Isn’t it funny how when you think of key limes your brain automatically goes to key lime pie? I’m trying to think of another ingredient that has that strong an association to a particular preparation…annnnnd I can’t. Surely one exists…I’m just drawing a blank right now. Hm, maybe orange and orange juice? But no, cause you could totally eat an orange alone and you’d probably never sit there and snack on a lime. If you think of one, let me know cause now it’s killing me.
Anyway, for a brief second I actually considered doing some mini key lime tarts or pies for the Hello, from Florida photography show. I immediately snapped out of it though, realizing that would be insane for me to pull off. Correctly anyway.
Key lime cookies sounded like a delicious and respectable alternative. These are fantastic. The texture is somewhere between a shortbread cookie and a snickerdoodle. So in other words, divine. And they’ve got just the right amount of zest, which is something I was initially worried about because I tasted one right out to the oven (foolishly) and was sure I’d used too much zest. But, once cooled, they were perfect!
Like the Coco Cupcakes, I’m going to do these small. Bite-sized cookies are the best!
So what’s the difference between a key lime and the more common Persian limes? Key limes are much smaller (ping-pong to golf ball-sized), spherical, thin-skinned and typically contain a few itty-bitty seeds. Green key limes are actually immature fruits, prized for their acidity. However, as they ripen to a yellowish color, the acid content diminishes, resulting in a much sweeter fruit.
The ones I picked up were still pretty green. 12 for $1 made me very happy!
I ended up needing about 4 key limes for this recipe.
The dough is easy enough to make but does require a chilling in the fridge or freezer before you can really handle/shape the dough balls. See all that pretty green zest in there?
One last thing, I’m not generally a big fan of citrus baked goods (maybe you’re not either cause I know a lot of people aren’t), so the fact that I like these so much says a lot…I definitely recommend you try them out!
Recipe
Coop/prep time: about 1.25 hours because the dough needs to chill in the fridge for about an hour. Recipe makes 3 dozen cookies. If you can’t find key limes, just use regular limes!You need:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp and very softened (don’t microwave the butter to soften though)
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup Key lime or other lime juice
- 2 teaspoons lime zest (grated peel)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Confectioners’ sugar (for topping)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- In a large bowl, cream butter (that means mix/whip until fluffy) and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and egg yolk, beating until creamy. Beat in lime juice and zest just until combined.
- Stir in flour, baking powder, and salt; mix well. Refrigerate dough 60 minutes, until firm (I cheated and just popped the dough in the freezer for like 25 mins and it was fine).
- Shape dough into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets.
- Bake 10 to 12 minutes, or until light golden. Transfer to wire rack. Let them cool completely before tasting or they’ll taste realllly zesty. Dust cookies lightly with confectioners’ sugar through a hand strainer.
16 Comments
Tiny citrus bites! I love small cookies, they’re perfect.
Gorgeous, gorgeous photos! I love anything with zest and these do look perfect. Thank you for the inspiration :)
Love the use of key lime in a cookie! I ‘m a big fan of the zesty flavor and sweetness of key lime. Perfect dusted with powdered sugar.
Just found your blog and am enjoying it.=)
Two things I can’t say no to-Cookies and lime! I will be making these very soon! Love them!
Just made these cookies this past weekend, perfect!! Loved them :)
Not a fan of citrus baked goods? No way! I love citrus baked goods, and I definitely have to make these asap.
LOVE YOU for doing this recipe!! Key Lime is my ALL TIME FAVORITE…pie, tart, coladas, even cookies! It’s the best flavor. Some of my favorite cookies I’ve ever had were Sam & Brent’s Key Lime White Chocolate cookies. Man, I haven’t seen them in forever. My sister lives in Homestead & is visiting me in TN in a couple weeks. I am going to make her bring be some key limes.
Made these the other day and everyone enjoyed them! Thank you for the delicious recipe!! Perfect for summer!
What a beautiful blog you have. These bite sized cookies look full of flavor.
these look fantastic. my dad is a key lime fanatic. i wanna make these for him for father’s day!
Just returned from Key West.
Planning on baking theses cookies TODAY!!!
What a beautiful blog..passing it on to my friends!
Hi I was wondering if anyone could offer a comment on this. I have Key lime pie mix or a Key lime mousse that is in a bag, (powdered) that we brought
back from Florida, I was pondering If I could make
Key lime cookies from this mix??? Any comments
would be helpful. Thanks
I made these as a thank you to my Parents after our family trip to Florida. My dad asked for more lime flavor, so I added a bit more juice and zest to the second batch.
Also, I made some a little crispy for my dad but after storing them in the fridge for the a few days they harden up even more. So a word to the wise: if you like your cookies crunchy do not over bake these unless you are planning on eating them all right away.
Great cookie, light and flavorful! Am making again for Labor Day get together.
Can I freeze these? Would love to make these to put in my welcome bags for those traveling to my daughters wedding but would need to do ahead of time.
Betsey,
Yes, these will freeze great!
Both the dough and the cookies.
Best cookies ever! Just made these and they turned out perfectly. There was just enough zest. Very delicious. Great recipe. Thanks for sharing! If you want to add a little more zest, I added a glaze to some of the cookies. You just mix confectioners’ sugar with lime zest, and then mix in lime juice until it is the consistency you like. Brush on cookies and let the glaze harden.