Orange You Glad It's Halloween Cookies

I must admit, it was the cake mix that inspired these cookies. I love the idea of the funfetti cake mixes, especially the holiday ones. So when I saw a box of Halloween-themed funfetti on sale, I had to grab it. And then I started thinking of how I could tinker with the basic box to make it a little more special... And oranges are orange (duh!) and Halloween colors are classically black and orange, so it popped into my head to make these orange-flavored.

The orange flavor in these cookies comes from two sources: orange zest and orange juice. There's orange zest in the cookie itself that lends a subtle flavor, but the real punch comes from the orange glaze. The glaze lets these cookies balance that fine line of being sweet enough for the kids, while not going overboard. These are perfect for a quick dessert for a holiday party, or to just munch on yourself while passing out candy to adorable little kids.

The Recipe

Ingredients
18 oz funfetti cake mix (I used Pillsbury Halloween Funfetti Cake Mix)
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 egg
1 orange
1 cup powdered sugar

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place butter, egg, and half of the zest from the orange into a large mixing bowl and beat together. Add in the cake mix and the colored sprinkles and stir until it comes together. (If you used a hand-mixer for beating, switch to a spoon for adding the dry goods--the batter's much too thick for a hand-mixer.) Scoop dough onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches between each cookie. Bake 9-12 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cook on the sheet for 2 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Meanwhile, place powdered sugar and the rest of the orange's zest in a small mixing bowl. (The bowl should be just large enough for you to fit your hand in while holding the edges of a cookie.) Slowly add juice from the orange until the glaze is a good dipping consistency. For me, this was about half the orange's juice. Once the cookies are cool enough that you can pick them up without them threatening to fall apart, you may start to dip them in the glaze. I placed the cooling racks stacked over a now-empty baking sheet still covered with the parchment paper to catch any drips.

You can serve anytime, right away if you want the glaze to be still gooey, or you can wait until it's hardened and serve then. Either way they're delicious!