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.
Lime Meltaways
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 tablespoons 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- Grated zest of 2 limes
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice or key lime juice
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and ⅓ cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy. Add dry ingredients, and mix on low speed until blended.
- Divide the dough in half. Use two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper to wrap around and shape each half of the dough into 1 ¼-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into ¼-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. Place remaining ⅔ 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
Mamatkamal
They look so delicious. I absolutely love these cookies.
Cinnamon-Girl Reeni♥
I think I saw Kermits on the food network. Pie on a stick sounds really good! So do these cookies! I'm a big fan of sweet with citrus!
Kim
I have never been to Key West, but would love to go! I love that you made these cookies thicker than suggested. I tried them last year and mine were wafer thin. Yours look delicious. They do kind of melt away in your mouth, which makes them very easy to keep popping in 😀 I think this is a great cookie for a xmas platter because they are tart and refreshing and different from the rest. Great one!
Kat
Key West is on my places of list to visit. I'll need to remember to visit Kermits. I love key lime stuff and these cookies look great!
Aggie
Oh wow…I would LOVE this cookie!!! meltaway cookies are my favorite…I am totally making these this year!!
Jill
These look delicious–I think citrus is perfect anytime of the year. I love this 12-week of Christmas Cookies you are doing–great idea! 🙂
Joyce
I have a thing for lemon and lime the past few years and find myself picking it over chocolate which I never thought would happen but hey taste changes as we get more mature they say. They sell lime cooler cookies baked by the Byrd company in Savannah and I can honestly eat that entire box in two short days. I welcome this recipe and I now want to take a cruise and get off in Key West just to eat some lime treats:) Thanks for sharing.
Joyce
Cathy
I love these cookies…and key lime pie on a stick!!! Over the top.
Denise
My sister loves lime meltaways, they look so good…
Lauren
Yum! Lime & meltiness? Sounds like a killer combo.
Kathleen
I love lime. I gotta give these a try. I'm so envious you've started you Christmas cookies. I pray I can get it together and start soon instead of the last minute mad rush!! Are you just freezing in Ziploc's?
Daniela
Belli e profumati i tuoi biscotti.
Ciao Daniela.
Fahrenheit 350°
Um, no not over the top! I love limes! Great recipe!
Mary Ann
I made these last year! Definitely a repeat cookie. Yours look perfect!
Coleen's Recipes
We really enjoy simple cookies like this. Thanks for sharing.
Palidor
They look wonderful and the texture sounds amazing.
April
I can just taste them! LOL!! Simple and sweet!
Mags
I will definitely check out Kermit's this winter when I'm in Key West. And those cookies, when you mentioned the sandy/crunchy texture, I'm thinking pecan sandies with a lime twist (minus the pecan of course…lol)
Tina
Pretty lime cookies…
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is
The cookies look delish. I love anything lime and have seen this in her book but have yet to make it. Yum.