A basic slice and bake cookie dough is dressed up with key lime juice and zest, and iced with a key lime glaze. These Key Lime Sugar Cookies are easy to make and taste amazing!
Jingle bells, jingle bells…..Ok, I know I’m rushing the season a bit here with a Christmas cookie recipe. Well actually, in the land of blogs and of retail I’m right on schedule! But personally I am definitely not ready for Christmas just yet. BUT. I have an amazing giveaway today – $250 towards holiday cards at Minted.com. How awesome is that?! So to go with a holiday card giveaway, I just HAD to make Christmas cookies!! Although to be fair, Key Lime Sugar Cookies would really be great any time of year! No more Christmas recipes until December after this, I promise.
Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter to win this amazing giveaway! With $250 you could get some really great holiday cards! And Minted has the cutest stuff, I’m obsessed!
The idea to make Key Lime Sugar cookies actually came to me because of an amazing package I received – my aunt and uncle live in Florida, and they sent me a huge box full of Key Limes from their yard! What a fun mail day! So I wanted to put those cute and delicious lil limes to use and decided their green color would make them perfect for a Christmas cookie recipe.
These cookies are a twist on a very basic Slice and Bake cookie recipe that I found on Smitten Kithchen.
The dough is super simple to make, and then it is basically a blank canvas for whatever flavors you want to add!
I added some key lime juice and zest to the dough. Then to ramp up the lime flavor and the pretty factor, I iced some of the cookies with a glaze made from powdered sugar, key lime juice, and key lime zest.
If you want to make the cookies extra pretty, you can roll the edges of the dough in sparkling sugar mixed with lime zest. The cookies also taste delicious plain though, so if you don’t want to make the glaze or sugar the sides, you definitely don’t have to.
A basic slice and bake cookie dough is dressed up with key lime juice and zest, and iced with a key lime glaze. These Key Lime Sugar Cookies are easy to make and taste amazing!
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons keylime juice (about 1 keylime)
- 3 teaspoons keylime zest (4-5 keylimes), plus extra for edges if desired
- 2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
- sanding sugar for edges, if desired
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons keylime juice
- pinch of salt
- keylime zest, if desired
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter at medium speed until smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in the egg yolks, then the salt, vanilla, lime juice, and lime zest. Turn the mixer speed down to low and add the flour, mixing just until it is incorporated - do not over mix. Turn the dough out onto a counter, gather it into a ball, and divide it in half. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Roll the chilled dough into a log that is about 1 1/4 inch thick. Make sure the log is smooth and even. Wrap the dough logs in plastic and chill for 2 hours. The dough can be wrapped airtight and kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone mats.
- If desired, fill a large plate or platter with sanding sugar, and zest a key lime into the sugar. Roll the dough log in the sugar mixture, until the whole log is evenly coated. Using a sharp knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/3 inch thick. Turn the log a bit after each cut to help it stay round on all edges. Place the cookies on the baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch between them.
- Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set and just starting to brown. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks and cool to room temperature.
- Once the cookies are cool, make the glaze. Whisk powdered sugar with 2 T key lime juice and a pinch of salt. Keep adding juice until desired consistency is reached. Stir in some zest, if desired. Spread a little glaze on each cookie. Allow to set before serving.
- The cookies also taste great without the glaze
Notes
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen
And now for the GIVEAWAY! Are you ready to win $250 to Minted.com? Enter your email address below to get started and then follow the prompts to get extra entries! Good luck and thank you for entering!
Just in case you are ready for Christmas recipes, here are some great Christmas cookies!
What fun cookies! I love key lime any time of the year in pretty much anything, but I don’t think I’ve ever had it in cookies. Super fun giveaway too! 🙂
Delicious cookies! I love lately lime or lemon in almost everything:)
What a fun idea for a cookie. Also signed up for the giveaway so I could make sure we were connected on the other social media outlets.
I’m a fan of minted too so love this giveaway. And the cookies with that key lime?? Amazing way to spruce up sugar cookies!!
These are so pretty Cate! I love the sparkly sides and that pool of citrusy glaze on top. And I’m so jealous of your key limes! 😀
I LOVE key lime! How have I never thought to throw them into a cookie! Totally adding these to my holiday baking list! Pinned!
These cookies!! Oh man!! I love key lime pie, but these look way better. And they are perfectly shaped and just beautiful 🙂 Thanks for including me in a fun giveaway 🙂 xxo
These cookies look amazing, Cate! Sugar cookies are my favorite and I’m loving your creative twist of adding in key lime flavor. Pinned!
These cookies sound amazing! Love key lime pie, so I’m sure these cookies would be right up my street!
lovely cookies! they sound so good 🙂
These are the absolute cutest! So pretty for the holidays!
These cookies sound delicious and they are so pretty!!!
I love how pretty these are! I love the flavor of key lime pie so these would be right up my alley!
I really love that these little cookies look “bedazzled” form the side! They are very festive!
What a completely awesome twist on a sugar cookie! I feel like I should be enjoying these in the tropics!
I definitely need to try these because my husband is a major key lime fan. I love all the bits of green, the sugar edge, and the glaze is over-the-top good! Fab recipe, Cate!!
How lucky are you to receive a box of key limes in the mail?! These cookies look like a perfect use for those limes. The glaze looks so delicious, and I love that you added sanding sugar for some sparkle!
I am TOTALLY ready for Christmas recipes! Lol. I have to admit, I’ve been Christmas baking since the last week in October, but none of it has made it to the blog yet. I love the lime in these!
I hear ya..I don’t like decorating for Xmas until the day after Thanksgiving. While everyone else is out shopping for black Friday I am home putting my tree! And thanks for the great giveaway 😉
I never would have thought to add Key Limes to my sugar cookies. They sound and look great!
Ahhhh! I love minted.com!!! We did a birthday party post with them earlier this year and it was so fun. Their holiday cards are the cutest!!
Slice-n-Bake cookies are SO awesome — these would make perfect gifts!