HEY! It’s me. Pushing Right until the acceptable deadline for baking holiday cookies and slide across your screen with a steaming plate of these wickedly tasty Orange Gingerbread Espresso Cookies. Orange? Expressed? Did he finally lose it? <- What might you ask yourself at this very moment. But I promise, this isn't just an elaborate typo. I understand though, the thought of those two together seemed very strange to me until two years ago. That's when Jeremy came across an Italian man's YouTube video about homemade ’44’ liqueurwhich involved stabbing an orange 44 times and placing a coffee bean in each hole and letting the oils seep into the alcohol over a period of 44 days. The name remains a mystery. So Jeremy made some, and it was honestly the best thing I’ve ever had. Now she makes it a few times a year to satiate our thirst for all things orange + coffee.
That said, I wanted to concentrate the flavor of that drink in cookie form. And since the drink is made from the orange oils that escape from the orange peel, I knew I had to use lots of orange peel. And after some testing and tweaking, I ended up settling on 1/2 cup of zest to give just the right brightness and that wonderful floral quality that orange zest adds to drinks + baked goods. I know that seems like an insane amount, and in a way it is ANDbut I promise it is SO good and worth the three large navel oranges you have to peel to reach that amount. The size of the rind is really important to the texture of the cookieAlthough. I recommend using a microplane grater (this is what I have + love), but if you don’t have one, you can use the small holes in your box grater. However, do not use the tooth-shaped holes on the grater. You’ll lose a lot of zest and oils that will end up in your teeth. Just use the plain holes, but the smaller of the two holes.
And as for the shape of the cookies themselves, I used deer and pine cone cookie cutters this Etsy shop (looks like they are on vacation but I hope they come back sometime) for this recipe. You’ll need to roll out the dough a little thicker (about 2cm) for these, or you can go slightly thinner at 1cm if using traditional cookie cutters. I dive into baking times depending on the thickness and shape of your cookies in more detail in the actual recipe further down in the post, FYI 🙂
Now that I’ve talked at length about graters and cookie cutters, let’s dive into some of the other flavors in these cookies! Let’s start with the strangest one, Sicilian flowers. Well, it’s not really strange, just unfairly rare. You can think of it as the citrus version of vanilla extract: it’s basically an Italian flavor made up of citrus zest and vanilla notes and tastes like cream. If your eyes are bugging out at the idea of buying a fancy new extract, Please listen to me. After your first taste, you’ll want to add it to virtually all baked goods in the future. IT IS LIKE THIS Really good and adds lightness and warmth to everything. You can make cookies without it, but it adds that special depth to them.
Other than that, there are only espresso powder, vanilla extract, molasses, a splash of orange juice and ground cardamom as flavoring components. I know not putting cinnamon or cloves in a gingerbread cookie recipe seems crazy, but believe me when I say that between the coffee, the orange, and the cozy cardamom, you still get the same warmth and comforting flavor, just with more brightness and zipper. They are a bit like a ray of summer sunshine beaming into winter. I hope you enjoy them, my friends, and I wish you the most joyful and relaxing Christmas holidays ahead!!! Sending you lots of love and yummy vibes from my home to yours! ♡
Soft gingerbread biscuits with orange and espresso
With 1/2 cup orange zest, these soft and snappy gingerbread cookies are the perfect holiday treat!
Soft gingerbread biscuits with orange and espresso
-
3
cups
plus 1 tablespoon flour -
1
table spoon
finely ground espresso coffee -
1/2
teaspoon
ground cardamom -
1/2
teaspoon
baking soda -
1/2
teaspoon
salt -
1
cup
unsalted butter
softened -
1
cup
light brown sugar
packed -
1/2
cup
finely grated organic orange peel
from about 3 large oranges, grated with the microplane or with the small holes of a grater (but not the ones that stick out like teeth) -
1/2
cup
molasses -
1
table spoon
freshly squeezed orange juice -
3/4
teaspoon
flavoring Sicilian flowers -
1/2
teaspoon
vanilla extract - Parchment paper
Optional orange icing
-
1
cup
powdered sugar -
1
table spoon
milk -
1
table spoon
orange juice
Soft gingerbread biscuits with orange and espresso
-
Mix the flour, espresso powder, cardamom, baking soda and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
-
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until soft and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar and orange zest and mix on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute more. Add the molasses, orange juice, Sicilian flowers and vanilla and stir to combine. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until *just* a thick dough forms (don’t overmix!).
-
Divide the dough into two equal parts and give each a rough oval shape. Cover and place one of the two in the refrigerator while you roll out the other.
-
Place a sheet of baking paper on a clean, flat surface. Place part of the dough on the baking paper, then place another sheet of parchment on top. If using standard cookie cutters, roll out the dough until it is 1cm thick (if you use it too thin, the cookies will not be soft and will instead be crunchy. Better to err on the side of being a little thicker than one that is a little thicker). thinner!) If using the wooden cookie cutters linked in this post, roll it out to 2cm thick. Slide the parchment-wrapped dough onto a baking sheet or cutting board and place in the refrigerator while you repeat the same steps with the other portion of dough. Refrigerate both rolled out sheets of dough for 1 hour or until nice and firm.
-
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove a sheet of dough from the refrigerator and place it on a clean surface. Remove the top layer of baking paper and place it on a baking tray. Cut out cookie shapes and place on lined baking sheet, leaving about 1 inch of space between cookies.
-
Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the preheated oven. The cooking time will depend on the size of the biscuit. For thicker biscuits or biscuits larger than 3 1/32 inches in diameter, bake for about 8 minutes. For cookies less than 3.5 inches in diameter or with many exposed edges, such as snowflake cookies, bake for about 6 minutes. It’s okay if they look slightly darkened in the center.
-
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week, or 2 weeks if refrigerated.
Optional condiments
-
You can serve them as they are, or if you want them to be a little sweeter you can dust them with icing sugar, or you can garnish them with the orange icing underneath.
-
For the orange icing, mix all the ingredients together until combined. Pour the icing into a large, shallow bowl and dip the cooled cookies into the icing, top side down, until only the top but NOT the bottom touches the icing (basically, don’t dip them). Place the cookie on a wire rack, frosting side up, with parchment paper or paper towels under the rack to catch any excess frosting that drips from the cookies. Allow the icing to cool and harden for 2-3 hours before transferring to an airtight container.
Nutrition Facts
Soft gingerbread biscuits with orange and espresso
Quantity per serving
Calories 135
Calories from fat 45
% daily value*
Fat 5 g8%
Saturated fat 3g19%
Trans fat 0.2 g
Polyunsaturated fats 0.2 g
Monounsaturated fats 1g
Cholesterol 14 mg5%
Sodium 52 mg2%
Potassium 95 mg3%
Carbohydrates 21 g7%
Fiber 0.4 g2%
Sugar 13 g14%
Protein 1 g2%
Vitamin A 166 IU3%
Vitamin C 2 mg2%
Soccer 21 mg2%
Iron 1 mg6%
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
