Orange Cream Cookies

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Wash, then zest the orange over a small plate and set the zest aside. Be careful when zesting. Only zest the first layer and be careful not to get into the white layer of the orange.

Cut the orange in half. In a separate bowl, juice orange and set the juice aside.

Pour cake mix into a large bowl. Add 2 tablespoon of orange juice and 1 tablespoon of orange zest and stir it into the mix. Stir in eggs and oil, only until well blended. Drop teaspoon-sized scoops of dough onto baking pans that you’ve lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. A mini cookie scoop would be preferred if you have one.

Bake for 7 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven. The tops will be broken and cookies will look set. The bottoms will be light brown, and the insides chewy. Be careful to not over bake. Let cookies cool on the pan for 5-8 minutes before removing them. Place cookies on a long piece of aluminum foil ready for drizzling. Cool cookies completely before drizzling with orange cream.

In a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar, 1 tablespoon of orange juice, 1/4 teaspoon of zest and 1 tablespoon of milk. Stir together until thick. Drizzle should be thick but thin enough to drizzle. Add additional teaspoons of milk or orange juice (1 teaspoon at a time) if needed to thin. Transfer drizzle to a Ziplock bag and set it aside until all cookies are cooled. Cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and drizzle it onto the cookies. Let them set 10-20 minutes for drizzle to dry.

Cookies will keep 7-10 days in an airtight container.

Makes about 60 cookies.