• Preheat oven to 325 F (160 C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

Prepare the cookie dough:

• Beat shortening and sugar until they are creamy. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer or do it manually with a whisk, beat for about 4-5 minutes with hand mixer and about 3 minutes with a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix until combined. Add orange zest, orange extract and stir to combine. Add flour and pinch of salt (and baking powder and baking soda if using) and knead into a dough. It may seem really dry at first but just keep kneading and it will come into a dough
• Divide the dough into two so it's easier to work with. Shape them into log shapes, roughly about 2 1/2 to 3 inches in diameter. Use a serrated knife to cut into 1-inch thick slices
• Arrange them on prepared baking sheets, about 2 inches apart. Dip a bottom of a smooth cup, smaller than the diameter of the cookie (I used the bottom of 1/4 cup measuring cup) in granulated sugar and then gently press the middle of the cookie to create a round indentation (refer to the photo above). You can just leave it as is if you don't want to create indentations on the cookies

Bake:

• Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until cookies are lightly golden brown. Let them cool on the rack for 1-2 minutes and then dip in more sugar while still warm if you like. Then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely. The texture will be crunchy when you take that first bite and melt in the mouth on the inside