Simple pantry ingredients and a drop cookie were popular from the old country of Rome, Italy where her mom made cookies out of whatever they had in the pantry.
These cookies are tried and true classic orange juice drop cookies and a family favorite.
The recipe is super easy to follow and you can leave them plain, rolled in sugar before baking, or decorate them with icing after being cooled for holiday, or wedding trays, and all decorated for a special event with colorful sprinkles.
If you are looking for a sugary sweet cookie this isn't it, the cookie is lightly sweetened unless you add the frosting and to be honest, grandma never frosted them.
As time went on we adapted the icing and made different colors for holidays and decorated them but the original way was icing and sometimes grated zest on top.
Check out the recipe in our printable recipe card below and step by step on how to make delicious orange juice cookies, plain simple, and classic!
Drop Cookies the Oldest Version for Making Orange Juice Cookies
The best cookies are my oldest recipes from the past and mostly handwritten in a wooden or metal recipe file box.
The flavors bring childhood memories of that made from scratch wholesome goodness and not a trace of chemicals like the store-bought brands.
These cookies went on many Italian wedding cookie trays and are still currently a favorite to add to a Christmas cookie tray.
The batter is soft and so is the cookie after baking, it's not a fussy dough to work with, easy and perfect with any beverage you're eating them with.
Optional Additions for Cookie Batter:
(1/2 cup and for extracts 1 teaspoon)
- chopped nuts
- white, peanut butter, mint, or chocolate chips
- chopped candy bars of choice IE peanut butter cups
- leftover Halloween candy
- funfetti in the batter
- raisins and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- craisins (also add nuts and orange zest)
- dried fruits
- blueberries
- chopped apples (also add cinnamon and nuts)
- flavored extracts in the batter or frosting: lemon. orange, maple, anise,
- zest of orange or lemon 1 tablespoon in combination with extracts
- pumpkin seeds and cinnamon
- spread with jam and coconut on top
- chocolate frosting instead of vanilla with mini chocolate chips
Holiday Suggestions for Colorful Drop Cookies:
Use Coordinating Colored Sprinkles or Tinted Frosting
- Christmas: green and red sugar or sprinkles
- Halloween: orange and black sprinkles
- 4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor Day Veterans Day: red white blue sprinkles or sugars
- St. Patrick's Day: green sugar or sprinkles
- Easter: pastel-colored sprinkles
- Birthdays: funfetti colorful sprinkles to the batter or frosting
- New Year: silver or gold sprinkles
Tools You Will Need when making drop cookies:
- parchment paper or Silpat cookie sheet
- cookie sheet pan
- ice cream scoop
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- bowl
- spatula
- mixing spoons
Tips for making Orange Juice Drop Cookies
- Soften butter first or at room temperature
- Bake on Silpat mats or parchment paper
- For uniform-sized cookies use an ice cream scooper
- Always preheat the oven first to 350 degrees
- Bake on the middle rack
- try lemon extract and zest for another flavor or different combinations of extracts
- Fold in any additions at the end
- cool cookies completely before frosting
Yield: 30
Grandma's Orange Juice Cookies
Old fashioned made from simple ingredients Italian orange juice cookies. Grandma's vintage recipe.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 25 Min
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated orange zest or more to taste(and more for garnishing the frosting if desired)
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 3 cups flour
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- Glaze Ingredients:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- orange juice or milk to make a thin glaze
- 2 teaspoons of orange zest
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Stir in the rest of the ingredients to form a soft dough.
- Drop by tablespoons on a cookie sheet (or today's modern way use an ice cream scoop for uniform sizes)
- Bake for 14 to 15 minutes until the middles are no longer shiny or wet.
- Cool and frost with the glaze.
- For the frosting just mix the powdered sugar with juice, until blended 1 teaspoon at a time of liquid (you can also use milk.) Stir in the corn syrup and zest.
Notes
Tips
- Soften butter first or at room temperature
- Bake on Silpat mats or parchment paper
- For uniform-sized cookies use an ice cream scooper
- Always preheat the oven first to 350 degrees
- Bake on the middle rack
- try lemon extract and zest for another flavor or different combinations of extracts
- Fold in any additions at the end
- cool cookies completely before frosting
Optional Additions:
(1/2 cup and for changing the extracts 1 teaspoon)
- chopped nuts
- white, peanut butter, mint, or chocolate chips
- chopped candy bars of choice IE peanut butter cups
- funfetti in the batter
- raisins and 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- craisins (also add nuts and orange zest)
- dried fruits
- blueberries
- chopped apples (also add cinnamon and nuts)
- flavored extracts in the batter or frosting: lemon. orange, maple, anise,
- zest of orange or lemon 1 tablespoon in combination with extracts
- pumpkin seeds and cinnamon
- spread with jam and coconut on top
- chocolate frosting instead of vanilla with mini chocolate chips
- add a pinch of cinnamon
Nutrition Facts
Calories
142.08Fat (grams)
6.43 gSat. Fat (grams)
3.96 gCarbs (grams)
19.92 gFiber (grams)
0.4 gNet carbs
19.52 gSugar (grams)
9.98 gProtein (grams)
1.58 gSodium (milligrams)
113.38 mgCholesterol (grams)
21.73 mgThe default measuring system for this website is US Customary. Unit conversions are provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. While we strive to provide accurate unit conversions, please be aware that there may be some discrepancies.
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