Brown Sugar Refrigerator Cookies
Submitted by pumpkinhead
Brown sugar refrigerator cookies with a butterscotchy flavour and a hint of orange zest. The dough chills into a log, slices thin, and cuts into fancy shapes for a crisp icebox cookie that yields 4-5 dozen.
YIELD
60 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
10 minREADY
40 minRefrigerator cookies, also called icebox or slice-and-bake cookies, are the make-ahead baker’s secret weapon. This brown sugar version shapes into a log, wraps in waxed paper or foil, and lives in the fridge or freezer until cookies are wanted. Slice off a few rounds when company comes, bake six minutes, and there’s fresh cookies on the plate.
The flavour leans butterscotchy thanks to the full cup of brown sugar with no white sugar to mute it. A couple teaspoons of grated orange zest cuts the sweetness with a faint citrus brightness that perfumes the whole batch as it bakes.
The slice-and-cut technique is what makes this one different from rolled sugar cookies. You slice the chilled log into eighth-inch rounds, then use cookie cutters to stamp shapes out of each slice. Gather the scraps, press them together, chill, and slice again. Less rolling, less flour dusting, less mess.
Kitchen Tips
- Chill the dough log a full 4 hours or overnight before slicing. Too-soft dough smears under the knife and won’t hold a clean cut.
- Use a thin, sharp knife and wipe the blade between cuts. Dough sticks to the blade and pulls the next slice out of shape.
- For perfectly round logs, roll the wrapped dough on the counter like a rolling pin a few times before refrigerating. Gravity flattens one side otherwise.
- 400°F (200°C) for 6 to 8 minutes is hot and fast. Watch closely; the high heat is what gives them their crisp snap but they go from golden to burnt quickly.
Variations
- Swap the orange zest for lemon or lime zest for a different citrus profile.
- Stir half a cup of finely chopped pecans or walnuts into the dough for crunch.
- Decorate the cooled cookies with a thin glaze of orange juice and powdered sugar.
Ingredients
Directions
Beat together butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, and orange rind.
Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; sift into first mixture and mix well.
Chill dough, then shape into roll about 2½ inches in diameter.
Wrap in waxed paper or foil.
Store in refrigerator or freezer.
To bake, unwrap and cut in ⅛ inch slices; lay on greased cookie sheet, then use floured cookie cutters to cut slices into fancy shapes.
Gather up scraps of dough, press together and chill again.
Bake cookies at 400℉ (200℃) for 6 to 8 minutes.
Decorate if desired.
Makes 4 to 5 dozen crisp and butterscotchy cookies.
Comments




Yummy! and really easy, I just rolled the dough into a log chilled for a couple of hours and sliced it up and baked.
Thanks