The *softest* brown sugar cookie loaded with blood orange zest, topped with a rich cream cheese frosting and swirled with blood orange curd.
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blood orange cookies
I absolutely love citrus-y bakes, and every year when blood oranges come around, I just have to pick them up and make something with them. If you haven’t heard of blood oranges before, they definitely sound a lot scarier than what they really are. Blood oranges presumably get their name from their bright red color. They’re very similar in taste to regular oranges, but they’re slightly more tart. People also say they have a raspberry undertone to them but to be completely honest, I can’t taste that!
But anyways, if you’re a fan of citrus and oranges, I think you’ll love these cookies. They start out with a super soft and chewy blood orange brown sugar cookie. It’s the same delicious cookie base you see in my twix cookies, raspberry curd cookies, etc. From there, they get topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting, and swirled with a blood orange curd.
Below you’ll find a ton of tips, tricks, and info that I hope is helpful for creating these beautiful bb’s. Happy baking! 🙂
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients: My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients: It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your egg and butter about an hour before starting the cookies, and the cream cheese about an hour before making the cream cheese frosting.
How to get more flavor out of zest: It’s hard to put citrus juice into bakes because it can easily throw off the texture of the dough. So we’ll get blood orange flavor into these cookies through the zest. To get even more flavor out of the zest, we’ll rub the zest into the sugar, which will release oils from the zest into the sugar and release more flavor into the dough.
Mix the dough carefully: When adding in the flour, only fold the mixture just until no flour streaks remain. Over mixing the dough leads to more gluten formation, which can make the cookies thicker and more tough in texture.
Under bake for perfect cookies: Cookies continue baking after they have been taken out of the oven. Once the edges turn slightly golden brown, and the cookies look just a little wet on top still, they are ready to come out. Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
The secret to perfectly round cookies: Wanna know the secret to perfectly round cookies? It’s cookie scooting! Right when the cookies come out of the oven, take a bowl, cup, or biscuit cutter that is just slightly larger than your cookies and place it over one of the cookies. Gently swirl the bowl around the cookie to make the cookie perfectly round (and slightly thicker). And that’s all there is to it!
A note on oven temperature: Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for blood orange cookies:
blood orange cookies:
- All purpose flour: for structure and chewiness. AP flour ranges from about 10-12% protein. If you use a flour closer to 10%, the cookies will be slightly less chewy. I use and love King Arthur Flour, which is 11.7% protein.
- Baking powder: for helping the cookies rise. Most baking powder is, but make sure your baking powder is “double acting.”
- Salt: to help balance and bring out the sweetness of the cookies
- Unsalted butter: for tenderness and flavor. You can use salted butter in place of the unsalted, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the cookies.
- Light brown sugar: for sweetness and for moisture.
- Blood orange: the star of the show.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Egg: for binding and for moisture.
blood orange curd:
- Egg yolks: thickens up the curd.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd.
- Blood oranges: we’ll be using both the zest and the juice for maximum flavor.
- Salt: like with the dough, a bit of salt helps with the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
- Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd.
cream cheese frosting:
- Cream cheese: the tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness of the frosting and cookies so well.
- Unsalted butter: a little bit of butter helps thicken up the frosting.
- Salt: a little bit of salt helps balance the sweetness and bring out the flavor of the frosting.
- Powdered sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the frosting.
how to make blood orange cookies
Below are a few images of what the process of making these cookies looks like. As always you can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post 🙂
blood orange cookies q&a
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – I’ve tested this recipe up to quadrupling it with no problem. Please be sure to use grams for the best results.
can I make these cookies ahead of time?
Definitely – cookie dough really only gets better with time. You can keep the cookie dough tightly covered in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. For longer term storage, you can also freeze the cookie dough balls. Just be sure to take the dough out of the fridge at least 30 minutes to 1 hour before you want to bake, so that it becomes soft enough to scoop again. I would recommend waiting to make the frosting until you would like to bake and frost the cookies. The curd can also be made 2-3 days in advance and kept in the fridge.
store the blood orange cookies in the fridge
Because the frosting is made with cream cheese, these cookies do need to be stored in the fridge once they are frosted. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. They are delicious cold, but if you’re not a fan of cold cookies, you can let them sit out at room temperature for 30-60 minutes before eating them.
tools and ingredients:
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other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
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Blood Orange Cookies
Ingredients
Blood Orange Sugar Cookies
- 150 g light brown sugar (¾ c.)
- zest of 2 blood oranges
- 90 g unsalted butter room temperature (6 ⅓ tbsp.)
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 160 g all purpose flour (1 ⅓ c.)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Blood Orange Curd
- 28 g unsalted butter cubed (2 tbsp.)
- 65 g granulated sugar (¼ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- zest of 1 blood orange
- 40 g blood orange juice freshly squeezed (scant 3 tbsp.)
- 2 egg yolks
- ⅛ tsp. salt
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 100 g cream cheese room temperature (½ c.)
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 160 g powdered sugar (1 ⅓ c.)
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
Blood Orange Cookies
- Add the brown sugar to a medium sized mixing bowl. Zest the blood oranges into the mixing bowl, then use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Add in the butter, then use a hand or stand mixer to beat the mixture together until it's light and fluffy (~2-3 min.)
- Add in the egg and vanilla, and beat until well combined (1 min.)
- Add in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Use a rubber spatula to fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain.
- Cover the bowl then place in the fridge to chill for at least 30 minutes.* In the meantime, make the blood orange curd.*
Blood Orange Curd
- Prep a small mixing bowl by adding the cubed butter to it, along with a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- Add the sugar to a small saucepan, then zest the blood orange into the pan. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Add in the blood orange juice, egg yolks, and salt.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly (this can be slowly – we just need constant movement happening!)
- Continue to stir the curd until it thickens and reaches a temperature of at least 170°F / 76°C (This took me about 3-5 minutes.)
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through the fine mesh sieve, over the butter. Mix the curd and the butter together until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- The curd will have lost it's bright red color but don't be alarmed – it's unfortunate but just naturally happens with the cooking process. Transfer the curd to the fridge to chill until you're ready to assemble the cookies.
- Once the cookies have chilled, preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or with a silicone baking mat.
- Use a 3 tbsp. cookie scoop to dish out the cookies onto the prepared cookie sheet, evenly spacing them apart to allow room for spreading.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the sides of the cookies just start to turn golden brown, and the top of the cookies looks just slightly wet. Let the cookies rest on the hot baking sheet for at least 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.
- Allow the cookies to come to room temperature before frosting them.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter and salt until the mixture is smooth.
- Add in ½ of the powdered sugar and beat until combined, then beat in the remaining powdered sugar, followed by the vanilla.
- Top each cookie with ~1.5 tbsp. of the frosting. Use a spoon to make crevices in the frosting for the blood orange curd to sit in.
- Pour 2 tsp. of blood orange curd on the tops of each of the cookies, and gently swirl it into the frosting.
- Top the cookies with more zest and a blood orange slice if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Making the dough ahead of time
You can make the dough and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking it. Just be sure to bring the dough out to sit at room temperature for a little bit, until it becomes soft enough to scoop again. For longer term storage, scoop out the dough balls and freeze them on a baking sheet or tray. Once they’re completely frozen, you can transfer them to a ziploc or airtight container and keep them frozen for up to 1 month. I’d recommend letting the dough sit out for 20 min. before baking it, or thawing it in the fridge overnight before baking it. Please note that your cookies will likely bake up a little thicker.Curd notes:
You can also make the curd and keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days before assembling the cookies. You’ll have a bit more curd than you’ll need for the cookies. The extra curd will keep well for up to 1 week in the fridge!Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.
All of my co-workers LOVED these! So so yummy and look beautiful too! Perfectly written recipe and so easy to follow!
Thank you Lida, I’m so happy you and your coworkers loved the recipe! 🙂
One of my new favorite cookie recipes. I love anything citrus and these were absolutely divine and so easy to make! First time trying a recipe of yours and it for sure won’t be the last.
These were delicious! Unfortunately, I couldn’t find blood oranges and used Cara Cara oranges but they still turned out super tasty! 🤤 Just want to think you for all of your recipes, they are so easy to follow and each time I have made one, they are truly spectacular. You have a gift and I’m so happy you share it with us!
Ahh thank you so much Lacey, that is so unbelievably kind of you and I’m so happy you liked the recipe. 🙂