Tangy & Tender Lime Cookies

Earlier this week driving home from my PT appointment, it occurred to me that making cookies could be a good form of therapy for my thumb as the putty like object the PT used for my thumb rehab has the consistency of soft cookie dough and so I started planning a list as soon as I reached home.

I begin with some ginger buttons crisps and buttery pecan balls. Feeling rather proud of myself, I decided to progress to a roll and cut cookie. Thankfully there were no mishaps wielding the knife with my left hand. Maybe the lesson for my injury is to slow down a little as I am accustomed to whizzing through anything I do and some of you know especially so in the kitchen.


The ingredients are as simple and basic as it can be. Everything is easily mixed together with the exception of zesting the lime and slicing them before baking, which was a little inconvenient with my condition. But it was worth the effort as it was a delight to smell them baking. Despite them being drowned in confectioner's sugar, it isn't tooth achingly sweet but rather a tangy and refreshing taste and melts delicately in your mouth. Perhaps you can try them and taste it yourselves.

Tangy Lime Cookies
recipe from Martha Stewart

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks butter softened
1/3 cup Icing sugar
Zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Additional icing sugar for coating cookies - about 1 cup

Method

1. Cream butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in lime juice, zest & vanilla.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cornstarch & salt. Add to creamed butter, beat on low speed until combined.
3. Divide dough in 2. Using parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill in refrigerator for a couple of hours.
4. Preheat oven 350˚. Slice well chilled logs 1 1/8 inch thick and place on parchment lined cookie sheets about 1 inch apart.
5. Bake cookies until barely golden. 12-15 minutes.
6. Cool cookies slightly and toss them just barely warm in the additional icing sugar.
7. Cookies can be stored in air tight containers up to 2 weeks.

This is a great do ahead recipe. The dough keeps in the refrigerator for several days and up to a couple of months in the freezer. These are usually the first cookies that gets mixed right after Thanksgiving and thrown into the freezer until it they get baked just before Christmas.