These Eggless Orange Crinkle Cookies are soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and bursting with bright citrus flavor. Made with fresh orange juice and orange zest, these cookies have a beautiful crinkled sugar coating, crisp edges, and tender centers that practically dissolve in every bite.
If you love orange desserts, these homemade orange cookies are a must-bake. They are easy to make, require no dough chilling, and fill the kitchen with the most incredible fresh orange aroma. Whether you're baking for the holidays, gifting cookies, or simply craving a citrusy treat, these Eggless Orange Crinkle Cookies are always a winner.
About Eggless Orange Crinkle Cookies
Orange is one of my favorite flavors in baking. While chocolate and vanilla often get most of the attention, citrus desserts have a brightness and freshness that make them equally irresistible.
These Orange Crinkle Cookies remind me of the orange cream biscuits I loved growing up. The combination of fresh orange juice, fragrant orange zest, and buttery cookie dough creates a cookie that feels both nostalgic and comforting.
The double sugar coating is what gives these cookies their signature appearance. Rolling the dough first in granulated sugar, then in powdered sugar, creates beautiful cracks as the cookies bake. The result is a bakery-style crinkle cookie with a snowy exterior and a soft, tender center.
The best part? Unlike many crinkle cookie recipes, this dough comes together quickly and does not require chilling, making it perfect for busy days and last-minute baking.
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Bright Citrus Flavor: Fresh orange juice and orange zest create vibrant orange flavor in every bite.
- Perfect Texture: Slightly crisp on the outside with soft, tender, melt-in-the-mouth centers.
- No Eggs Required: A wonderful cookie recipe for readers with egg allergies or anyone baking without eggs.
- Beautiful Crinkle Appearance: The sugar coating creates gorgeous bakery-style cracks.
- No Dough Chilling: The dough comes together quickly and can be baked immediately.
- Easy Everyday Ingredients: Made with simple pantry staples and fresh oranges.
- Perfect For Holidays and Gifting: These festive orange cookies look beautiful on cookie platters and dessert trays.
- Freezer Friendly: Both baked cookies and cookie dough freeze wonderfully.
Ingredients and Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: Provides structure and creates soft, tender cookies. I recommend unbleached all-purpose flour for the best results.
- Baking Powder: Helps the cookies rise slightly and contributes to their soft, cakey texture.
- Salt: Balances sweetness and enhances the orange flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: Use softened butter at room temperature. Properly creamed butter creates light and tender cookies.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness while helping create a delicate cookie structure.
- Fresh Orange Juice: Squeezed from fresh oranges, it provides natural citrus flavor and freshness.
- Orange Zest: The zest contains the orange oils that provide the strongest citrus flavor. Do not skip it.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds warmth and rounds out the bright citrus notes.
- Orange Extract: Optional, but highly recommended if you love intense orange flavor.
- Orange Food Color: Completely optional, but it gives the cookies a cheerful orange hue.
- Granulated Sugar and Icing Sugar: The double coating creates the signature crinkle effect and slight crunch.
How To Make Eggless Orange Crinkle Cookies
Making The Dough
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- Set it aside.
- For the coating, combine 3 tablespoon of granulated sugar and ⅓ cup of icing sugar in two separate bowls.
- Set them aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Instead of a stand mixer, you can also use a hand-held electric mixer.
- Cream the butter and sugar with a paddle attachment, starting at low speed and then increasing to medium-high speed, until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Now add orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract, orange extract, and a few drops of orange color.
- Adding orange extract and food color is optional. However, without food coloring, the cookies will be a different color.
- Mix until well combined. However, the mixture will be curdled due to the orange juice, which is perfectly fine.
- To this wet mixture, add the flour mixture and continue mixing very gently until everything is just combined.
- Then, using a spatula or your hands, form a dough.
- However, do not overmix or knead the dough.
Baking Orange Crinkle Cookies
- Scoop the dough with a small ice cream scoop or spoon, roll it into a ball, then flatten it slightly.
- Roll the cookie ball in granulated sugar first, then in icing sugar, and place it on the baking sheet.
- Continue with the rest of the dough and place the coated cookie balls on the baking sheet, keeping them at least an inch apart.
Tip: This cookie dough will be very soft and might be sticky. So if you find it very hard to make dough balls, keep the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, continue with the rest of the procedure.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes.
- Then transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Variations
Add White Chocolate: Fold ½ cup white chocolate chips into the dough.
Orange Cardamom Crinkle Cookies: Add ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom for a lovely citrus-spice combination.
Vegan Cookies: Use vegan butter instead of dairy butter.
Orange Almond Cookies: Add ¼ teaspoon almond extract for a bakery-style flavor twist.
How To Store Orange Crinkle Cookies
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Freezer: Freeze baked cookies in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Make-Ahead
Refrigerate the Dough: Prepare the dough up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it tightly covered.
Freeze Cookie Dough: Roll dough into balls and freeze for up to 3 months. Coat with sugars before baking and add 1-2 extra minutes to the baking time.
Baking Tips For Orange Crinkle Cookies
Measure Flour Correctly: Too much flour is one of the most common reasons cookies become dry. For the best results, use a kitchen scale. If measuring by cups, fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off.
Use Properly Softened Butter: The butter should be soft enough to leave an indentation when pressed, but not melted. Properly softened butter creams beautifully with sugar, creating tender Orange Crinkle Cookies.
Do Not Skip Orange Zest: Orange zest contains concentrated citrus oils that provide most of the orange's flavor. Fresh zest makes a noticeable difference.
Avoid the White Pith: When zesting oranges, only grate the orange-colored part. The white pith beneath tastes bitter and can affect the cookies' flavor.
Don't Overmix the Dough: Mix only until the ingredients are combined. Overmixing develops gluten and can make cookies tough.
Generously Coat with Sugar: A thick layer of icing sugar helps create dramatic cracks and a classic crinkle-cookie appearance.
If the Dough Feels Sticky: Humidity, flour brands, and orange size can affect dough consistency. If needed, chill the dough for 15-30 minutes before rolling.
Watch Baking Time Carefully: For soft cookies, remove them around the 12-minute mark. Longer baking creates a crispier cookie.
More Orange Baked Goods
Orange Crinkle Cookies (Eggless)
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (114g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (60ml) fresh orange juice
- 2 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract (optional)
- A few drops of orange food color (optional)
For Coating
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line the baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Set it aside.
- Take 3 tablespoon of granulated sugar and ⅓ cup of icing sugar in two separate bowls for the coating. Set them aside.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until well combined.
- Place butter and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Instead of a stand mixer, you can also use a hand-held electric mixer.
- Cream the butter and sugar using a paddle attachment, initially at low speed and then at medium to high speed, until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Now add orange juice, orange zest, vanilla extract, orange extract, and a few drops of orange color.
- Mix until well combined. However, the mixture will be curdled due to orange juice, which is perfectly fine.
- To this wet mixture, add flour mixture slowly and continue mixing very gently until everything is just combined.
- Using a spatula or hands, bring the mixture together to form a soft dough. Do not overmix or knead the dough.
- Scoop the dough using a small ice cream scoop or a spoon, roll into a ball and flatten it slightly.
- Roll the cookie ball into granulated sugar first and then roll into icing sugar and place it on the baking sheet.
- Continue with the rest of the dough and place the coated cookie balls on the baking sheet, keeping them at least an inch apart.
- Bake the cookies in the preheated oven for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for 3-4 minutes. Then transfer the cookies onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely.
Storing Suggestions
- These cookies are great as cookie jar cookies. They can stay at room temperature for two weeks, stored in an airtight container.
- Orange crinkle cookies also freeze well. Store them in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to a month.
Make-Ahead
- Refrigerate The Dough: You can make this cookie dough in advance. First, make the dough, cover it tightly and place it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then bring it to room temperature before rolling and baking.
- Freezing The Dough: Roll the cookie balls from the dough and fridge them tightly covered for up to 3 months. Then coat them with sugar and bake them without thawing. However, allow a few minutes of extra baking time.
Notes
- Measurements: For the perfect cookies, make sure to measure the flour and other ingredients correctly. Use the kitchen scale for the best result. If using the cup method, fluff your flour with the spoon and then spoon it into a measuring cup. Then level it off with the knife.
- Butter: It should be softened to room temperature before beating it with sugar. Cold butter will prevent the cookies from spreading, and warm butter will make the cookies flat.
- Orange Juice and Zest: Use the freshly squeezed orange juice for the best flavor. If you use a blender to make orange juice, make sure to remove the seeds. The seeds make the juice bitter, and bitter juice will ruin the taste of the cookies. Orange zest enhances the flavor of cookies. Do not skip it. Also, zest only the orange part and avoid the white part of the peel.
- Dough: The dough will be very soft, but it should not be sticky. But if your dough is sticky and hard to roll the cookie balls, refrigerate the dough for at least 15-30 minutes. Roll it into balls after chilling the dough, coat it with sugar, and bake the cookies.
- Baking Time: I have baked the cookies for 12 minutes, making the cookies slightly crispy at the edges with a soft interior. But for the crunchier cookies, bake them for 14-15 minutes.
Nutrition (Approximate Values)
Ash says
Want to try. Thanks soo much. looking for eggless recipes.
:):):)
Jigna says
Hope you will try soon.?
Deepti kothari says
Hi iam deepti from ahmedabad, India
I like all your recipe but my question is if i dont have fresh orange juice and orange zest so can i use orange essence? Plz reply me soon.
Jigna says
Hi Deepti, these cookies are all about bursting orange flavour. So adding orange juice enhances the flavour. But you can still make it without orange juice. Use 2-4 tbsp of milk or water instead of orange juice. First add 2tbsp of milk or water and if dough does not come together then add more milk or water, one tbsp at a time. But make sure to use orange extract or essence for some orange flavour. Also if you have store bought orange juice, you can use that too.
Hope this will help and please update how did it turn out after you make it. Thanks Deepti for visiting and liking my recipes.?❤
Anonymous says
Can use wheat flour instead of palin flour(maida)
?
Jigna says
Hi, yes, you can use whole wheat flour instead of plain flour. But you might need to add 2-3 tbsp of milk to make the dough soft otherwise, cookies will be dense. And also expect a little different outcome than the original recipe. If you are making it with whole wheat flour, please share your experience. Thank you so much for visiting.?
Aarti says
Hey Jigna,
This recipe is outstanding. It tastes heavenly. I loved how moist and flavourful they are. Thank you. 🙂
Jigna says
Hi Aarti, thank you so much! I am glad that you like the cookies.😊
Nidhi Dave says
I used wheat flour and 1/3 of the plain flour everything else I did as per the recipe I also added 3 tbsp of milk as written in one of the comments, if we use wheat flour. But unfortunately the biscuits did not turn out so nice in taste they were bitter in taste. When to take a bite they taste amazing but as you chew them and take it down your throat they leave a very bitter taste in your mouth. One more thing I noticed is they were quite soft and not crunchy.
Jigna says
Hi Nidhi, I am sorry that this recipe did not work for you.
The reason for bitter cookies can be bitter orange juice. Or, if you use orange zest with white part, cookies can become bitter. Cookies may also taste different because of whole wheat flour.
These cookies are supposed to be soft and moist, but you may need to bake them for a few minutes more for crunchy cookies.
Zoe says
Hi, can I use gluten free flour for these? (The store bought gf flour I want to use is a blend of rice flour, maize and tapioca starch as well as thickeners)
Jigna says
Hi, check the back of the bag, and if it mentions substituting one cup of all-purpose flour with one cup of GF flour, then you are okay to use the GF flour for this recipe. However, I suggest half the recipe and try to make sure.
Melanie Ham says
Can these be made with non-dairy butter substitute, like stick margarine?
Jigna says
Hi, I have not tried making these cookies with non-dairy butter, so I can not say anything with guarantee.
But, if you have tried other cookie recipes with stick margarine successfully, you can half this recipe and bake the cookies for the trial.
Dante says
I am a huge fan of crinkle cookies and these have become my new FAVOURITE go-to recipe! Is it possible to adapt these with other citrus flavours like lemon or lime? And if so, can one just do the same amount of zest, juice and essence?
Jigna says
That makes me so happy to hear—thank you so much! I’m thrilled these have become your new favorite crinkle cookies.
Yes, you can absolutely adapt this recipe with other citrus flavors like lemon. You can use the same amount of zest, but I’d suggest starting with slightly less juice since lemons are more acidic than orange. Add 2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice and if the dough does not come together add a little milk. I’d love to hear how it turns out!