This is a beloved traditional family recipe from my husband’s side of family. I wanted to “clean up” the recipe so to speak, and began experimenting with ways to make it a little healthier. I didn’t want to use Crisco and instead found that Coconut Oil works beautifully. Since the entire orange is used, including zest, it’s important your oranges are untreated with fungicide/pesticide, so buy organic! Lastly if you can’t find Fior di Sicilia, it’s ok to combine a good quality vanilla extract and orange oil to create it. The result is outstanding! A natural, fresh, REAL orange cookie!
Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 3 medium navel oranges (organic)
- ½ cup extra virgin coconut oil
- 1 cup coconut palm sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 2 cups “00” flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 drops Fior di Sicilia (blend of vanilla and orange oil)
- 3 teaspoons Sicilian Orange Marmalade (organic)
- 5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
Preparation Steps:
- Using a vegetable peeler remove all of the orange zest from oranges — be careful to remove only the orange zest and none of the white pith, which is very bitter. Quarter the oranges and remove as much of the fruit and juice as possible. Place the orange zest and its fruit inside a food processor and blend until smooth (mixture should measure 1 cup).
- With a hand-held mixer in a large bowl, add cream shortening and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, sour cream, until smooth. Next add ½ cup of the orange mixture from food processor, the Fior di Siclia and 1 teaspoon of marmalade, blend until well incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed egg mixture using a wooden spoon until well combined.
- Drop by rounded teaspoonful 2 inches apart onto silicone lined cookie sheets. I like to use a mini ice cream scoop to achieve this. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until lightly browned edges. Remove to wire racks to cool.
- For glaze, in a small bowl, mix confectioners sugar, butter, 1 teaspoon of orange marmalade and enough of the remaining orange mixture to get right consistency. Glaze cookies by dipping one by one, let dry on cooling rack.
