I love lime things. One day I would love to have a lime tree in my backyard. And a lemon tree, an orange tree, and a hybrid avocado tree. It would make cookies like these easier to make, because I could bake them on a whim, without writing an ingredient down on my grocery list. All it would take is softening some butter, and walking outside to pluck a juicy lime from my little tree. And just as quickly as I decided to make them, they would disappear, melting sweetly on my tongue, never to be seen again.
These cookies do exactly what their name suggests. They melt in your mouth, and you can never have just one. They’re a perfect ending for black bean soup, tacos, or other spicy dish.
LIME MELTAWAYS
Makes 5 dozen cookies
Recipe courtesy Martha Stewart
Ingredients
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
Grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
Directions
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.
Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/8-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.
Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
