I don’t know about you all, but we get pretty loaded down with desserts during the winter months and look to lighter, more refreshing desserts during this time of year. These orange butter cookies taste like a creamsicle and are so delicious. The trick to this recipe is that you need to get enough orange flavor, which is why there is both zest and extract.
If you’re also a fan of citrus desserts, you’ll want to check out my Strawberry Lemonade Pie! This pie is not low-calorie but it is grain-free.
But back to this baby…
I try to make most of my desserts entirely from scratch. However, there are times when only a cake mix will do. A very dear friend of mine turned me on to Gooey Butter Cookies years ago, and they melt in your mouth divinely! These cookies are baked and do not require icing or frosting. The original recipe is pretty popular and includes a cake mix, cream cheese, butter, egg, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.
Since I was craving a citrus dessert, I created an orange creamsicle version. I tell you, my tweaked citrus version came out so yummy!
I discovered this is not a new idea in preparing to write this post and share my orange version with you. Ha! When perusing Pinterest, I saw one popular recipe called for an orange cake mix which I didn’t even know existed but YUM!
I usually keep a backup cake mix for emergencies, so I like that the versatility of using a regular cake mix. I imagine you could try various flavors, cinnamon, almond, and lemon; the possibilities are truly endless.
Tips for Making Orange Butter Cookies
- The cream cheese and butter should be room temperature or even melted for easier mixing with a spatula or in your mixer. If you soften either in the microwave, I HIGHLY recommend you look at the note below.
- The batter can be somewhat sticky. If you follow my directions to refrigerate the dough, it is MUCH easier to handle and roll in the confectioner’s sugar.
- You can use parchment paper, or silicone pan liners, or bake these cookies directly on ungreased pans.
- Other flavor options include vanilla, snickerdoodle, almond extract, lemon, sprinkles, or even a chocolate cake mix. The possibilities are nearly endless. You
With that, here are my Creamsicle Orange Butter Cookies:
Decadent Creamsicle Orange Butter Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese softened
- ½ c. butter softened
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ tsp. orange extract
- 1 tsp. orange zest optional
- 1 pkg. yellow or white cake mix
- food coloring 3 drops red & 3 drops yellow
- ¼ c. confectioner's sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and butter until even consistency.
- Stir in the eggs, orange extract, and zest. Mix until thoroughly incorporated.
- Add the cake mix and mix until well blended.
- Refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes, which makes the dough easier to handle.
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll balls into confectioner's sugar.
- Place balls on an ungreased cookie sheet at least 1 inch apart so there is room for them to spread.
- Bake for 10 to 13 minutes. Do not let the cookies brown.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Nutrition
