Iced Tangerine Crackles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
¾ cup (1.5 sticks) butter, softened
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated tangerine zest
2 large egg yolks – room temperature
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 cups flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
Beat the butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on med-high speed until smooth. Add the sugar and citrus zest and continue to beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. (The creaming is important to get a great texture, so don’t skip this step.) Add the yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the extract.
Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, mixing on low speed to make a soft dough.
Scoop the dough into rounded spoonfuls – or use a cookie scoop. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on prepared pans. Freeze for about 30 minutes. (Or up to one month at this point.)
Bake cookies straight from the freezer until edges are firm and bottoms are lightly browned – 15 – 17 minutes. Transfer to cool on a wire rack.
For icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons orange colored sanding sugar (found in the baking section)
1 tablespoon tangerine zest
2 – 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed tangerine juice
Mix the powdered sugar, colored sugar and zest in a medium bowl. Add the tangerine juice and stir until smooth. Dip the rounded side of the cookie into the icing and let set until dry.
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
