Orange Creamsicle Cookies — These cookies are so soft, buttery, tender, and just melt in your mouth! The dough is lightly perfumed with orange zest and there’s loads of white chocolate in every bite. They remind me of an Orange Creamsicle, but in cookie form!
Orange Creamsicle Cookie Recipe
I love Orange Julius, Orange Creamsicles, Orange PushUps — anything that’s creamy and orangey!
And I love these cookies because they’re creamy, orangey, and loaded with melted white chocolate.
I’m in love with how soft, moist, and tender the orange creamsicle cookies are. The cookie dough uses a splash of cream, which tenderizes the dough, and a bit of cornstarch is added to make the cookies softbatch-style.
The pop of orange flavor is just enough, and it’s the perfect complement to the buttery, rich dough. The tangy citrus plays perfectly off the sweet white chocolate chips, which add bursts of sweetness and texture.
Ingredients in Orange Creamsicle Cookies
To make these delicious orange white chocolate cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- Unsalted butter
- Light brown sugar and granulated sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla extract, almond extract, and optional orange extract
- Heavy cream or half and half
- Orange zest
- All-purpose flour
- Cornstarch
- Baking soda
- Salt
- White chocolate chips
Orange Zest Tip
When zesting an orange, either use a microplane or the finest blade on a box grater. Take off only the orange-colored part of the peel. The white part (pith)can be very bitter, and no one wants bitter cookies.
I used 2 tablespoons of zest, yielded from 1 large orange, zested in entirety. My orange was a bald, white globe when I was done with it.
How to Make Orange Creamsicle Cookies
These orange white chocolate chip cookies are easy to prepare, but you must allow time for the dough to chill before baking it. Here are the basic recipe steps:
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and extracts until very light and fluffy.
- Add the cream, orange zest, and mix on medium speed until incorporated.
- Add the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Add the white chocolate chips and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, scoop the cookie dough into balls, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray.
- Bake the cookie dough for about until the edges are set and tops are just beginning to set.
Recipe FAQs
I’ve used cornstarch in cookies more than 20 times, including Chocolate Chunk Cookies, M&Ms Cookies, Vanilla Sandwich Cookies, and more. It helps create softbatch-style cookies that are so soft, moist, and supple, without turning cakey.
I used almond extract in the cookies, and I just love baking with it because it lends such a unique flavor profile, unlike anything you can get from any other extract. Slightly sweet, so fragrant, and if you’ve never used it, it’s a must-try. It’s kept near the vanilla extract and is usually about half the price.
While I’m sure you could omit it, it helps create additional depth of flavor that’s rich and luxurious.
I don’t recommend adding orange juice to the orange cream cookie dough. It’ll water it down, you’ll have to add more flour, and because OJ is such a strong acid, it’ll continue to ‘dissolve’ the dough, causing it to become more limp, runny, and soupy as time passes.
Yes! You must chill the dough for at least 3 hours. Do not bake with warm dough because the cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter, and you’ll likely end up with orange puddles or pancakes.
I baked for just over 8 minutes, which falls on the underbaking side of the spectrum, and ensures the cookies stay soft for up to 1 week (mine don’t last past 12 hours).
If you prefer more well-done cookies, bake for closer to 10 minutes. However, these cookies are supposed to be supremely soft, tender, and you want them to just melt in your mouth.
Tips for Making Creamsicle Cookies
This orange cream cookie recipe is very easy to make, but here are a few final tips to ensure perfect cookies every time!
Adding orange extract:
Ironically, I didn’t use orange extract to make these orange cream cookies. I relied exclusively from orange zest to create the orange flavor profile. The cookies are orangey enough, without being overpowering.
However, if you’d prefer a more in-your-face pop of orange flavor, use orange extract.
Substituting the white chocolate chips:
If you don’t have white chocolate chips on hand, you may chop up a bar of white chocolate or use white chocolate chunks instead.
You can also replace the white chocolate chips with dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips for a different flavor altogether.
Omitting the cornstarch:
If you don’t have cornstarch on hand or don’t want to buy a box just to use 2 teaspoons in this recipe, you may omit it. Your cookies won’t be as soft and tender as mine, but they’ll still taste like a Creamsicle!
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Orange Creamsicle Cookies
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons almond extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons orange extract, optional (I did not use and cookies were still ‘orangey’ enough, but for extra orange flavor, use it)
- 2 tablespoons cream or half-and-half
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- one 10-ounce bag white chocolate chips, about 1 1/2 heaping cups
Instructions
- To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or large bowl and electric hand mixer), cream together the butter, sugars, egg, and extracts on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the cream, zest, and mix on medium speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.
- Stop, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and add the flour, corn starch, baking soda, optional salt, and mix on low speed until just incorporated, about 1 minute; don’t over mix.
- Add the white chocolate chips, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, form heaping two-tablespoon mounds (I made 20). Place mounds on a large plate, flatten mounds slightly, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 5 days, before baking. Do not bake with warm dough because cookies will spread and bake thinner and flatter.
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a baking sheet with a Silpat or spray with cooking spray. Place mounds on baking sheet, spaced at least 2 inches apart (I bake 8 cookies per sheet).
- Bake for about 8 to 9 minutes, or until edges have set and tops are just beginning to set, even if slightly undercooked, pale and glossy in the center. Do not overbake because cookies will firm up as they cool. Baking longer than 10 minutes could result in cookies with overly browned undersides.
- Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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orange creamsicle cookies
These were excellent! 8 to 9 minutes left me with pretty underbaked cookies in the middle. But they were still excellent!
These were excellent! 8 to 9 minutes left me with pretty underbaked cookies in the middle. But they were still excellent!
Baking times are just an estimate and always bake until they’re done to your liking and given your oven, the exact size of your cookie dough balls, your climate, your baking sheet, lots of variables involved so always bake until they are done to your liking.
I’m glad they tasted good.
I love orange anything and would love to try these. However, I have a nut allergy. I know everyone is saying that the Almond extract gives it that extra touch, but is there something else I could use to substitute? Or do I omit it? Or not try them at all. ? Thanks in advance!
I don’t know if imitation almond extract is really made from almonds or not…may be something you could check into.
If you need to skip it though, I would replace with vanilla extract although the flavor won’t be the same.
I am so happy to have found your page on https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/creamsicles-rule?bffb&s=mobile
I saw this recipe this morning, went out to the store a few hours later, and made the cookies tonight! They are fabulous! I LOVED the almond extract in them and the combination of flavors was amazing. I’m bringing them tomorrow to my aunt’s for Easter. They’ll love them! Thank you!
Nothing like a same-day baking adventure where you see it, make it, love it! Thanks for trying the recipe & hope your family enjoys them tomorrow!
These cookies look amazing and I cannot wait to make them!
However, I was just wondering if you could suggest what flour alternative would be the best fit for this cookie flavor? I enjoy baking items for a mixed group of friends and co-workers, who also happen to be gluten-free. My thought is to replace the flour with almond meal and not to use the almond extract. What would you suggest?
Also, I’ve just stumbled across your blog today (epic by the way!), so please let me know if you’ve already addressed the flour alternatives elsewhere.
You cannot substitute almond flour (a nut-based flour with no gluten) for a grain-based flour like AP (with plenty of gluten) and get the same results. You could try using a GF baking blend but I haven’t tested this recipe as GF so not sure how things will go. You never know til you try!
Thank you for your quick response! I’ll get the local GF baking blend.
Oh my, these smell soooo good when they are baking; just like orange rolls!
I was wondering if they’d work with semi-sweet chocolate, glad to hear they do. I kinda thought the almond extract overpowered the orange flavor a bit, so I’d probably dial that back next time, (but I do think the almond is the reason for the amazing scent.) And I’ve found I like my cookies flatter rather than puffy, so I just skip the chilling in the fridge step with all your cookie recipes and they turn out exactly how I like them.
And can I just take a minute to tell you how much I have learned about baking from your site, thanks Averie!
The almond extract is strong in these, but it also helps give them that telltale scent – so it’s a juggling act. You could always use orange extract, too, to boost that profile. And glad you can get away with just baking right away with warm dough and they don’t get too flat. Lucky :) Thanks for trying this recipe & so glad you find my site helpful!
I made these today! I followed the recipe exactly, and like you did not add extra extract. I did half the dough and used chocolate chunks from trader joes because I love the chocolate oranges. My cookies turned out perfect, they are so delicious! My husband loves them too! Very very unique! The taste is spot on for your recipe title and my chocolate ones were just like eating chocolate orange slices but with a bonus of yummy cookie! Thank you once again! I wish these would become popular because taste wise they rank very high!
Oh smart idea to halve the dough and do half white and half with TJs chunks. Love those too! And “like eating chocolate orange slices but with a bonus of yummy cookie!” – that sounds fabulous! I’m glad you loved these and thanks for wishing they’d become more popular too :)
I made these for the holiday potluck at my office and they were a SMASH! So delicious! I added a bit of orange extract for extra orange flavor. Will definitely be making them again.
You think this recipe would work replacing orange with key lime? I’m obsessed with lime. :)
Totally diff flavor profile using lime but yes I think it would be fun and work! Glad you love the cookies & thanks for LMK you tried them!
Finally got off my tuckus and made these today. I used the zest of a whole Florida farmstand orange, and 2 tablespoons of orange extract. Honestly, I’m still not getting a lot of orange flavor. The almond is completely overpowering the orange. However, white chocolate almond cookies are fecking delicious and I have no regrets. (PS: I hate white chocolate. These are incredible. I can’t stop eating them.)
I guess I must just be very sensitive to citrus b/c I get quite a bit of it, but you’re right, there’s also a hefty amt of almond flavor, too. You could always add more orange zest or use actual orange extract. That would for sure do the trick b/c some are very strong!
And I’m impressed you chose to make these cookies of all the cookies out there – or on my site – considering you hate white choc and that’s such a huge element here! And so it’s great to hear you say you loved the cookies :)
These orange creamsicle cookies look and sound amazing!
tried this recipe last night/this morning. refrigerated the dough in little balls so they would stay puffy, and they flattened right out :( any tips/ideas/things I might have done wrong to make them so floppy? I am generally speaking a cookie whiz so I am a bit confused, just curious if you have any words of wisdom on this recipe :) cheers
Were you using a high quality flour like King Arthur? Was your baking soda fresh? Are you baking at altitude? Was your orange zest very wet? Any of these things can contribute to flattening and it’s hard to say what went wrong or where…if your dough was very soft or mushy, you could have added maybe 2 to 4 extra tbsp of flour to help dry it out which would help with spreading. As will using a high quality flour with a decent protein content like KAF.
Hi there :) I live in the Czech Republic, so I don’t have access to lots of American luxury sorts of things as white chocolate chips (I chopped up a couple of bars instead) or King Arthur Flour… I will say that my orange zest was quite wet, and I used fresh juice from the orange in place of the almond extract, which I didn’t have on hand. I added a bit of extra flour but perhaps a little more the next time will do the trick. although the cookies were flat they were still incredibly delicious and got rave reviews :) so thanks for the cookie inspiration!
I think a little more flour will do the trick. The dough is soft, but not wet/loose/sloppy to the point of being like muffin batter or anything. Considering you used more liquid/juice than likely I did, I think more flour will do the job. Saying they were flat – yes, another sign that more flour would help. Glad the taste is great though!
I cant wait to try this recipe sometime!! These cookies sound amazing!!
Creamsicles were one of my favorite treats as a kid. While I’m missing peaches like crazy, it is nice to see all the citrus in the stores. I’m looking forward to buying Spanish clementines – they’re my fave! And these cookies! All that orange zest and white chocolate must be a great combo!
Averie, I’ve been looking for an orange creamsicle cookie recipe! I used to love eating creamsicles when I was a kid. I can’t wait to try this.
Lovely! Almond extract is the perfect finishing touch. :)