Twelve Cookies of Christmas #6: Orange Creamsicle Cookies

It took me a while to figure out which sandwich cookie I wanted to make this year. For the longest time, the linzer cookie was the favourite, but in the end I decided to scrap it as I already had a jam cookie on the list (see Raspberry Cream Thumbprints). I also briefly flirted with the idea of making Thomas Keller’s TKOs from his new cookbook Bouchon Bakery, before deciding that wasn’t a wise decision for my Twelve Cookies of Christmas list. And then I came across this recipe for Orange Cream Star Cookies from Fine Cooking. Perfect.


I remember having orange creamsicles as a kid. There was something very satisfying when you bit through that tart, orange layer and got to the creamy vanilla ice cream inside. I’ve played with this flavour combination before with cupcakes, so I thought it would be equally as fun (and delicious) in cookie-form.

The butter cookie base is very similar to the Raspberry Cream Thumbprints—it contains a bit of cream cheese to lend a subtle tartness and creaminess to its flavour. I use the star nozzle on my cookie press, but if you don’t have a cookie press, you can easily make these with a piping bag and star tip. The orange buttercream is lightly sweetened and packed with a lot of orange flavour, with the addition of both orange zest and fresh orange juice. It does go soft very quickly, as it’s a high-fat ratio to sugar, so I usually like to keep these cookies in the fridge and pull them out about a half hour before I serve them.


Buttery cookie bursting with orange and vanilla flavours—what’s not to love about these irresistible (and oh-so-pretty) sandwich cookies? For an orange-chocolate version, you can dip the bottoms of each cookie in melted semisweet chocolate and let it set before sandwiching them with the buttercream, or use a chocolate-orange ganache instead of the buttercream.

Find the recipe for Orange Creamsicle Cookies here.

Follow along with my Twelve Cookies of Christmas.