These key lime cookies with key lime icing deliver a one, two punch. If you're a fan of key lime, then you'll appreciate the subtle hint of lime in these cookies. If you love key lime, then add the frosting and...za-zing...in the best possible way!
My daughter loves anything key lime and she is very particular. She found this recipe on My Baking Addiction and made it vegan so my daughter that is allergic to dairy, soy and egg could enjoy them. Then, she upped the ante by adding a creamy key lime icing.
The process for making the cookie dough and icing is very straightforward and detailed in the recipe instructions below.
The lime zest is not absolutely necessary. But, it does give the cookies more kick. She's an expert lime-zester now. Yay!
I'm sure this recipe is delightful made with real butter and an egg. But, you won't miss a thing if you use egg-replacer and vegan butter spread. Our go-to choice for a butter alternative is Fleischmann's Unsalted Margarine (stick form) since it is dairy-free and soy-free.
For the egg-replacer, combine 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 Tablespoon water and 1 Tablespoon vinegar.
Last, but definitely not least, I can't say enough good things about Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice. If you don't have the time or energy to juice key limes, this juice is excellent.
By the way, this post is not sponsored by these brands and the opinions I share are always my own. My hope is that sharing what works for us will help others with food allergies or on a vegan path. 🙂
It's hard, very hard, to wait. But, let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack. When they first come out of the oven they should be ever so slightly brown and will be a bit soft. They will firm up perfectly and be ready for the icing process.
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Key Lime Cookies and Key Lime Icing
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 ⅔ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter or vegan replacement softened
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- 1 egg or egg replacer
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of 1 large lime
For the icing
- ½ cup butter or vegan replacement softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoon key lime juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar.
- Prepare the egg replacer, if using
- Add the egg or egg-replacer, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest to the creamed butter and sugar.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in batches and blend.
- Drop Tablespoon-sized dough balls on a non-stick cookie sheet.
- Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Let stand on cookie sheet for several minutes before cooling on a wire rack.
Icicng
- Combine butter, powdered sugar, lime juice, salt and vanilla in a bowl.
- Mix with electric beaters until fluffy.
- Frost the cookies and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
margaret
Recipe sounds delicious..........funny though--that is NOT a key lime in the zest photo
Marjory
Thanks! It's not the best pic, but it really is a tiny little key lime. 🙂
Liz
This recipe did not turn out well at all, and I am not a novice baker. . No lime flavor, the cookies melted into non existence and I ended up throwing away a very expensive bowl of batter.
Marjory
I'm so sorry that the recipe did not turn out for you. 🙁 We this quite a bit and don't have any problems. The lime flavor is very subtle in the cookie, which is why we added the icing.
TANYA M. GREEN
I have been looking for a replacement for the Pillsbury key lime cookies and I will give these a try. Thanks!
Marjory
I hope you enjoy them!