Orange Coconut Butterballs | What’s Cookin’ Italian Style Cuisine

These buttery orange cookies are the kind of old-fashioned cookie that disappears quickly from the cookie tray.

They’re rich and tender from plenty of butter, delicately flavored with fresh orange zest, and finished with your choice of sweet coconut flakes or crunchy chopped pecans.

The combination of buttery shortbread, bright orange flavor, and your favorite add-ins makes these cookies perfect for Christmas cookie trays, holiday baking, afternoon coffee, or simply keeping a batch in the cookie jar.

If you’re a fan of orange desserts, these cookies are totally adaptable, and the mix-ins we suggest can change this easy recipe to fit your cookie collections.

You may also know these cookies as snowballs, pecan butterballs, Mexican wedding cakes, Mexican tea cakes, Russian teacakes, butterball cookies, pecan sandies, or Viennese sugar butterballs.

Whatever your family names them, they are a delicious, delicate buttery addition to your cookie recipe collection!

Why You Will Love This Recipe for Orange Coconut Butterball Cookies

• Buttery and tender: Two sticks of softened butter give these cookies their rich, delicate texture.
• Fresh orange flavor: Fresh orange zest adds a natural citrus flavor that orange extract alone can’t provide.
• Two delicious options: Make them with coconut flakes for a softer, chewy texture or chopped pecans for a little crunch.
• Simple pantry ingredients: You probably have most of the ingredients already.
• Perfect for holidays: The orange flavor makes these especially nice for Christmas cookie platters and cookie exchanges.
• Easy to customize: There are plenty of ways to change the flavor with different nuts, extracts, spices, and mix-ins.

Variations and Mix-ins for Orange Butterballs

• Mini chocolate chips: Add chocolate for an orange-chocolate combination.
• White chocolate chips: White chocolate pairs beautifully with orange.
• Toasted pecans: Toast the pecans first for deeper flavor.
• Walnuts: Substitute chopped walnuts for the pecans.
• Almonds: Chopped almonds give the cookies a slightly different crunch.
• Dried cranberries: Add chopped dried cranberries for a festive sweet-tart flavor.
• Dried cherries: Orange and cherries make a wonderful combination.
• Candied orange peel: Add finely chopped candied orange peel for an extra citrus boost.
• Lemon zest: Replace some or all of the orange zest with lemon zest.
• Cranberry and pecan: Combine dried cranberries and chopped pecans for a holiday cookie.
• Coconut and white chocolate: A particularly good combination for a sweeter cookie.
• Cardamom: Add a small amount of ground cardamom for a fragrant citrus-spice flavor.

Tips

• Use fresh orange zest. Freshly grated zest provides much more flavor than dried orange peel.
  Don’t grate into the white part of the orange. The white pith can add bitterness.
• Soften the butter properly. The butter should be soft enough to mix easily but not melted or greasy.
• Sift the powdered sugar. This helps create a smoother dough.
  Don’t overmix the flour. Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing. Overmixing can make cookies tougher.
• Chop your add-ins fairly small. Smaller pieces distribute throughout the dough more evenly and make the cookies easier to shape and eat.
• Try toasted nuts. If using pecans or walnuts, lightly toasting them before adding them to the dough can bring out their natural flavor.
• Chill the dough if needed. If your dough feels too soft to work with, refrigerate it before shaping or baking. This can also help the cookies hold their shape.
• Let the cookies cool. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet briefly before transferring them to a cooling rack. They’ll become more stable as they cool.

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Favorite Flavor Combinations

• Orange Pecan Cookies: Use chopped pecans and orange zest for a classic buttery cookie with a crunchy nutty finish.
• Orange Coconut Cookies: Use coconut flakes for a softer texture and subtle tropical flavor.
• Orange Chocolate Cookies: Add mini chocolate chips or drizzle the cooled cookies with melted chocolate.
• Cranberry Orange Cookies: Add chopped dried cranberries for a beautiful holiday combination.
• Orange Almond Cookies: Use chopped almonds and a little almond extract along with the orange zest.
• Lemon Orange Cookies: Use a combination of lemon and orange zest for a bright citrus cookie.

orange butter cookies, orange snowball cookies, orange and coconut cookies

cookie recipes

American

Yield: 30

Author: Claudia Lamascolo

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Orange Snowball Butterballs

An orange cookie that looks like a snowball with a buttery crunch and powdered sugar coating

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinInactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 30 M

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 1/4 cups coconut flakes (or add pecans, coarsely chopped for non coconut lovers)
• 2 sticks butter (softened) (1 cup)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar( sifted)
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of orange zest (orange part only)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toast coconut (place on a baking sheet and spread out evenly, bake for about 10 minutes, until golden, watch it closely it will burn)
3. In a mixing bowl beat butter on medium-high with an electric mixer until smooth, add vanilla and coconut extract, and continue mixing.
4. Slowly add 1 1/4 cups of powdered sugar and blend well.
5. Beat in the flour, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt just until it forms a ball.
6. Remove the beaters and fold in the coconut with a spoon.
7. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours.
8. Let the dough rest on the counter for a few minutes to allow it to soften slightly.
9. Place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
10. Using a melon baller, or a tablespoon, get one level scoop (tablespoon) of dough for each cookie.
11. Roll dough into balls with your hands and place on prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.
12. Bake for about 15-20 minutes.
13. Cool on sheets for 5 minutes and roll hot cookies in remaining powdered sugar.
14. Cool and roll in powdered sugar again. Store in an airtight container.

Notes

Variations and Mix-ins for Orange Butterballs

• Mini chocolate chips: Add chocolate for an orange-chocolate combination.
• White chocolate chips: White chocolate pairs beautifully with orange.
• Toasted pecans: Toast the pecans first for deeper flavor.
• Walnuts: Substitute chopped walnuts for the pecans.
• Almonds: Chopped almonds give the cookies a slightly different crunch.
• Dried cranberries: Add chopped dried cranberries for a festive sweet-tart flavor.
• Dried cherries: Orange and cherries make a wonderful combination.
• Candied orange peel: Add finely chopped candied orange peel for an extra citrus boost.
• Lemon zest: Replace some or all of the orange zest with lemon zest.
• Cranberry and pecan: Combine dried cranberries and chopped pecans for a holiday cookie.
• Coconut and white chocolate: A particularly good combination for a sweeter cookie.
• Cardamom: Add a small amount of ground cardamom for a fragrant citrus-spice flavor.

Tips

• Use fresh orange zest. Freshly grated zest provides much more flavor than dried orange peel. Don’t grate into the white part of the orange. The white pith can add bitterness.
• Soften the butter properly. The butter should be soft enough to mix easily but not melted or greasy.
• Sift the powdered sugar. This helps create a smoother dough. Don’t overmix the flour. Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing. Overmixing can make cookies tougher.
• Chop your add-ins fairly small. Smaller pieces distribute throughout the dough more evenly and make the cookies easier to shape and eat.
• Try toasted nuts. If using pecans or walnuts, lightly toasting them before adding them to the dough can bring out their natural flavor.
• Chill the dough if needed. If your dough feels too soft to work with, refrigerate it before shaping or baking. This can also help the cookies hold their shape.
• Let the cookies cool. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet briefly before transferring them to a cooling rack. They’ll become more stable as they cool.

Favorite Flavor Combinations

• Orange Pecan Cookies: Use chopped pecans and orange zest for a classic buttery cookie with a crunchy nutty finish.
• Orange Coconut Cookies: Use coconut flakes for a softer texture and subtle tropical flavor.
• Orange Chocolate Cookies: Add mini chocolate chips or drizzle the cooled cookies with melted chocolate.
• Cranberry Orange Cookies: Add chopped dried cranberries for a beautiful holiday combination.
• Orange Almond Cookies: Use chopped almonds and a little almond extract along with the orange zest.
• Lemon Orange Cookies: Use a combination of lemon and orange zest for a bright citrus cookie

Nutrition Facts

Sodium (milligrams)

89 mg

Cholesterol (grams)

16 mg

The 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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