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May the 4th be with you! These ARE the cookies you’re looking for. Deliciously tart cookies with a creamy citrus buttercream center. Fresh orange zest baked into buttery cookies really make these galactic sandwiches come alive!
I know there is a lot of opinions on the the new movies, I have mine as well, but we will always have the original trilogy. Personally I love the dialog from the prequels the most. I mean think of the memes we would have missed out on!
Back to the recipe…
MAKING THE COOKIES
First you make the dough, which is a simple butter cookie recipe. I added some fresh zest to get that extra flavor force, but BE CAREFUL with the citrus extract—it can easily be too strong. Make sure to measure it properly. In order for the dough to be easily cut, it needs to chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight.
Roll out the dough on a floured surface and cut out with cookie cutters. I got my Star Wars cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma. I think they have even more shapes now than when I got mine.
Make sure you don’t over bake the cookies, you want them to still be a bit soft in the middle. They shouldn’t get too browned, just barely golden on the edges.
The icing is pretty much an American buttercream with some fresh squeezed orange juice. I added a tiny bit of lemon extract to punch up the citrus. Don’t add too much lemon extract, it can be very strong. Taste it first to see if you even need it.
Assemble the sandwiches, place a dollop of frosting on backside of one cookie and press another cookie on top.
These cookies are so good that I am in AGONY. The closer I get to them the worse it gets. (Sorry I had to do it.)
Orange Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
COOKIES
- 1 cup butter softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 ½ cups flour
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 orange zest
- ¼ tsp orange extract
- ¼ tsp lemon extract
FILLING
- ½ cup butter softened
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- ½ tsp orange zest
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp lemon extract *optional
- 1 tbsp milk or cream
- Orange food coloring
Instructions
- Cream butter and sugar in a mixer, using paddle attachment, till light and fluffy.
- Add in egg, orange zest, and flavor extracts. Mix well.
- In another bowl whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder. Add into the wet ingredients and beat until the dough is well combined. Should come away from sides with no flour visible.
- Split dough into 3 balls and smash each down to a thick disk. Separate by wax paper or parchment. Store in a baggie or container and refrigerate for 2 hours to overnight.
- When ready to cut cookies, let dough come to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out one disk of dough to ¼ of an inch thick. You may need to lift up dough and add more flour underneath to make sure cut cookies don’t stick to the surface.
- Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out shapes. Place cookies on cookie sheets.
- Bake for 8-11 minutes. Take out of the oven before the cookies get browned.
FILLING
- Using a mixer or just a fork, mix together the butter, confectioners sugar, zest, orange juice, flavor extract, milk, and food coloring.
- Stir until soft and creamy with no lumps.
- Let cookies cool completely before frosting.
- Using a spoon, dollop frosting on the back of one cookie and sandwich with a matching half.
