Soft and chewy, quick and easy orange cookies recipe with cake mix, homemade with simple ingredients. Loaded with orange zest, extract, juice. Also known as creamsicle cookies
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These cookies are crispy on the outside, thanks to a generous coating of granulated sugar but they still manage to stay soft on the inside. The strong citrus flavor comes from the addition of orange zest, juice, and extract. These are just as delicious as my Orange Cranberry Bread and my Soft Cranberry Orange Muffins as well as my favorite Easy Orange Cake (With Marmalade).
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Key ingredients
- Oil- Should be neutral tasting.
- Eggs- Must be large and at room temperature.
- Fresh oranges- You will need their zest and juice.
- Extract- Orange extract or emulsion oil are both great options.
- Orange food coloring- I like to use gel-based over liquid food coloring.
- Cake mix- Use vanilla or yellow box mix.
- Sugar- This should be granulated and is used for rolling the cookie dough balls.
How to make easy orange cookies recipe with cake mix?
- Mix together eggs, oil, orange zest, juice, extract, orange color.
- Add cake mix.
- Chill dough.
- Form cookie dough balls.
- Roll in sugar
- Bake and you are done.
Tips and techniques
- What cake mix flavor to use? The best choice would obviously be orange cake mix, However, that seems to be very hard to find and I typically only see it at some stores during the Summer. So, yellow cake mix is your alternative and the orange flavors can be added to that through zest, juice and extract.
- All ingredients must be at room temperature- This helps them blend together smoothly and evenly.
- Don't over-mix the cookie dough- Because that yields very tough cookies. Mix until just combined, even if there are a few lumps.
- Don't replace oil with butter- Because butter makes the cookies very dense.
- Rolling in sugar- I like to roll in granulated sugar because of the crunch it gives these cookies. However, if you want to make orange crinkle cookies, roll them in powdered sugar.
- Chill dough- You must do this because it makes the dough less sticky, which means you can easily roll it into balls without making a mess. Also, chilling prevents the cookies from spreading too much during baking.
Variations
- Chocolate orange flavor- Mix in ¾ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips in the dough. When the cookies have fully baked at cooled down.
- Dip cookies in melted chocolate- You can use white, semisweet or dark. Toss some chocolate sprinkles and let it set. Instead of dipping cookies, you can also drizzle melted chocolate on top of the cookies for a pretty appearance.
- Toss some add-ins in the dough- Such as chopped nuts, candy bars, dried fruits, shredded coconut, crushed Oreos or even mini chocolate chips.
- Cranberry orange flavor- This is very popular around the Christmas holidays and there is only a minor change in the recipe. When the cookie dough is almost ready, stir in ½ cup chopped cranberries. Then, chill dough, roll into balls, coat in sugar and bake. Drizzle melted white chocolate on top of each cookie and you are done. You can also try my Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies for a different texture.
- Make cookie sandwiches- By filling them with American Buttercream Frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting or even Orange frosting.
- Make iced/ frosted cookies- By frosting just the tops with frosting of your choice. This Easy Sour Cream Frosting (Vanilla) is a great option.
- Stuff them- Make cookie dough balls, flatten them, place a soft caramel or Rolo inside, roll into ball again and bake. These would be similar to my Stuffed Chocolate Rolo Cookies.
- Roll in powdered sugar- Instead of granulated sugar. That would make them a similar appearance to my Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies or Chocolate Crinkle Cookies (Cake Mix)
Recipe FAQs
The dough wasn't chilled long enough or your measurement of liquid ingredients was inaccurate. Please don't eyeball anything. Use measuring measuring cups and spoons.
Don't over-bake them and also keep them in a sealed container to prevent them from drying out. Keeping a slice of loaf bread in the cookie jar overnight also helps because it transfers its moisture to the cookies.
Storage
- Refrigerate- In a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- Freeze- Cookie dough balls without the sugar coating can be stored in a sealed freezer bag for up to 1 month. When you are ready to enjoy them, roll in granulated sugar and bake as per instructions below. Since the dough is frozen, you will need to a add a couple more minutes to the baking time.
- Room temperature- Store in a cookie jar for 2 days.
- Make ahead- These can easily be made 1-2 days in advance.
More doctored cake mix desserts
- Easy Black Forest Cake With Cake Mix
- Oreo Cupcakes With Cake Mix
- Slow Cooker Chocolate Lava Cake (Cake Mix)
- Red Velvet Cookies With Cake Mix
- Chocolate Banana Bread With Cake Mix
- Easy Apple Cake With Cake Mix
- Cake Mix Cookie Bars
- Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies
- Easy Cake Mix Brownies
- Cake Mix Champagne Cupcakes
- Eggnog Cookies
Recipe
Easy Orange Cookies (With Cake Mix)
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Ingredients
- ⅓ cup Oil
- 2 Eggs Large
- 1 tablespoon Orange zest
- 2 tablespoon Orange juice
- 2 teaspoon Orange extract
- Orange gel coloring
- 1 box Yellow cake mix Use orange cake mix, if you can find it.
- 1 cup Granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls
- Orange buttercream frosting Optional, For icing top of cookies
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add oil, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, orange extract, orange gel coloring and mix until fluffy.
- Add cake mix and mix until just combined.
- Chill dough for 20-30 minutes to make it easier to handle.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and make little balls.
- Roll balls in sugar.
- Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 10-12 minutes or until edges are firm but center is slightly soft.
- Optional: Once they cool to room temperature, frost them with orange buttercream or drizzle some orange glaze and enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
Until next time, tata my lovelies!
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