Orange Butter Cookies
- 1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 2/3 cups cake flour or more all-purpose flour (cake flour gives a finer texture)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
- 2 packed teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
- 1 large egg plus 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- FOR THE ICING (SEE NOTE):
- 1 orange
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 drops almond or vanilla extract
- Pinch fine salt
- 1. Position two oven racks in top and bottom third of oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- 2. In a bowl, whisk flours, baking soda and salt together. In a mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and orange zest at medium speed until light and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of bowl frequently. Add egg and mix. Add one egg yolk and mix. Add remaining egg yolk and mix. Stir in dry ingredients just until combined.
- 3. Scoop tablespoons of dough onto parchment, leaving more than 1 inch between cookies. Press each one down lightly with 2 fingers to flatten to a thickness of 1/2 inch. Leave any ridges and valleys on top of cookie intact, but smooth the edges.
- 4. Bake about 15 minutes, rotating cookie sheets halfway through. Cookies should be pale but baked all the way through. Cool on sheets 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack and cool before storing in airtight containers up to 1 week.
- 5. When ready to serve, make icing: Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Peel orange, being careful to remove only outer orange zest, and cut into thin strips. Blanch in boiling water 1 minute; drain. Sift confectioners' sugar into a bowl. Whisk in 2 tablespoons milk. Whisk in more milk if needed to make mixture thin enough to spread. Add extract, salt and zest, and whisk to combine.
- 6. Place cookies on a rack and drizzle icing over each one (make sure there is some orange zest in each spoonful). Icing will settle into cookie crevices; let harden.
flour, cake flour, baking soda, kosher salt, sugar, cold unsalted butter, orange zest, egg, icing, orange, sugar, milk, drops almond, salt
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/orange-butter-cookies-50012294 (may not work)