Citrus Cookie Dough Recipes

CITRUS COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in egg, zest, and flour mixture. Divide dough in half; wrap in plastic. Freeze until firm, 20 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Unwrap 1 half on a lightly floured surface. Let stand 10 minutes. Roll out to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out circles with a 2-inch round cookie cutter. Transfer cookies to parchment-lined baking sheets. Roll out scraps; cut out circles. Repeat with remaining dough.
• Lightly press 1 end of a clean 1 1/2-inch spool onto surface of each cookie. Refrigerate dough on sheets 10 minutes.
• Sprinkle sanding sugar into imprint on cookies; brush off excess. Bake until golden, about 14 minutes. Cool on sheets on wire racks.

CITRUS EGG YOLK COOKIES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease or line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• Beat sugar and butter together in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat egg yolks, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and orange extract together in another bowl. Add egg yolk mixture to butter mixture; beat well.
• Sift flour, baking soda, and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture until dough is well-blended. Roll dough into walnut-size balls and place on prepared baking sheets. Press dough balls to slightly flatten.
• Bake in the preheated oven until golden around the edges and set, 8 to 10 minutes.

CITRUS COOKIES

Steps:

• Divide cookie dough in half. Place one half in a small bowl. Add the orange zest, orange extract and orange food coloring and mix well. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon extract and yellow food coloring to the remaining dough and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm., Roll dough into 1-in. balls. Place 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Coat the bottom of a glass with cooking spray, then dip in granulated sugar. , Flatten dough balls, redipping glass in sugar as needed. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., Cut a small hole in the corner of a small plastic bag; add frosting. Pipe circle of frosting on cookie tops; dip in colored sugar. Pipe lines of frosting for citrus sections.

CITRUS COOKIE DOUGH

Steps:

• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and citrus zest and juice. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Proceed with variations:Thumbprints and Ball CookiesShaped Icebox CookiesLayered Icebox CookiesGlazed Spritz CookiesCutout Cookies

CITRUS CRINKLE COOKIES

Steps:

• Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
• Combine the butter, brown sugar and 1/2 cup granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 2 minutes.
• Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla extract, citrus zest, citrus juice and food coloring and beat until incorporated. Decrease the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture, beating until just combined. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in another small bowl. Scoop tablespoons of the chilled dough and roll into balls. Toss each ball in the granulated sugar first, then in the confectioners' sugar, coating them very generously and thoroughly. Arrange the balls about 1 inch apart on 2 baking sheets (you should have 24 balls). Refrigerate for 20 minutes.
• Position the oven racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.
• Bake until the cookies spread, the tops crack and the edges are firm, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for a few minutes, then transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

CITRUS SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with electric mixer on medium speed 2 to 3 minutes or until light and creamy. Add flour, lime peel and orange peel. Beat on low speed until mixture is blended. Gather dough into a ball.
• On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 8x6-inch rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick. (If dough cracks around edges, press edges to smooth.) Cut into 12 (2-inch) squares, then cut each square diagonally in half into triangles. On ungreased cookie sheet, place triangles 1/2 inch apart.
• Bake 12 to 17 minutes or until edges just begin to brown. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely, about 15 minutes.
• In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lime juice with spoon until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle glaze over cookies.

CITRUS SLICE COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs with electric stand mixer on medium-low speed or with electric hand mixer on lowest speed until well combined. Add flour and salt; beat until soft, nonsticky dough forms. (You should be able to handle the dough without it sticking to your fingers. If dough is sticky, beat in additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough comes to the correct consistency.)
• On work surface, shape dough into a ball. Divide into 3 equal portions. Return one-third of dough to bowl; beat in orange peel, orange extract and drops of yellow and red food color until orange color is consistent. Remove dough from bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Clean bowl; add another one-third portion of dough. Beat in lemon peel, lemon extract and drops of yellow food color until yellow color is consistent. Remove dough from bowl; cover with plastic wrap.
• Leave remaining one-third of dough plain; cover with plastic wrap.
• Refrigerate all dough portions 1 hour.
• Shape each portion of tinted dough into a roll about 5 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter; set aside. On lightly floured work surface, roll plain dough into a rectangle. Place roll of orange dough on plain dough. Roll plain dough in a single layer around orange dough. Cut away excess dough; reserve for yellow dough.
• Place orange sanding sugar on plate; roll dough log in sugar until completely coated. Wrap sugar-coated dough log in plastic wrap; refrigerate. Repeat process with lemon dough, remaining plain dough and yellow sanding sugar. Refrigerate dough logs at least 4 hours.
• Heat oven to 400°F. Line cookie sheets with cooking parchment paper.
• Cut chilled logs into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick rounds. With back edge of knife, score "segment" lines into each round, making only indentations (do not go all the way through). Cut rounds in half; place on cookie sheets.
• Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until set. Remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks. Cool completely.

CORNMEAL CITRUS COOKIES

Steps:

• In large bowl, beat butter, sugar and salt and citrus zest on med speed until very fluffy and well blended.
• Add egg yolk and mix until well blended.
• add egg and vanilla.
• Beat well.
• Reduce speed to low and beat in cornmeal and flour until just combined.
• Divide dough in half and wrap in plastic; refrigerate until firm, at least one hour (Dough can be refrigerated for two days or frozen for a month).
• To bake, position rack in upper third of oven and another rack in lower third.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Remove one disk of dough from fridge and cut in half.
• Return unused portion to fridge.
• EITHER-- scoop cookie dough into 1-tbsp balls with small ice cream scoop and roll each ball between palms till smooth.
• Place dough balls on parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart.
• Using the bottom of a smooth glass dipped in flour (I used turbinado sugar!) gently flatten each dough ball to about 1.
• 8 inch thickness.
• OR-- Lightly flour work surface.
• Roll dough to 1/3 inch thick, using offset spatula to loosen dough.
• sprinkle surface lightly with flour as needed.
• Cut dough into desired shapes.
• Plase shapes on parchment lined cookie sheets, spacing about 1/2 inch apart.
• Get as many dough shapes out of each sheet because dough should*only be rolled twice.
• *Discard any leftover dough after second folling, or form leftover dough into balls and flatten to 1/8 inch thick.
• Bake 2 sheets at a time, until cookies are evenly golden brown.
• ,6 to 8 minutes.
• Rotate sheets halfway through baking for even browning.
• Using thin-bladed spatula, immediately transfer to cooling racks.
• Decorate if desired.

CITRUS GINGERBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• In a large saucepan, combine sugar, honey and molasses. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand 20 minutes. Stir in butter; let stand 20 minutes longer., Beat in egg. In another bowl, whisk flour, almonds, baking powder, lemon zest, orange zest and spices; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Refrigerate, covered, 8 hours or overnight., Preheat oven to 375°. On a lightly floured surface, divide dough into three portions. Roll each portion to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 2 in. apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray., Bake 7-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, mix glaze ingredients; brush over cookies. Let stand until set., To Make Ahead: Dough can be made 2 days in advance. Wrap in plastic and place in a resealable bag. Store in the refrigerator., Freeze option: Freeze undecorated cookies in freezer containers. To use, thaw in covered containers and decorate as directed.

CITRUS SHORTBREAD COOKIES

Steps:

• Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts and orange zest. Mix in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Fold in the cranberries; mixing just enough to evenly combine.
• Divide the dough into 2 equal portions, then roll into logs about 7 inches long. Wrap each log in wax paper or plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
• Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Remove wax paper, and cut the cookie dough into 1/2-inch slices. Arrange the slices on a baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
• Bake in the preheated oven until firm but not browned, about 10 minutes.

GINGERBREAD COOKIES AND CITRUS SUGAR COOKIES

Steps:

• Sift flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat shortening and butter in large bowl into light. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in molasses, then egg. Add dry ingredients. Using spoon, stir until mixture forms dough (dough will be very soft). Divide dough into thirds. Gather each third into ball; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.)
• Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter, lemon peel and tangerine peel in large bowl until light. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add dry ingredients. Using spoon, stir until mixture forms dough (dough will be soft). Divide dough into thirds. Gather each third into ball; flatten into disks. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Let soften slightly, if necessary, before rolling out.)
• If you're making both kinds of cookies, work with one type of dough at a time.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously flour work surface and rolling pin. Place 1 dough disk on work surface (keep remaining 2 dough disks refrigerated). Press rolling pin into dough several times to flatten slightly for easier rolling. Roll out dough to 1/8- to 1/4-inch thickness, frequently lifting and turning dough to prevent sticking. Using assorted cookie cutters dipped into flour, cut out cookies. Transfer cookies to ungreased nonstick baking sheets, spacing 1/2 inch apart. Gather dough scraps together and reserve.
• Bake until cookies turn brown on edges, about 15 minutes. Let cookies stand on sheets 1 minute. Using metal spatula, transfer cookies to racks and cool completely.
• Repeat rolling, cutting and baking with remaining 2 dough disks as described above, being sure to cool cookie sheets before making each batch. Combine all reserved dough scraps and shape into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap disk in plastic and freeze until firm enough to roll, about 30 minutes. Repeat rolling, cutting and baking as described above. Store cooled cookies in airtight container at room temperature until ready to decorate.
• This recipe makes about three cups of icing, enough to decorate all the gingerbread and sugar cookies in the preceding recipes.
• 6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup milk
• 6 to 8 cups powdered sugar
• Assorted food colorings (such as blue, red, yellow and green)
• Combine lemon juice and milk in large bowl. Whisk in 5 cups powdered sugar. Gradually whisk in enough remaining sugar by 1/2 cupfuls to form icing stiff enough to pipe (mixture will resemble stirred sour cream). Transfer 2/3 cup icing to small bowl to use as white icing; set aside. Divide remaining icing equally among 2 or more small bowls; mix food coloring by drops into each bowl, tinting icing to desired shade. If necessary, stir more sugar into icing to thicken.
• The techniques listed below are all easy and give beautiful results. You can even combine techniques: for example, cookies can be glazed first and then piped or drizzled with icing or sprinkled with colored sugar or coconut #&151; or all of the above.
• Milk
• Pastry Brushes
• Assorted decorations (such as colored sugar, sweetened shredded coconut, toasted sliced almonds, chocolate and rainbow sprinkles, multicolored nonpareils, button candies, mini semisweet baking bits and dried currants)
• Standard pastry bags and 1/16-inch plain tips or disposable plastic pastry bags
• Spoon a small amount of white or colored icing into a small bowl. Mix in enough milk by 1/4 teaspoons to thin icing to spreading consistency
• Using pastry brush, brush glaze over cooled baked cookies. Continue decorating glazed cookies, if desired, using the following techniques.
• Before glaze dries, sprinkle cookie with assorted decorations.
• To pipe using standard pastry bags: Fit each pastry bag with 1/16-inch plain tip. Stand each bag in short cup. Fold back top of bag to expose interior. Spoon 1 color of icing into each bag. Lift bag from cup; twist top of bag at level of icing to close securely.
• Stand each plastic bag in a short cup. Spoon 1 color of icing into each bag. Lift bag from cup; twist top of bag at level of icing to close securely. Cut off very bottom of tip to allow small ribbon of icing to come out.
• Pipe icing decoratively onto plain or glazed cookies. Before piped icing sets, sprinkle with colored sugar, coconut or other decorations, if desired.
• Line baking sheet with foil. Place plain or glazed cookies on foil, spacing apart. Mix milk into white or colored icing by 1/2 teaspoonfuls until icing is thin enough to drizzle. Dip spoon into icing and drizzle over cookies in zigzag or slanted lines. Before icing lines set, sprinkle with colored sugar, sweetened shredded coconut or other decorations, if desired.
• Use wet icing as glue to stick on nuts, dried currants or other decorations 1 at a time. For example, dip tip of toasted sliced almonds into icing. Attach iced section of almond to plain or glazed cookie. Repeat to form 1 row of nuts or to cover cookie completely.
• Let decorated cookies stand until icing sets, about 2 hours. (Can be prepared up to 2 weeks ahead. Store cookies in single layers between sheets of waxed paper in airtight containers.)