I’ve been on a baking binge lately and the freezer is getting full. I freeze cookies for many reasons, the main one being if they are hidden in the back of the freezer under something then I’m less likely to eat them. But, that hasn’t been working lately. Too many cookies taste just as good straight out of the freezer! Maybe I need to come up with a recipe for dill pickle sugar cookies. Or brussel sprouts bars. Those are two things I definitely will not dig into the freezer for.
But these zesty lime cookies? All day, everyday and twice on Sunday. They have a nice little hint of lime. I put some lime juice in the icing for a little extra citrus punch. These will be cookies I make again, a lot. I’ve already professed my love for lemony iced sugar cookies. Believe it or not, I think those taste better straight out of the freezer. These lime cookies are just as good.
Begin by zesting and juicing the limes. The first time I made these I used the same amount of lime juice and zest that the lemony iced sugar cookies use. But it just wasn’t enough. Modification time. This time I used the zest of two limes which was almost two tablespoons and used 1.5 tablespoons of lime juice. This was much better and will be the amount I use forever more.
Next up, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.
Cut cold butter into cubes and dump it in the mixer. I LOVE recipes that don’t call for softened butter. Cream the butter with sugar and vanilla.
When that’s light and creamy, add the eggs, lime juice and lime zest.
Drop the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients.
Use a cookie scoop or grab some dough and roll it into a ball then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I like how you can see tiny flecks of lime zest in the scoops. Lightly press down to slightly flatten then bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. My oven is a little slow so even my smaller ones take 10 minutes. I bake for 5 minutes, turn the cookie sheets and finish with 5 more. I let them sit on the cookie sheet for a minute or two then slide them onto the cold granite for cooling.
While the first batch is in the oven, I scoop out the remaining dough onto wax paper. I use a 1-tablespoon sized scoop and get 67 cookies from a batch.
When the cookies are completely cooled, they are ready for icing. The original recipe calls for one cup powdered sugar, 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla. The first time I made it, I had to add more sugar to get the consistency I liked. The next several times I dropped the milk to 1/4 cup and even then it’s a little too thin for me.
This time I changed it up even more. I started with one cup of powdered sugar and 1/8 cup of milk. I whisked that until it was smooth then added 1/2 teaspoon of lime juice. This was a much better consistency for me. You can use a spoon to drizzle the icing on the cookies, I like to use a snack sized Ziploc bag.
For freezing: I have a smaller cookie sheet that fits perfectly in the freezer. I line the cookie sheet with parchment paper and place as many cookies as will fit in one layer and freeze for 30 minutes then place them in a freezer Ziploc bag.
Zesty Lime Sugar Cookies
- 1 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lime zest (or two limes worth)
- 3 cups flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/8 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon lime juice (more or less to your taste)
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla then slowly add the eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Slowly add flour mixture and mix well.
Roll dough into balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Stir icing ingredients together until desired consistency and drizzle on cookies.
ENJOY! And try not to eat them all at once.