Looking for a zesty and buttery treat with a light, summery flavour? Try our irresistible Orange Shortbread biscuits! Perfectly crispy, tangy, and easy to make.
I love baking with oranges. It’s sweet, and a bit tangy, but not sour like lemons or limes. You can have a gorgeous zesty citrus flavour without any tart aftertaste.
Orange drizzle cake is one of my absolute favourites, and these orange shortbread biscuits are right up there.
I love my lemon shortbread, and chocolate orange is always fantastic, but these orange shortbread fingers are super sweet and tasty, as well as incredibly easy to make. They are perfect!
*This post may contain affiliate links to products I find useful when making this recipe. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.*
Why I Love These Orange Shortbread Cookies
These shortbread with orange cookies are perfect because:
- Orange is a fantastic summery flavour.
- This orange shortbread recipe is easy to follow.
- You can easily add more zest if you prefer a stronger flavour.
- The finger shape makes them easy to enjoy.
- They are delicious!
Ingredients for Orange Shortbread Fingers
Unsalted Butter
Caster Sugar
Plain Flour
Orange – I use the zest for the biscuits, and the juice for the drizzle.
Icing Sugar
Can You Use Orange Extract?
You can use orange exactly, but adding a liquid will change the texture of your shortbread dough.
Using zest gives you a fresh, subtle flavour, and you don’t need to worry about the texture. It also means you’ve got an orange ready for the icing.
Can You Use Margarine?
Some recipes use margarine to make shortbread, but I prefer to use butter. Margarine is oil-based, so your dough won’t be as stiff, and your cookies might spread. The flavour won’t be as fantastically buttery either.
I use margarine for the shortbread base of millionaire shortbread, but I wouldn’t use it for these orange shortbread fingers.
Could You Drizzle with Orange Chocolate?
Yes! I’ve got a recipe for chocolate orange shortbread if you prefer to go all-out chocolate. But you could just drizzle this recipe with melted chocolate orange.
How to Make Orange Shortbread Biscuits – Step-by-Step
Citrus Shortbread is one of my favourite things to make (and to eat) because it’s just SOOO easy!
Step One
Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before baking, so that it’s room temperature, softer and easier to work with.
Step Two
Pour the sugar into a mixing bowl, grate in the orange zest and stir. I find this is the best way to add the orange flavour.
Step Three
Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the sugar.
Step Four
Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. This can take a while. You can do it with a wooden spoon, or an electric whisk.
Step Five
Add the flour and continue to mix until it looks like fairly fine breadcrumbs.
Step Six
Squeeze together into a ball with your hands.
Keep squeezing any bits that crumble out back in until you’ve got a workable ball of dough.
Step Seven
Place the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Longer is fine.
Step Eight
Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour and roll the dough to about 5mm.
It’s normal for the dough to crumble a little, so just push bits back together with your fingers.
Step Nine
Cut the dough with either a cutter or a sharp knife. This recipe makes 10-12 biscuits.
Step Ten
Carefully move the orange shortbread fingers onto the baking tray.
They will spread very slightly as they bake but shouldn’t go too far. Leave a cm or two between them.
Step Eleven
Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops are lightly golden.
Step Twelve
Remove from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool. This only takes around 15-20 minutes.
Step Thirteen
Mix the icing sugar with some orange juice in a small bowl.
I start with 100g of icing sugar and a good squeeze of orange. Add more of either until you have a thick, but pipeable glaze. It wants to be fairly stiff so that it doesn’t just roll off the biscuit, so add more icing sugar if you need to.
Step Fourteen
Use a piping bag or spoon to roughly drizzle over the cooled cookies.
You can add a bit more orange zest now too, but this is optional.
Shaping the Biscuits
I don’t have a rectangular cutter, but I like finger biscuits. I don’t have a round cutter either. Perhaps it’s time to stock up?
Instead, I use a sharp knife to cut one, and then use that one as a template to cut around for the rest.
But you could use any shape cutters, they certainly don’t have to be fingers. My chocolate orange shortbread are big rounds, like chocolate chip cookies.
How to Store Orange Shortbread Cookies
Store your orange biscuits in an airtight tub for 3-4 days.
Orange Shortbread Biscuits
Ingredients
- 50 g Caster Sugar
- 1 Large Orange (Juice and Zest)
- 100 g Butter (Room Temperature and Cubed)
- 150 g Plain Flour (+ Extra to dust the surface)
- 100 g Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Place the sugar in a large bowl and grate in the Orange Zest, retaining the orange for later.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Add the cubed unsalted butter and cream together, until smooth.
- Add the flour and keep mixing until it starts to look like fine breadcrumbs.
- Use your hands to press this together into a ball of dough, re-adding any bits that crumble away until you’ve got a smooth, workable ball.
- Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and lightly dust a surface with flour.
- Roll the dough out to around 5mm, pressing back in any bits that crumble off.
- Use a cutter or knife to cut into 10-12 even fingers.
- Carefully lift and place on the tray, leaving a little room between each biscuit.
- Bake for around 12-15 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Mix the icing sugar with a squeeze of orange juice, adding more juice or sugar until you have a stiff drizzle.
- Use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle onto the biscuits and add a sprinkle of more zest if desired.
Notes
- Read the post above for more tips and advice.
Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.
