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Home » Recipes » Cookies

key lime slice and bake cookies

August 27, 2022 12 Comments

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Key Lime Cookies taste just like Key Lime Pie in cookie form! These shortbread cookies are melt in your mouth good, and are full of zingy lime flavor. Top them off with a quick lime glaze for a polished finish. 

Key Lime shortbread cookies topped with a lime glaze on a light pink surface. this recipe

This recipe comes from my cookbook, “The One-Bowl Baker”. Order a copy today!

Why you’ll love these Key Lime Cookies:

  • Key Lime Flavor – These cookies are full of key lime flavor and fresh key lime zest.
  • Shortbread Cookies – Shortbread slice and bake cookies have crisp edges and melt-in-your-mouth centers – they make the best cookies!
  • Zippy Glaze – This glaze adds an extra pop of lime flavor to these easy cookies.
Key lime cookies topped with white glaze and lime zest.

Ingredient Overview:

Key Lime Slice and Bake Cookies are so incredibly delicious and easy – and the ingredient list is nice and short. 

  • Key Lime Juice – You’ll need key lime juice but you can use juice from regular limes too – the recipe includes a substitution if you can’t find key lime juice near you. Find Key Lime juice with the other juice in the grocery store.
  • Coarse Sugar – Rolling the dough in raw or cane sugar gives a nice crunch to the edge of your cookies.
  • Butter – I always use salted buter for the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if you prefer.

Ingredient Substitutions:

  • Fresh Lime Juice – Regular fresh lime juice can be used in place of the key lime juice, in a slightly different quantity given in the recipe card below.
  • Dairy-free – Use your favorite dairy-free butter sticks to keep this recipe dairy-free.
  • Granulated Sugar – If you don’t have a coarse sugar like raw or cane, just use granulated sugar or skip it.

How to Make this Key Lime Cookie Recipe Step-by-Step:

Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough. Cream the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the sugar and mix until well creamed. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, lime juice, and lime zest. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients to the flour mixture, mixing just until a dough comes together.

A mixing bowl full of cookie dough.

Step 2: Shape the Dough. Divide the dough into two sections and roll each into a log. Roll the logs through a plate of coarse sugar, then wrap in plastic wrap to chill for at least 30 minutes in the freezer. (See tips below about storing dough longer.)

A log of dough being rolled in raw sugar on a plate.

Step 3: Slice & Bake the Cookies. Once chilled, slice each dough log into 12-14 cookies. Place on a prepared baking sheet and bake as directed in the recipe card below. Let them cool for a bit on a wire rack before glazing.

A cookie sheet with sliced key lime cookies before being baked.
A cookie sheet of baked key lime cookies cooling.

Step 4: Glaze the Cookies. Make this 2-minute glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract. Dunk the cookies in the glaze and enjoy this easy key lime cookie recipe! These will be your new favorite cookies.

Glazed key lime shortbread cookies with lime zest on top.

Expert Success Tips:

  • Glaze – Be sure to let the glaze set before storing or stacking these cookies.

FAQs:

Can I make the dough ahead or can I freeze the cookie dough?

Yes! Chill this dough in the fridge at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. Or, chill it in the freezer for 1 hour, or up to 3 months. Let thaw in the fridge overnight before slicing & baking. You can also slice the cookies once they’ve been chilled, and freeze them like that rather than in whole logs of dough. In this case, you can bake them directly from frozen – no need to make any adjustments. 

Do I have to chill the dough?

Yes, the dough must be chilled for these cookies.

How do I know when the cookies are done?

The cookies will spread a bit but should hold their shapes. The edges will have just a hint of golden brown, and will appear set. 

How do I keep my slice and bake cookies perfectly round?

Place each dough log inside two drinking glasses laid on their sides so the dough log is encapsulated inside the glasses. This helps keep the dough more rounded than if you just laid it on the fridge shelf.

Recipe Variations:

  • Other Fruits – Feel free to try this recipe with another citrus fruit if you don’t care for lime. Lemon, orange, or blood orange would all work well!
  • Graham Crackers – Sprinkle some crushed graham crackers or graham cracker crumbs on top of the glaze for that key lime pie feel.
Key Lime cookies in a close-up photo topped with glaze and lime zest.

Serving + Storing this Recipe:

Baked and cooled cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for 4-6 days, or in the fridge for longer.

Special Tools:

  • Cookie Sheet – These are my favorite cookie sheets, I’ve used them almost every day for 6 years and they’re still in great shape.
  • Silicone Baking Mat – I love silicone baking mats because they’re reusable and dishwasher safe.

More Citrus Recipes to Love:

  • Key Lime Pound Cake
  • Key Lime Pie Bars
  • Mini Key Lime Cheesecake
  • Mojito Cake
  • Blood Orange Upside Down Cake
  • Pound Cake with Grapefruit Glaze

Did you make this recipe? Snap a photo and leave a comment! 

Be sure to follow bluebowlrecipes on instagram and tag #bluebowlrecipes with your photo! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the bluebowlrecipes Facebook page. I’d love to see what you make!


Key Lime Slice and Bake shortbread cookies topped with a lime glaze on a pink surface.

Key Lime Slice and Bake Cookies

These Key Lime Slice and Bake Cookies taste just like Key Lime Pie in cookie form! These shortbread cookies are melt in your mouth good, and are full of zingy lime flavor. Top them off with a quick lime glaze for a polished finish.
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine: Dessert
Keyword: Easy Desserts, Shortbread Cookies, Key Lime Desserts
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Dough Chilling: 1 hour
Servings: 24 cookies
Calories: 126kcal
Author: Stephanie Simmons

Ingredients

For the Cookies

  • 3/4 cup salted butter, softened at room temperature (12 tbsp, or 170 g)
  • 2/3 cup packed brown sugar 160 g
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 large limes, zested and divided in half
  • 2 tbsp key lime juice See note
  • 2 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour 268 g
  • 1/8 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • raw sugar, for coating the dough

For the Key Lime Glaze

  • 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp key lime juice
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  • Make the Cookie Dough: In a large mixing bowl, cream softened butter for about 30 seconds. Add the brown sugar and mix until well creamed with the butter, at least 1 minute. Add the egg, vanilla, lime zest, and lime juice and mix until just combined. Add the flour, cinnamon, and salt and mix until just combined.
  • Chill the Dough: Divide the dough into two equal logs, each about 8 inches long and 2 inches wide. Add some raw or coarse sugar to a plate, and roll each dough log in the sugar to coat the outside. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or in the freezer for 1 hour.
    Make Ahead Tip: You can also chill the dough in the fridge for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months (thaw dough in the fridge overnight before baking).
    Tip: To keep the dough from flattening on one side, place the dough log inside two drinking glasses (one on each end). This will keep the log more well-rounded.
  • Bake: Preheat your oven to 350° F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. Slice each cookie dough log into 12-14 equal slices. Place cookies a few inches apart on the cookie sheet, and bake for 12-14 minutes. The edges will apear set and be very lightly browned. Keep additional cookie sheets full of unbaked cookies in the fridge, covered with a kitchen towel, until ready to bake.
    Let cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • Glaze: Whisk together the glaze ingredients in a small bowl or measuring cup. Dunk the tops of the cooled cookies into the glaze, and sprinkle on some lime zest.
  • Serve + Store: Enjoy immediately! Store leftover cookies in an airtight container at room temp for 4-6 days, or in the fridge for a bit longer.

Notes

Key Lime Juice: This is sold in a bottle in the juice aisle in many stores. If you can’t find key lime juice or fresh key limes, just add 1 additional tsp of regular lime juice to compensate. In the glaze, add 1/2 additional tsp lime juice if subbing for key lime juice.  

Nutrition

Serving: 1cookie | Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 75mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 189IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg
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Comments

  1. Christina Lafferry says

    March 18, 2023 at 5:17 am

    5 stars
    Made 14 dozen of these for a cookie exchange and they were easy impressive and delicious

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      March 18, 2023 at 5:06 pm

      That is impressive! Thanks, Christina!

      Reply
  2. Kenzie Church says

    March 16, 2023 at 11:42 am

    5 stars
    I made these to go with Sunday dinner and they were a hit with the entire family! A few were even snuck prior to me glazing them and still said they were some of the best cookies they’d ever tasted. Definitely a keeper!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      March 16, 2023 at 1:13 pm

      Thanks so much for your sweet review, Kenzie! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Claudia says

    January 25, 2023 at 4:53 pm

    5 stars
    I made them last weekend and they are just perfect! My family and I really enjoyed them… but they complained a little because they wanted more 🙂 !! Thank you for the recipe! I can not wait to try another! Regards from Seville! (Spain)

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      January 25, 2023 at 5:50 pm

      Thanks so much for your kind words, Claudia! I hope to visit Spain someday! Regards from snowy Wisconsin. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Katie says

    December 23, 2022 at 2:54 pm

    5 stars
    These were easy to make and had such a fun and unique taste for a cookie! I brought them to work and a co-worker even asked for the recipe too!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      December 23, 2022 at 3:56 pm

      Thanks so much, Katie! ☺️

      Reply
  5. Danielle says

    December 04, 2022 at 7:06 pm

    5 stars
    Easy recipe to follow! These turned out so beautiful and delicious! 10/10!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      December 05, 2022 at 3:18 pm

      Thanks so much, Danielle!

      Reply
  6. Marlene says

    September 14, 2022 at 9:01 pm

    5 stars
    I have made these twice and they are perfection! These cookies are the perfect combination of tart and sweet. Great recipe!

    Reply
    • Stephanie Simmons says

      September 20, 2022 at 11:26 am

      Thanks for the lovely review, Marlene! 🙂

      Reply

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Hi. I’m Stephanie

I’m a Mom & Grandma-taught cook + baker, and I’m excited to share my love of all things food with you!

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