It just wouldn’t be the holidays without some form of shortbread and one of the things that I like so much about shortbread, other than its buttery melt in your mouth goodness, is that it is easy to change things up by adding different flavours. I found this recipe for lime ‘meltaway’ shortbread cookies on use real butter a while ago and I had been itching to make them. With the dull and dreary winter weather setting in, it seemed like the perfect time to pull out some limes to ward off the gloominess, even if just for a few moments. There is just something magical about dusting shortbread in powdered sugar from its reminder of and hope for a white Christmas to the way that it quickly melts in you mouth delivering its sweetness. Although these cookies can be a bit messy, I recommend using a plate and napkins, they are certainly worth it! The initial hit of sweetness gives way to the buttery shortbread and then lime flavour comes through finishing off everything nicely.
Lime Meltaways
ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 limes (zest)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
directions
- Cream the butter with the powdered sugar.
- Beat in the lime zest, lime juice and vanilla.
- Mix the flour, cornstarch and salt in a large bowl.
- Beat the dry ingredients into the wet.
- Roll the dough out into a 1 1/4 inch log.
- Wrap in plastic and let chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Slice the dough into 1/4 in thick slices and place them on a baking sheet, 1 inch apart from each other.
- Bake in a preheated 350F/180C oven until just lightly golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 4 minutes.
- Dredge cookies in powdered sugar to coat.
Shortbread
Meyer Lemon Bars
Key Lime Pie
Maple Pecan Shortbread
Orange Cookies Dipped in Chocolate
Almond Crescent Cookies
Chocolate and Maraschino Cherry Shortbread Cookies
Peppermint Triple Chocolate Shortbread
Lemon Curd White Chocolate Chip Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Whipped Shortbread
These look like they are begging to be dipped in chocolate. Maybe just in my brain. Yummy either way.
Interesting! Lime works in pie oh-so-well so these cookies must be delish! <3
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas & Crayons
nothing better then buttery biscuits… except maybe buttery biscuits with lime??
OMG sounds delicious absolutely seduced by your description am definitely going to try this out 🙂
Oh wow, I have to try this!
i never thought of using limes in shortbread! Great idea ill have to try it 🙂
Those are fabulous!
Cheers,
Rosa
Simple, quick and tasty. Exactly what is needed!
Oh WOW. I have been wanting to use lime in baking more! These look fantastic!!!
Que curiosas galletas, tienen que tener un sabor muy rico.
Saludos
Sounds very good!
F A B U L O U S !
🙂 Mandy
these cookies looks so delicious!
I've seen so many christmas cookies lately that I don't know where to begin! These sound delicious!
I can see how these would be the perfect addition to a holiday tray Kevin.
Sounds so yummy :))
Love citrus things…especially if covered in powdered sugar!
i love lime meltaways. yours look perfect!
Semplicemente deliziosi, ciao
lime/lemon flavored desserts are my favorite so I was excited to see these. They look delicious!
sounds like a refreshing cookie 🙂
If you're gonna put "meltaways" in the title, I'm gonna wanna eat it 😉
YAY. I've been wanting to make these and couldn't find a recipe I liked…thank you.
yes please!!
This melts my heart.. so pretty!
Hi Kevin
Yesterday I browsed your Blog but could not leave any comment.
Today I had to return for these delicious cookies.
I want to make them.
Have a great weekend ♥
when it comes to cooking, I’m having second thoughts, it’s just that I am not so good at it; I really don’t have the magic to make such tasty food. Good for you 🙂
These do look good.
Just wanted to let you know that the Presto Pasta Nights roundup is now live over at the Crispy Cook. Thanks for sending in your Crab Mac and Cheese.
December is the month for buttah!! The more, the better 🙂
This is the first time I've seen these cookies referred to as "meltaways" by anyone other than my mother. She always made them at Christmas time when I was growing up. She hasn't made them in years though. Maybe now that she's retired she'll make them again. The lime is definitely an unusual twist though. Very interesting!
Great Pictures!
I have the same cookies bookmarked! Yours look fantastic.
These remind me of powder sugar coated cookies we bought in Basque Country but the lime makes them sound twice as good. And these look so festive for the holidays.
Going to try it right away, and the fact that these cookies are egg less makes me more eager to test 🙂 good to have come here, following for more of such wonderful treats from you.
best wishes.
Well isn't this a tease – believe it or not I am sitting here in the Key West airport catching up on blogs while waiting for our plane to board, already sad enough that I'm leaving behind all these wonderful key lime treats, and you have to throw this in my face! ahh well. Might just have to make these at home 🙂
Just have to try these! Looks so yammy and lime never tastes wrong 🙂
Just made these, still in the oven. I made gluten-free version. Will let you know how they turn out.
oh these look absolutely delightful! i love buttery cookies with a hint of citrus!
Hi Kevin – I made these today…mine ended up being Lemon Meltaways because it turned out I didn't have any limes. They were really yummy and pleasantly not as crunchy and I thought they'd be.
Those look so fantastic. I can never, ever, ever get my cookies to slice in such perfect circles. I'm filled with cooking slicing envy!
This just made my stomach growl. I'm going to want to tickle my sweet tooth soon with this recipe. 🙂
Gorgeous post. I almost feel a pucker in my cheeks just looking at it.
what a gorgeous photo! They look like they will just melt in your mouth!
I made those, for the first time, last week. It was a hit in the house.
My sister, my boyfriend and I made them and they were delicious. And as college students, it was fun to have something so easy to make but seemed really fancy as well!
Hi Kevon, just let you know, I posted lime meltaway with strawberry sherbet
http://www.homemadesbyarfi.com/2011/01/iphoneography-2.html
I made these over the holiday and they were fantastic!
I think that they tasted even better a few days old, it seemed like the lime was more pronounced. They looked great in the cookie baskets I made for friends and neighbors, I stacked them in cupcake papers, and they tasted magnificent with a cup of Earl Grey.
Thanks for the recipe, it's a keeper.
Making these right now and am so excited! They see fantastic, and the dough alone tastes incredible!
I’ve been an avid reader for awhile and just wanted to get it out there what a big fan I am of your blog. My question is about sherbet. There is loads of information on the internet about the definition and difference between sherbet, sorbet, ice cream, etc. but there are absolutely no good recipes!
The long and short of it is that I fell in love with Trader Joe’s pomegranate blueberry sherbet and I’ve been trying to replicate it for ages. If you haven’t tried it you have to go to the store right now! I was wondering if you have come across any great sherbet recipes I could try or if you have any suggestions. My main trouble comes to the texture of the sherbet. My sherbet attempts are great right out of the ice cream maker but become hard as a rock in the freezer. How do I achieve that sort of creaminess? I’d love any tips/recipes/resources you could suggest. bgrindl (at) gmail (dot) com
Anonymous: I am not an expert on sherbet but one trick that I know helps keep ice cream from getting too hard in the freezer is to add a splash of alcohol, which has a lower freezing point.
Made these tonight with high hopes (love anything with lime) but they were only just ok.
Because I don't use apps with facebook but follow you via email and have 'liked' you on facebook, where I saw this before it got to my email. I clicked on this recipe and found I basically had to go back to google to get back to this page without using an app. I've been following (and supporting by linking in my own blog) your blog for a long time and this was really discouraging…I get it, but I don't like it much. Do love the recipe though!
Island Woman MJ: You were in the Facebook app and you clicked on the link for the recipe and what happened? Did it bring you to my site? Somewhere else? Was this on an iPhone, an Android device, a tablet. I would love to get to the bottom of this. Thanks for you help!
Kevin, I am going to add these to my Christmas cookie baking this year and am going to add some green sugar to the powdered sugar for rolling to make them more Christmasy. I always make a shortbread for my hubs with browned butter, that has cooled to room temperature. It's a nice variation to regular shortbread and you can add chopped pecans if you wish. Thanks for all your recipes, love them.
Just made these for our holiday cookie boxes and they are really good. The shortbread is delicious and the lime adds a nice subtle flavor.
Once upon a time, back in the 1960s, there became the Lemon Cooler, from one of the big cookie producers. They used to be deliciously like these, with lemon flavoring instead. I'm delighted to see this, because I just happen to have been given a bag of key limes, and I have a few larger, regular ones. I'll try to get the batter made this week. I'll be spending a bunch of time baking next weekend. Thanks for the memories!
Kevin, is the 1/3 C of powder sugar go in the butter and the 2/3 for dredging?
Love your recipes,
Thanks
Michal
Michal: Yes, the 1/3 cup of powder sugar goes in the butter and the 2/3 cup is for dredging. Enjoy!
A tablespoon of vanilla? Really? Ok. I'm going to trust you because I've made several of your recipes and they are all delicious! Love your work.
I have made this recipe time and again and it's always great! Thanks for a fantastic recipe. It's definitely one of my favourite cookies.
Made these because we love lime desserts, but these were very disappointing. Not much lime flavor and the mouth feel is not pleasing, need coffee to wash it down.
Grumpinator: How much zest did you get from the limes? This is a shortbread cookie and it will be a little dry until the butter starts to melt into your mouth.
Cream the butter with the powdered sugar.
Just wondering if they can be frozen and take. Out of freezer and cut into cookies
Yes it can! Enjoy!
Just made your lime meltaways….used lime oil and lime powder in the cookies and non melting powder sugar with citric acid and lime powder on them after. Nice and tart, they turned out well. Thanks.
Can I substitute gluten free ingredients one for one. My husband is celiac and I know he would love these.
If the gluten-free ingredients recommend replacing at 1:1 then that should work! Enjoy!
Delicious. They remind me of Spanish “mantecados””