These Slice & Bake Orange Almond Cookies are soft in the center and crunchy on the edges! A flavorful and easy-to-make cookie with lots of orange aroma and ground almonds.
Ground almonds, orange zest, vanilla and coarse sugar make these slice and bake shortbread-like cookies so flavorful! Some slice and bake cookies are dry and boring but these orange cookies are exactly the opposite!
These cookies will melt in your mouth and are so simple to make! Not as simple as my 4-ingredient Nutella Cookies but still really easy.
What I really love about slice and bake cookies is that you can slice off however many cookies you want to make on that day and chill the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for a few more days until you’re ready to make the next batch of cookies. So easy!
These orange almond cookies are so simple to make! The part that takes the longest time is the chilling in the fridge. So these are perfect for days when you want to make many different cookies at once. Use the chill time to make another cookie recipe like my Vanilla Crescent Cookies or these yummy Nutella Cookies.
The dough of these cookies is like shortbread or sugar cookie dough. It’s really easy! Just combine everything with a hand mixer or stand mixer. I’m using confectioners’ sugar instead of normal sugar to make these cookies more delicate and I’m adding ground almonds for more flavor and texture.
Orange zest, orange juice and a little bit of Grand Marnier add a nice flavor kick! If you can’t or don’t want to use Grand Marnier Liqueur, you can substitute with more orange juice.
Roll the dough into three logs and let them chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours. This isn’t optional! If you don’t chill the dough you can’t slice the roll and you will end up with not pretty looking cookies. So just be patient!
Roll the chilled logs in coarse sugar for a little bit of crunch and slice each log into cookies. Bake, decorate, done! Enjoy!
– Julia
Orange Almond Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp orange juice
- 4 tsp Grand Marnier, or more orange juice
- 1 Tbsp orange zest, freshly grated
- 1/2 cup butter, cold, cubed
- coarse sugar, for rolling
For the icing:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 3-4 tsp orange juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine all the cookie ingredients except the coarse sugar on low speed. Switch to medium speed and beat for 2 minutes until a thick and slightly sticky dough forms.
- Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and divide into three. Shape each dough piece into a 6-inch log, about 1.5 inches in diameter. Wrap the logs in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours and up to 2 days.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats and set aside.
- Roll each log in coarse sugar. Slice each log into 0.3 inches thick cookies and place cookies on baking sheets about 1.5 inches apart.
- Bake the cookies for 11 minutes or until slightly brown around the edges. Allow to cool for 5 mins on the baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.
- Combine powdered sugar and orange juice until a thick icing forms. Decorate cookies with the icing and let dry completely. I like to use a zip lock bag to do this.
- Cookies stay fresh covered at room temperature or in the fridge for up to one week.
Nutrition Information
A says
Hi, can the dough be made/kneaded with hands? I don’t have any mixer.
Julia Foerster says
Yes, that should work.
Danielle says
Is it possible to substitute almond flour for the all purpose flour and ground almonds?
Julia Foerster says
You can substitute almond flour for the ground almonds but not for the all-purpose flour.
Ann says
I have made these, twice and they are brilliant. I am not a natural cook so any recipe this consistent gets my vote, especially when it was so easy. Thank you.