Key Lime Meltaways

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I contemplated making something special for St. Patrick’s day this year… Guinness Cake or something of the sort but decided I’d contribute a little green to St. Patty’s day by making something with the key limes sitting in our kitchen instead. Hubby loves key limes and I always tell him I’ll make him Key Lime something but never get around to it before they go bad. I was a little worried these wouldn’t be sweet enough since there is so little sugar in the cookie batter, but the powder sugared coating makes up for. They’re fabulous!

And instead of Irish Stew or Corned Beef & Cabbage, we’re having Chicken & Dumplings, again!

Key Lime Meltaways

12 Tbsps (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 4 small key limes
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 c plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined. Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 3-4 minutes.

Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat.

Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Source: Adapted from Martha Stewart

Tagged as: Cookies, lime, Sweets