Key Lime Cookies with Lime Glaze

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Stand mixer with paddle attachment (or hand mixer)
• •Microplane zester
• •Small cookie scoop (1 tablespoon size)
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Rimmed baking sheets
• •Parchment paper

Instructions

1. 1

   Cream butter and sugar

   In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. The mixture should look almost white, with no graininess when you rub a bit between your fingers. This aeration creates the cookie's tender crumb.

   Truly softened butter (65-68°F) is critical. It should yield easily to pressure but not look greasy or melted. Cold butter won't cream properly; warm butter produces flat cookies.
2. 2

   Add wet ingredients

   Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add the key lime zest, key lime juice, and vanilla extract. Mix on low speed until combined. The mixture may look slightly curdled from the acid in the lime juice. This is normal and will resolve once the flour goes in. Take a moment to smell the bowl. That bright, floral citrus aroma is exactly what you want.

3. 3

   Mix dry ingredients

   In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt until evenly distributed. This takes thirty seconds and ensures no pockets of baking powder end up in your cookies. The small amount of leavening keeps these tender without making them cakey.

4. 4

   Combine and form dough

   With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix just until no dry streaks remain. The dough will be soft but should hold together when pressed. Overworking develops gluten and toughens the cookies, so stop the moment it comes together.

5. 5

   Chill the dough

   Divide the dough in half and shape each portion into a flat disk. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or until firm enough to scoop without sticking everywhere. The chilling firms the butter, which prevents excessive spreading in the oven and allows the lime flavor to permeate the dough.

   Dough can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen for 2 months. If frozen, thaw overnight in the refrigerator before scooping.
6. 6

   Prepare for baking

   Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator. Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon measure, portion the dough into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball smooth between your palms and place on the prepared sheets, spacing them 2 inches apart. These spread moderately, so give them room.

7. 7

   Bake the cookies

   Bake one sheet at a time in the center of the oven for 10-12 minutes. The cookies are done when the edges are barely golden but the centers still look slightly underdone. They'll firm up as they cool. Pull them too late and they'll turn dry and crumbly. The tops should look matte, not shiny, with tiny cracks around the edges.

8. 8

   Cool completely

   Let the cookies rest on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. They're fragile when hot. Cool completely, at least 30 minutes, before glazing. A warm cookie will melt the glaze into a thin, sad film instead of the thick, glossy coating you want.

9. 9

   Make the glaze

   Sift the powdered sugar into a medium bowl to remove any lumps. Add 3 tablespoons of key lime juice and whisk until smooth. The glaze should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon but thin enough to drizzle. Add more juice by the teaspoon if needed. Stir in the teaspoon of zest. Taste it. The glaze should make you pucker slightly before the sweetness hits.

10. 10

    Glaze the cookies

    Working with cooled cookies, dip the top of each cookie into the glaze or spoon glaze over the top, letting the excess drip back into the bowl. Place glazed cookies on the wire rack set over a sheet of parchment to catch drips. For a thicker glaze layer, let the first coat set for 10 minutes, then dip again.

11. 11

    Set and serve

    Let the glaze set completely, about 1 hour at room temperature or 20 minutes in the refrigerator. The surface should feel dry to the touch and crack slightly when you bite through. These cookies are ready when that glaze shatters against the tender crumb beneath it.

Chef Tips

• •Fresh key limes are seasonal and sometimes hard to find outside Florida. Nellie & Joe's bottled key lime juice is the gold standard substitute and what many Key West bakeries actually use. For zest, Persian limes work fine since you're after aromatic oils, not juice acidity.
• •Zest before you juice. It's nearly impossible to zest a squeezed lime. Use a microplane for the finest zest, which distributes more evenly through the dough.
• •The dough freezes beautifully. Scoop and freeze balls on a sheet pan, then transfer to a freezer bag. Bake directly from frozen, adding 2-3 minutes to the bake time. You'll never be more than 15 minutes from warm cookies.
• •For a more intense lime flavor, add 1/4 teaspoon of lime oil (not extract) to the dough. LorAnn makes a good one. It amplifies without adding moisture.
• •These ship well. The glaze protects the cookies and they stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Separate layers with parchment to prevent sticking.

Advance Preparation

• •Dough can be made and refrigerated up to 3 days ahead, or frozen for up to 2 months.
• •Unbaked cookie balls can be frozen on a sheet pan, then stored in freezer bags for up to 2 months. Bake directly from frozen.
• •Baked, unglazed cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days, or frozen for 2 months.
• •Once glazed, store in a single layer in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. The glaze softens slightly after a day but remains delicious.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 cookie (about 21g)