Orange Cream Star Cookies

Yields 72 cookies to make 36 sandwiches.

To learn more, read:
Cookies That Look As Great As They Taste
by Melissa Murphy
from Fine Cooking
Issue 42
Last Edit Date: 3/6/2013 4:33:40 PM

The cookies can be made ahead and frozen. The orange cream may be refrigerated for several days; soften it at room temperature before using it.

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For the cookies:

3 oz. cream cheese, softened
8 oz. (16 Tbs. or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs. freshly grated orange zest
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp.pure vanilla extract
12 oz. (2-2/3 cups) all-purpose flour

Tip:

For the best results, measure your flour by weight instead of volume. (1 cup of all-purpose flour equals 4-1/2 oz.) If you don’t have a scale, be sure to use the proper technique when filling your measuring cups.

For the orange cream filling:

1/4 lb. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar; more for dusting
1 Tbs. freshly grated orange zest
2 tsp. orange juice

Heat the oven to 350°F. Line several baking sheets with parchment. Dab a few drops of water between the pan and the paper to help keep the paper on the baking sheet as you pipe the cookies.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, sugar, orange zest, egg yolk, and vanilla with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 4 minutes. Gradually mix in the flour.

Fill a large pastry bag fitted with a 1/2-inch star tip about two-thirds of the way full. Twist the opening closed and squeeze out generous 1-1/2-inch stars, spacing them about 1-1/2 inches apart on the prepared sheets. To get the best shapes, hold the bag straight up and down with the edge of the tip just barely touching the baking sheet. Squeeze the bag firmly until the shape is as wide as you like. Stop squeezing and push the tip down slightly. Give the tip a slight twist as you pull it up and away.

Bake the cookies until the edges just begin to brown, about 20 minutes. Set the baking sheet on a rack until the cookies are cool enough to remove with a spatula without distorting their shape.

Beat the filling ingredients together until smooth, about 5 minutes. Line half of the cookies upside down on a piece of parchment. Fit a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch plain tip and fill it with the orange cream. Pipe approximately 1/2 tsp. filling onto each cookie base. Place another cookie, right side up, sandwich style, on top. Press down lightly to adhere. Refrigerate until set. Dust the cookies lightly with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

nutrition information (per serving):
Size : per cookie sandwich; Calories (kcal): 140; Fat (g): 9; Fat Calories (kcal): 80; Saturated Fat (g): 5; Protein (g): 1; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3; Carbohydrates (g): 15; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 0; Sodium (mg): 10; Cholesterol (mg): 30; Fiber (g): 0;

Photo: Scott Phillips

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by Kookabura, 4/20/2013The Cookies are very good. My only Problem was to push the Dough through the muzzle. But I'll try it again with a bigger muzzle ;)

by bakesalot, 12/1/2012Loved the idea of this cookie. It looks delicious. But follow-through is not easy. I guess I could have a stronger hand and be more experienced with a pastry bag, but I had a really tough time squeezing out the dough, even after I massaged it in the bag to warm it up. I just baked the first tray of them, and within 12 minutes, they were too brown at the tips and edges. I'll be tossing the whole thing. Also, I've made lots of iced cookies, and the amount of powdered sugar looks way inadequate for the amounts of butter and juice. I'm not sure that refrigerating the cookies to harden up the icing would do the trick; moreover, though freezing cookies is fine, refrigerating them ruins the texture. If I were going to complete the recipe, I'd add a lot more sugar to the icing. Incidentally, I looked up this recipe after seeing it in the $10 cookie magazine at the newstand, and found it online gratis. After I bought the monthly magazine last month, I found in it a feature recipe that I'd already made from another free online recipe here. Another failure. That said, I have to add that I am, overall, very pleased with the Fine Cooking recipes despite a disappointment here and there. It is still my favorite food magazine.

by DivaDog, 11/28/2009I have to agree -- this is a great cookie. The weekend after Thanksgiving is traditionally my time to try out several new cookie recipes in prep for Christmas gift giving. These will make a beautiful and delicious addition. The orange flavor will be a nice break from, and compliment to, the normal chocolate, nuts, and raspberry jam (but who's complaining there?!). My only tip is to be aware that the cookie dough is a bit thick at first and rather difficult to pipe out. After a few minutes the heat from your hands begins to soften the dough and it gets much easier. Because I had only one orange there wasn't enough zest for both the cookie and the filling so I added a drop of 2 of orange oil to the filling which brought up the orange flavor just a bit..

by AngiePins, 2/14/2009These cookies are delicious.They look complecated,however the recipe is easy and full of flavour. They make a great gift for someone,as they look spectacular and tasty when put together!

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Orange Cream Star Cookies

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