How to Make Orange Blossom Shortbread Cookies
Orange blossom is a key ingredient in many Middle Eastern dishes, like baklava. It adds an extra dimension to any and everything you’re cooking or baking. And it has medicinal properties; in Malta and other North African countries, the flower water is widely used to ease stomach aches.
Here, the fresh floral essence meets your favourite sugar cookies from granny.
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1 pounds butter, room temperature
- 20 ounces white granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons orange zest, fine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 4 ounces full cream milk
- 4 tablespoons orange extract
- 2 pounds 8 ounces cake flour
- 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons baking powder
For the Icing
- 2 pounds icing sugar
- Orange juice, as needed
- Orange zest, as needed
Directions
- Preheat oven at 375°F. Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Briefly cream together butter and sugar, using the paddle attachment of your mixer. The sugar should not be fully dissolved into the butter (should be slightly grainy) so that the cookie remains crisp and doesn’t spread too much after baking.
- Add orange zest and salt.
- Whisk the egg in a separate container before adding to the creamed mixture. This ensures even distribution and makes for easier mixing.
- Mix together the milk and extract in one container, and in a separate bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.
- Alternately add the sifted flour and baking powder with the milk mixture (to the creamed butter, sugar, and eggs) until all ingredients have come together to form a soft dough.
- Remove from mixture and gently press the dough into a ball. Wrap tightly and place in the fridge for at least four hours before use. This would ensure that your cookies do not become tough after baking as it relaxes the gluten.
- When ready for use, remove the dough from the wrapping and dust your work surface with flour. Gently roll out to 1/4 inch thickness and use cookie cutters to cut into the desired shape.
- Dust excess flour from each cookie before placing them on the prepared baking trays.
- Bake for about 12 minutes at 375°F or until the base of the cookies are golden in colour. (It’s ok if the tops are pale, just ensure they are not soft to the touch. They will continue to cook once removed from the oven.)
- Whisk together the icing sugar and orange juice, adding the juice a little at a time until the desired thickness has been achieved. Use zest over the top of iced cookies for an extra citrus punch.
- Cool cookies completely before dipping in icing and grating
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