Orange Clove Christmas Cookies – Festive Spiced Shortbread

Orange Clove Christmas Cookies are a delightful cross between buttery shortbread and classic gingerbread. Soft, crumbly, and infused with the cozy flavours of orange, honey, molasses, and aromatic spices, they taste like pure holiday warmth. Finished with a silky orange glaze and a hint of Cointreau, these cookies are the essence of festive baking.

Hey, folks – I hope everyone is doing well!

Today I am excited to share with you another festive recipe for delicious and beautiful cookies. Because “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, and we cannot leave him without any cookies. And addressing your possible concern, yes – Santa doesn’t mind cookies with alcohol. Indeed, he would love more cookies like this. I confirmed :) So let’s dive into these festive Orange Clove Christmas Cookies

Why You’ll Like These Festive Orange Clove Christmas Cookies

• They combine the crisp, buttery richness of shortbread with the warm spice depth and chewiness of gingerbread.
• The cookies themselves are lightly sweet, so when combined with glaze, their sweetness is not overwhelming.
• The citrus brightness (from orange zest, juice, and optional dehydrated slices) cuts through the sweetness, keeping them lively.
• The glaze adds a burst of sweetness plus a hint of bitter-citrus (if using Cointreau) that balances things beautifully.
• They’re festive in both flavor and presentation – stamped patterns, spiced scent, glistening glaze.

Orange Clove Christmas Cookies: Texture and Flavour Profile

These Orange Clove Christmas Cookies are buttery and crumbly, leaning into shortbread territory, but with a bit more chew and depth because of the molasses, honey, and spiced additions. After baking and glazing (then giving them a quick trip back into the oven), the glaze becomes crisp and cracked on top, adding an appealing contrast to the chewy cookie beneath.

When these bake, your kitchen fills with aromas of clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and orange – unmistakably festive. I also added in dehydrated orange slices (finely chopped), which lend a bit of chew and extra citrus punch. (If you don’t, orange zest works just fine.)

And the glaze? Sweet and refreshing and with a good hint of Cointreau which adds some pleasant bitterness and balances out the sweetness. Of course, you can skip the glaze, but why would you do this? If you consider skipping it though, you might need to adjust the sweetness of your dough.

Also, I used a cookie stamp for this recipe, but you can definitely use a regular cookie cutter. While stamping makes these cookies look quite beautiful, the process can be a bit more challenging and time-consuming.

Ingredients You’ll Need for Orange Clove Christmas Cookies

• Butter – The foundation of these cookies, butter gives richness, tenderness, and that classic melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Honey – Adds a soft sweetness, moisture, and a lovely chewiness.
• Molasses – Brings depth, colour, and a gentle bitterness that balances the sweetness.
• Flour – Gives the cookies structure and helps them hold their stamped or cut shapes.
• Spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, clove, allspice) – The heart of these cookies! Together they create that warm, cozy aroma. Feel free to adjust them to your preference or use a pre-mixed “pumpkin spice” or “mixed spice” blend for convenience.
• Orange zest – Provides bright citrus aroma and freshness. You can also add finely chopped dehydrated or candied orange slices for extra flavour and texture.
• Vanilla extract – Rounds out the flavours and adds a sweet, comforting note. Almond extract or orange extract can be fun alternatives for a twist.
• Salt – Just a touch enhances all the other flavours and prevents the cookies from tasting flat.
• Icing sugar (for the glaze) – Forms a smooth, crisp finish once baked again.
• Orange juice – Adds tang and brightness to the glaze. .
• Cointreau (optional) – Brings a touch of boozy, bitter-orange depth. You can substitute it with another citrus liqueur or simply skip it and use more juice. Or you can skip orange juice and use more liqueur.
• Ground clove (in glaze) – Echoes the cookie spices, tying the glaze and dough together for a beautifully cohesive flavour.

More Delicious Festive Cookie Ideas

If you like these gingerbread shortbread Orange Clove Cookies, be sure to check more ideas:

• Soft Ginger Christmas Cookies with Orange Clove Glaze
• Chocolate Chestnut Shortbread Cookies – A Luxurious Christmas Bake
• Cranberry Rosemary Christmas Shortbread Wreath Cookies
• Gingersnap Cookies: The Less-Sweet Holiday Classic
• Festive Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies
• Festive Spiced Shortbread Cookies for Santa
• Festive Orange Rosemary Shortbread Cookies with Cointreau Glaze
• Christmas Candy Cane Shortbread Cookies with Mint Chocolate
• Orange Pecan Toffee Shortbread Cookies
• Orange Almond Gingerbread Cookies – Festive Gluten-Free Christmas Recipe

I hope you like these Orange Clove Christmas Cookies, and you will make them a try. If you make it, let me know in this post or send me an Instagram message or share your photos adding the hashtag #havocinthekitchen.

Cheers!

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Orange Clove Christmas Cookies – Festive Spiced Shortbread

Recipe by Ben | Havocinthekitchen

4.8 from 6 votes

Course: Cookies, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Boozy Desserts and TreatsDifficulty: Easy

Orange Clove Cookies is a cross between a shortbread cookie and gingerbread. It is buttery and crumbly and packed with seasonal flavours such as orange, honey, molasses, and spices.

Servings

18-25

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Chilling time

30

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Cookies

• 170 g. butter, softened

• 2 tbsp. (40 g) honey

• 2 tbsp. (40 g) fancy molasses

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 large orange, zested

• few dehydrated orange rings, finely chopped (optional)

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp. ginger or more, to taste

• 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg or more, to taste

• 1/4 tsp. cardamom

• a pinch of clove and allspice, each

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

• 2 and 1/2 cups flour (300 g)

• Glaze:

• 1 and 1/4 cup (about 150 g) icing sugar

• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) orange juice
  or slightly more

• 2 tbsp. (30 ml) Cointreau
  or slightly more

• a little pinch of clove

Directions

• In a bowl, using a mixer, cream the butter, honey, molasses, vanilla, and salt on medium speed, around a minute or so.
• Add the spices and orange zest, beat for 10 seconds to incorporate.
• Gradually stir in the flour, mixing with a whisk first then with a spoon, until the dough forms; it will be soft and pliable and a tad of sticky. You can always adjust the consistency by dusting with a bit flour or adding a few drops of water or milk – if it’s too tough. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• If you are using a cookie stamp, shape a small piece of dough (1 tsp to 1 tbsp.) into a ball. Now, normally it’s recommended to roll the dough into the sugar as it will help with releasing the stamped cookie. I did not want to use extra sugar, so I opted for dusting with a bit flour, both the dough ball and the cookie stamp.
• Press the flour-dusted stamp over a ball of dough also dusted with flour, then firmly press down on the dough, until it flattens and spreads out all the way to the edge of the stamp. Carefully pull the dough off the stamp and set onto the baking sheet. If you have the uneven edges, use a smaller round cookie cutter to cut the pressed cookie and trim off. Reuse the scraps.
• If you don’t have or don’t want to use stamps, simply roll out the chilled dough and cut it using cookie cutters.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (~175 degrees C). Arrange the cookies on lined sheet(s)
• Bake for about 10-14 minutes (depending on size and your oven) or until edges are browned a little. BUT it is better to slightly underbake them, because they are going to be back in the oven for a few minutes after being glazed.
• In a meantime, in a small bowl make the glaze by whisking together the icing sugar, orange juice (starting with 2 tbsp.), Cointreau (starting with 2 tbsp.), and cloves. If you don’t want to use alcohol, substitute more orange juice. Adjust the consistency by adding more juice or/and liqueur – it should be quite thick but still a bit runny (like runny honey).
• When cookies are baked, remove them from the oven and let cook few minutes until easy to handle; don’t turn the oven off yet. Quickly dip a cookie into the glaze or simply pour some glaze over each cookie and return them on the baking sheet. Place back in the oven for 2 minutes with the oven on. Then turn the heat off and let the cookies stay in for another 1-2 minutes then remove them from the oven. This method results in crisp and cracking glaze – beautiful and delicious!
• Cool them completely then transfer to an air-tight container. Enjoy!