
with coconut & white chocolate
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It's summertime with these fresh orange vanilla cookies, just like a Creamsicle, but well, not frozen! These are light with just the right amount of sweet. Perfect with a cup of tea or during the summer. We will keep it light with basic flavors of orange, coconut, vanilla and white chocolate. Freeze the dough ahead of time for a convenient dessert option anytime.
What to get...
- 2 cups flour, sifted
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), at room temp!
- 1/2 cup baker's sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup fresh, orange zest (about 3 medium oranges worth)
- Juice from one of the oranges
- 1/4 cup shredded coconut (sweetened)
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp coconut extract
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
What to do...
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Sift dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking soda).
- In bowl of electric mixer cream butter & sugars.
- Beat in eggs, vanilla & coconut extracts. (don't over beat)
- Gradually add the combined dry mix.
- Add shredded coconut, orange zest, juice of roughly one small orange, & combine.
- Stir in white choc chips.
- Place dough in glass or metal mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap & freeze for at least 45 minutes, till very firm/frozen. (dough can stay in freezer if you want to bake another day, but bake dough freezer).
- Bake batches of cookies on parchment-lined sheet, making about a tablespoon-sized, small round. (smaller cookies work better for this recipe. Larger cookies will be too flat).
- Bake about 10-12 minutes, till only lightly browned on edges (check at about 8 minutes,cooking time may vary with oven and size of cookie).
- When ready, remove from oven and cool on parchment, on a cookie rack.
- these store well in an air-tight container, and can be frozen as well.
Notes
This is an easy cookie dough recipe, though adding the juice of one orange does thin out the batter somewhat. So, I freeze the dough and bake from frozen rounds. I make smaller-sized cookies, which bake-up perfectly! I hope you enjoy some soon.
Who needs the ice cream man for a summer classic? Well, if I could find one maybe, but we have these delicious cookies to enjoy instead!
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What, no ice cream trucks in La Jolla? Gotta live in the hood to see any of those relics these days.