Iced Orange Cookies are a delicious cookie recipe that is lower in calories, too.
These orange cookies are made with all whole wheat flour (no white in sight)! You don’t see whole wheat flour-based cookies all that often, so these are a change from the norm for sure. They’re a healthier cookie to try. And the sweet orange frosting makes them all worthwhile!
How to make Iced Orange Cookies:
It starts with a typical cookie dough, though the butter used is less than in a usual cookie recipe. There’s probably a little less sugar too. Fresh orange juice makes up for the sweetness. And orange zest is added in too for a great orange flavor. Whole wheat flour gives these cookies a nutty flavor component. Be sure to use a cookie scoop to transfer the dough to the baking sheets so the cookies will be relatively even-sized.
Let the cookies cool before you turn them into iced orange cookies. The icing is a simple mix of powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and salt. Freshly squeezed orange juice is added in to thin it out to spreading consistency.
A little bit of frosting is spread on top of each cookie.
I love these orange cookies (whole wheat flour and all). My feeling is that you can taste the difference when eating one of the plain cookies, but with that icing on there you can’t really detect it. It just makes them wonderful.
Iced Orange Cookies also freeze well. I stick them into individual zips and take them out for a quick sweet treat when the mood strikes.
With these treats, I don’t feel so guilty about eating them. If you can manage to get 30 cookies out of the batch, each orange cookie is only 127 calories. Not too bad… especially if you burn 500 calories putting in 50 minutes on the elliptical machine at the gym! “Will exercise for cookies!” 
WW Friendly Cookies!
If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, these cookies can fit into your diet. You’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card at the end of this post. These might seem like an indulgent treat, but I feel like they’re are worth it! You must also try my Weight Watchers Sugar Cookies or these WW Brownie Cookies.
Iced Orange Cookies
Ingredients
COOKIES:
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons finely grated orange zest
- ½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
ICING:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper or silpat mats.
MAKE THE COOKIES:
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the butter, sugar, vanilla, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Beat in the egg, then the orange zest and juice, scraping the bowl. The mixture will look curdled; that's OK! Add the flour, beating until smooth. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls (or use a cookie scoop) onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake the cookies until they're just barely beginning to brown around the edges, 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool.
MAKE THE ICING:
- In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the sugar, butter, orange zest, vanilla and salt until well combined. Beat in as much orange juice as you need until the mixture is spreadable. Spread the icing on the cookies when they're completely cool, using a generous 1 teaspoon icing for each.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I finally made these (about five years after I printed out the recipe 🙂 ). Made a few changes (swapped out white flour for wheat, added extra flour, chilled dough before baking) and they were mighty tasty. Thanks for the recipe! And happy baking.
Hi Lori, I finally got around to making these cookies. Very good cookie, I was surprised on how good they were with the whole wheat flour. Thanks again for posting a good recipe.
The taste of the whole wheat is overpowering, maybe nicer with regular flour. Also a glaze may suit this cookies better, or maybe it was yhe combination.
I have never had an orange cookie before. I just finished making these and they are AMAZING! I used Whole Wheat White flour and I figured these would taste…well, like other whole wheat things, but they really took me by surprise. A very nice orange flavor. They’re like little food balls of edible orange juice. I’m going to share these with my family. Thank you very much for this good recipe!
I haven’t had orange cookies since I was a kid. no longer had my recipe. Tried your recipe today and it’s a thumbs up for sure!! I will have to double the batch next time. I cannot keep my 16yr. old out of them! Thanks for sharing.
FANTASTIC! i was on the hunt for a recipe to make use of some delicious satsuma oranges from a friends’ yard. these cookies rock! i took christy’s suggestion to use a melon-baller and ended up piping out the frosting over all my tasty little cookies. well done!
here’s a little before and after shot:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adamandrachel/5305568186/
5 STARS! These cookies are very reminiscent of a recipe my grandmother made – this recipe, I feel is acutely better because hers cookies were almost “too” soft, and as a result too delicate. While these cookies are on the soft side, as well, they can withstand the icing without ‘mushing.’ Also, the whole wheat flour adds a nuttiness which compliments the orange soooo nicely!!! I will DEFINITELY be making these again! Note about yield: I used one of those ‘melon baller’ tablespoon-sized cookie scoops and my yield was 4 1/2 dozen (as opposed to the 30 stated in the recipe). Thanks!!!
This reminds me of a recipe I have been craving for carrot orange cookies. I wonder if you added tiny cubes of cooked carrot to this recipe if it would have about the same taste but be healthier because of the whole wheat flour? I’m gonna have to try it. Thanks for giving me a healthy cookie recipe idea.
These are vry good and also easy to make. I will make these again for sure.
These look great! I would love to make them with some lemon zest instead for a different twist! thanks for the post!