This guest blog post is brought to you by Karli from Cooking With Karli.
Summer is here and so are all the popsicles and frozen treats! What better time than to enjoy a creamsicle! You all know the creamy, orange-flavored popsicles that make up our summer cravings. It has been YEARS since I have had a good orange creamsicle. I had one a few weeks back and my next recipe idea hit me like a lightening bolt…Creamsicle Cookies. I knew I wanted to make the cookie just like the popsicle with orange cookie on the outside filled with a creamy vanilla frosting.
I am no stranger to unique cookie flavors so as soon as I had the idea, I knew I’d be able to knock it out of the park. If you like unique cookie flavors, you have to give my Root Beer Float cookies, and Butterbeer cookies a try.
What You’ll Need:
• Butter: You’ll want softened salted butter for this recipe. Butter will go into both the cookies and the vanilla buttercream center. If you only have unsalted butter, you’ll want to add a pinch of salt to the cookie dough and frosting.
• Sugar: We will just use granulated sugar in the cookie dough since it is a sugar cookie base.
• Eggs: Just two eggs are needed in this recipe.
• LorAnn Orange Bakery Emulsion, Natural: I love using this flavoring because it is water-based so the flavor doesn’t bake out of the cookie. It brings a natural, strong orange flavor that is very pleasant.
• Flour: Just all purpose flour needed for these cookies.
• Baking Powder: This is the leavening agent we will use in these cookies, this will give the cookie a little bit of lift while also keeping it super soft.
• Food Coloring: For bold colors, I always use LorAnn’s Liquid Gel Food Coloring because they are highly pigmented. With just a few drops, you can get your desired color. Plus they are conveniently packaged in a squeeze bottle, which makes it so easy to use and mess free!
• Powdered Sugar: The powdered sugar is used in the vanilla buttercream center of the cookie.
• Milk: Just use what you have on hand. You’ll use just a tad in the buttercream to get it the right consistency.
• Vanilla Extract: LorAnn’s Vanilla Extract is rich and creamy. This goes into the buttercream to give it that classic vanilla ice cream flavor.
My Tips:
• Use an electric stand mixer if you have one. If not, an electric hand mixer will work fine.
• Cream together your butter and sugar for 2 minutes. Creaming together ingredients is different than just mixing them. When you cream together the butter and sugar, you want to mix and a higher speed until the mixture is light in color and very fluffy in texture. The mixture should not feel grainy from the sugar.
• Don’t over mix the flour. Over mixing the flour will give your final cookie a stiffer, dryer texture which is not the goal with these cookies!
• Finished cookie dough texture should be like Playdoh. Once your cookie dough is complete, it should be easy to work with. It shouldn’t be sticky in any way and it also should not be at all dry and crumbly. Humidity of your climate can sometimes mess with baking so if your cookie dough feels too dry, add a tsp or so of water. If your cookie dough is sticky, add up to ¼ cup more flour.
• Use a large cookie scoop. Like I said earlier, these are giant bakery style cookies. I use a 3.25 ounce scoop for each cookie. That holds just about 1/3 cup of cookie dough for each and every cookie! If you don’t have a cookie scoop, you can just use your 1/3 cup measuring cup to help portion out the dough.
• Make and freeze your frosting ahead of time. This will make your life a little easier when it comes to making your cookies. It is important to use frozen frosting in the middle of the cookie so the frosting doesn’t melt out of the cookie while baking.
• Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan. This is super important when it comes to giant cookies. The cookies will continue to bake while the are cooling on the hot pan. Allowing them to finish baking out of the oven will help them stay nice and soft.
• Store in the fridge or freezer. The cookies can be kept for up to one week in the fridge or up to three months in the freezer.
Scroll to get recipe!
Orange Creamsicle Cookies
Ingredients
For Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
½ cup salted butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons LorAnn Pure Vanilla Extract
milk, as needed
For Orange Cookie Dough:
1 ½ cups salted butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon LorAnn Orange Bakery Emulsion, Natural
4 ½ cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3-4 drops LorAnn Orange Liquid Gel Food Coloring
Topping:
1/3 cup white chocolate chips, melted
Directions
For Frosting:
- Whip butter until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until it is fully incorporated. You may need to add a few teaspoons of milk to help the powdered sugar come together with the butter.
- Once all of the powdered sugar has been added to the butter, add the vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Spread the frosting into a thin layer on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
For Cookie Dough:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Cream together the butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer. Cream for 2 minutes.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and add in the eggs and orange flavoring. Mix until well combined.
- Add in the flour and baking powder. Mix until the dough comes together.
- Add food coloring a few drops at a time until the dough has reached your desired color.
- Portion out the dough into 1/3 cup portions. Roll the portions into a ball and then press your thumb into the dough to create a deep pocket and arrange on a parchment paper or silicone mat lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough.
- When all of the dough has been prepped, take the frosting out of the freezer and chop the frosting into small pieces.
- Fill each cookie dough ball with pieces of frozen frosting. Close up the cookie dough around the frosting and flatten the cookie dough slightly with your hands so it looks like a hockey puck. Repeat with remaining dough.
- Bake for 13- 15 minutes. The cookie will flatten and spread slightly, puff up and the center of the cookie will no longer look wet and glossy when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- Allow the cookies to cool completely on the pan.
- Once the cookies have cooled completely, drizzle the top of the cookie with melted white chocolate.
- Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes prior to serving.
*Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week or in the freezer for up to three months.
