Lime Meltaway Cookies

Captain's Log

Father's Day Edition: Part One

Also this is a "stolen" recipe

For those of you not keeping track, I've now made and shipped chocolate cake, divinity, and turtles to people I love. And all within the last two months! I was starting to run out of ideas for shipping-friendly homemade goods. Yes, yes, of course I could make regular cookies, but.. cookies of the regular variety kind of bore me as a chef. Er, home cook.

That said, I know my mom has been making key lime pie for a few years now and that she and my dad have really enjoyed it. This foray into zippy citrus is definitely noteworthy because I come from a chocolate and/or nuts sorta family. So, maybe I should tap into that lil wellspring, eh?

I found this recipe on Smitten Kitchen for Key Lime Meltaways and I thought I'd give it a go for Father's Day (Part One). SK is absolutely correct: These are pretty tasty, and it's neat how they have a "melting" crumble texture, presumably from the addition of cornstarch to the dough. They're a good alternative to shortbread or other more traditional cookies. And the recipe is super easy. Also, it should be noted that I only changed the recipe in the sense that I used regular limes instead of key limes. Sooo you'd pretty much get the same info from the official SK write-up, minus my glowing personality of course.

Here's the recipe, from Smitten Kitchen:

• 1.5 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup powdered sugar, divided (1/3 cup and 2/3 cup)
• zest of 1.5 limes (I used regular limes. If you use key limes, SK says 4 tiny or 2 large)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

I whizzed around the butter and 1/3 cup of the sugar:

And then I added the zest, vanilla, and lime juice:

This is just a tsp of vanilla because I misread the recipe.
I added the rest of it a bit later, when I realized my mistake.

Then I mixed this together, and concluded I definitely could have/should have just done this by hand (because it's so simple).

I mixed together the cornstarch, flour, and salt in a separate bowl, then I slowly added that to the butter mixture to make the dough.

Then I divided the dough in two and, one half at a time, I rolled it into pretty narrow logs on some parchment paper.

I was shooting for an approximate 1" diameter

This part was a little tricky because my hands are usually warm and, of course, heat makes the dough super sticky. I had to use the parchment as a barrier so I could "make a snake." Anyway, with some effort, it worked out. I let this chill in the fridge for at least an hour, and then I sliced it into thin coins. I'm saving the other dough snake in our freezer for when company visits (Hi Missy!), so what you see from here onward is just one of them.

They spread a little when they bake, but not much.

pro tip: use the parchment from the dough snake to cover your cookie sheet

And then I baked them at 350° for 13-14 mins...

I let them cool for a couple of minus, then I tossed them in a freezer bag with the remaining powdered sugar.

......... perhaps I should have been a little gentler.

Still: they tasted pretty good! And most of the cookies did NOT break, and those were the ones that went to my loving father in Virginia.

Stay tuned for Part Two. It's a killer.