Lime Meltaways

A meltaway is a soft crumbly cookie that melts in your mouth. These Lime Meltaways are a not too sweet cookie with a tart lime flavor that are dusted with powdered sugar after baking. 

There’s a little shop in Key West, Florida, Kermits’s Key West Lime Shoppe, that sells Frozen Key Lime Pie on a stick dipped in Belgian Chocolate. It may sound like an over the top combination, but it’s fabulous.

I fell in love with it one hot day in June while visiting Key West on a cruise stop. I’ve been back to Key West several times since then and always head straight to Kermit’s for this tart but refreshing treat. 

Another fun thing about visiting Kermit’s is they always have out samples of their delicious key lime treats. My favorite is a cookie called Key Lime Coolers with “refreshing tropical tartness sprinkled on every cookie.” They are little bite size cookies covered with powdered sugar. A wonderful combination of sweet, tart, buttery and crunchy.

I’d been wanting to try a similar cookie recipe Martha Stewart’s Lime Meltaways since I bought Martha Stewart Cookies earlier this year and when I saw a beautiful bag of key limes at the store I decided to give them a try.

These Lime Meltaways aren’t quite as tart as Kermit’s, but they have the same crunchy/sandy texture and sweet/tart taste that I love. The cookies are small, but a couple satisfies your cookie craving.

Update: I’ve made them several times. Sometimes I’ll make them with key lime juice if it’s available, but usually I make them with ordinary limes. You could even use lemons if you prefer.

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Yield: 4 dozen

Lime Meltaways

Prep Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 1 hour

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• Grated zest of 2 limes
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (or key lime juice)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar for serving

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
2. 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. Add dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until blended.
3. 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
4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Place remaining 2/3 cup powdered sugar in a resealable plastic bag. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

More lime recipes you might like:

Chocolate Covered Frozen Key Lime Pie Bites, Barbara Bakes
Key Lime Pound Cake, Barbara Bakes
Key Lime Pie, Barbara Bakes
Raspberry Glazed Key Lime Cake, Lemons for Lulu
Key Lime Pie Breakfast Smoothie, Chelsea’s Messy Apron

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