These Lime Meltaway Cookies are a melt-in-your-mouth lime cookie topped with a sweet lime glaze and garnished with lime zest. This lime cookie recipe is easy and only requires a few simple ingredients.
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August is the last month of peak lime season, so I got these lime cookies done just under the buzzer! Lemon is probably my favorite citrus, but lime is a close second. I love to add lime zest to savory and sweet recipes alike.
The base recipe for these citrusy cookies are from my Lemon Meltaway Cookies. I fell in love with the melt-in-your-mouth texture and decided I needed to make these in every citrus iteration. I turned that recipe into my Grapefruit Meltaway Cookies for grapefruit season and now into this lime version for the last month of lime season.
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Why you’ll love this recipe
- The bold lime flavor comes through thanks to both lime zest and juice in the cookies and the glaze!
- The glaze is thick and adds the perfect delicate sweetness.
- These are tender and melt-in-your-mouth.
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour and corn starch provides a tender crumb.
- The cookies and glaze are sweetened by powdered sugar.
- Kosher salt and vanilla extract balances the overall flavor profile.
- Heavy cream brings richness to the glaze.
- Lime juice and zest packs a citrus punch in the cookies and glaze.
- Unsalted butter brings richness to the cookies.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here’s how to customize these cookies to your liking:
- No glaze — Skip the glaze completely for a lower-sugar cookie.
- Citrus mash-up — Combine lime and lemon or lime and orange for a citrusy mash-up. Swap some of the juice and/or the zest garnish with another citrus.
- No heavy cream — Use half and half or milk instead. You may need to increase the amount of powdered sugar to reach the desired consistency.
- White chocolate — Add chopped white chocolate to the dough for an added-sweetness.
- No cookie cutter — scoop out balls with a cookie scoop or spoons and mash slightly.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make lime cookies
Step 1: Cream the butter and powdered sugar together. Add the lime zest and juice and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
Step 2: Wrap dough in plastic or parchment and chill at least 2 hours.
Step 3: Roll out the chilled dough and punch out 3-inch rounds. Freeze until solid. Bake.
Step 4: Whisk together the powdered sugar, heavy cream, lime juice and vanilla. Pipe or spoon onto cooled cookies.
Hot tips
- Do not skip chilling. Chilling is important for the flavors to meld and so the cookies don’t spread too much in the oven.
- Start with less powdered sugar in the glaze and work your way up to your desired consistency. I like mine thick so I use a full 2 cups.
- I pipe my glaze with a plain round piping tip and piping bag, but you could also spoon it on or dip your cookies instead.
Recipe FAQs
Store meltaway cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
This is not recommended as the corn starch plays a vital role in the tenderness of the cookie.
Yes, absolutely. Swap for lemon, grapefruit or orange with no issue.
Yes, wrap tight in plastic and store in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to 3 months.
More recipes you’ll love
Lastly, if you make this Lime Meltaway Cookies recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Lime Meltaway Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
Lime cookie dough
- 193 g unsalted butter (14 tbsp) room temperature
- 56 g powdered sugar (½ cup)
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g all purpose flour (1 ½ cups)
- 35 g cornstarch (¼ cup)
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lime glaze
- 1 ¾-2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream or half and half or milk
- lime zest for garnish
Instructions
Do ahead
- This dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or freezer until ready to use.
Make the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and beat until fully incorporated, about a minute more.
- Add the 1 tablespoon of lime zest, 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and vanilla extract and mix on low.
- In a separate bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch and salt.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, mixing just until combined.
- Place the cookie dough on plastic wrap and wrap tight. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
- Roll out the dough on a floured surface to ⅜ inch thick. Punch out circles with a 3-inch cutter.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking tray and pop in the freezer for at least 15-20 minutes to freeze solid before baking.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Do not overbake as these cookies should not take on a lot of color.
- Let sit on the baking pan for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack and to cool completely.
Make the glaze
- Sift powdered sugar into a medium bowl. Add lime juice and heavy cream. Whisk until there are no lumps.
- Spoon or pipe onto cooled cookies. Sprinkle lime zest over the top while the glaze is still wet.
- Allow the glaze to fully set before storing in an airtight container.
