I probably shouldn’t admit how much cookie dough I ate while creating these orange, ginger, white chocolate cookies — in my defense though, I had to make sure all the flavor notes were coming through, as they should. With the Holidays quickly approaching, I wanted a dessert that had the feel of the holidays but could also be enjoyed anytime of the year — these cookies are it!

They stem from my love of citrus in December. The smell of citrus itself reminds me of Christmas because December is the prime month for oranges and we always have plenty of oranges on hand around the Holidays!

These cookies are thin, crisp, and bright. With a vibrant flavor of orange and just a touch of ginger, dipped in a creamy white chocolate. They’re the perfect little sweet treat.

There are a few things that make these cookies absolutely incredible. First is the flavor profile. I chose the flavors and the form for which I added them, strategically. I used dried ginger in comparison to fresh ginger, because fresh ginger has such a strong bite, it can easily over power its companions, not to mention, if you take a bite of something with fresh ginger in it and the ginger isn’t cooked enough, it’s a BITE, if ya know what I mean. The second ingredient is the orange. In this case I used both orange zest and orange juice, because I wanted the fresh flavor. Orange zest, is wonderful to bake with, because it delivers a big flavor in a small quantity.

The second thing that is key to the success of these cookies is chilled dough. In order to get a thin and crisp cookie, the dough needs to be chilled for a minimum of an hour, prior to rolling it out. Otherwise the dough will be too soft and it won’t roll out. It’s also important to make sure that the dough gets rolled out super thin. Then when the cookies bake, they’re crisp. If the dough isn’t rolled out thin enough, you’ll end up with more of a sugar cookie, rather than a tea cookie.

The final tip for these cookies, relates to the white chocolate. See white chocolate doesn’t melt as easily as regular milk chocolate, because it’s actually not ‘real’ chocolate, in the sense that it’s not made from cacao. White chocolate is made up of sugar, milk, cocoa butter, and vanilla, meaning if you melt it, and then try to add flavors to it (like orange zest and ginger,) it seizes up, so to speak. So how do we combat this? A little half and half. When the white chocolate is melted in the microwave, add in a little half and half. The cream helps keep the white chocolate soft when the ginger and orange zest are added.

Alright, let’s get to baking!

How to make Orange, Ginger, White Chocolate Cookies

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1. In a mixing bowl use an electric hand mixer to combine the softened butter, white sugar, and orange juice. Then add in the egg and mix for about 30 seconds. Then add in the Vanilla Extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, orange zest, ginger and baking soda.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Starting on low, gently increase the speed of the hand mixer until the wet and dry ingredients are combined.

4. Using a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and shape the dough into a ball.

5. Lay a section of plastic wrap on the counter. Transfer the cookie dough to the plastic wrap and then use your hands to shape it into a ball.

6. Wrap the plastic wrap around your ball and place it in the fridge for at least an hour.

8. Preheat the oven to 350° Fahrenheit.

9. Once the hour is up. Sprinkle flour on the countertop. Take your dough out of the plastic wrap and place it on the floured surface. Sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out, so it’s 1/8″ thick. Then using a cookie cutter, cut circles in the dough.

10. Place the cookie dough circles onto a cookie sheet and bake for 9-10 minutes, depending on how brown you want the cookies to be. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the White Chocolate

11. In a microwave safe bowl combine the white chocolate and half and half. Microwave for a minute or until melted. Stir the chocolate until smooth.

12. Add the orange zest and ginger to the white chocolate, stir to combine. (If the white chocolate starts to seize up at all, add in a little more half and half and microwave it for a few more seconds. Stirring it frequently, until the white chocolate reaches the desired consistency.)

13. Before you dip the cookies into the white chocolate, line a cookie sheet with plastic wrap.

14. Then dip the cookies halfway into the melted white chocolate. (Use a knife, as needed, to smooth out the chocolate.) Place the cookies onto the plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for 15 minutes, to harden the chocolate.

15. Remove the cookies from the freezer. Eat immediately or store in an airtight container and save for later.