Key Lime Meltaway Cookies Recipes

Steps:

• Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add lime zest and juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.
• Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.
• Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8-by-12-inch sheet of parchment paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter, pressing a ruler along edge of parchment at each turn to narrow log. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 325% and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium size mixing bowl add the cream cheese, butter, sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix well, add 2 Tablespoons of the Lime Jello and approx 2 Tablespoons of the lime juice, be sure there is about 1 Tablespoon of lime juice left for the glaze, adjust as needed.
• 2. Mix 1 cup of the all purpose flour and the finely ground pecans together. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients well. If dough seems too sticky, add a small amount of the remaining 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. Meltaway cookie dough is rather stiff and holds a ball shape.
• 3. Once the dough has been mixed you will cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The chilled dough is easier to scoop onto your baking pan.
• 4. Using a small cookie scoop, scoop the dough to a flat even bottom and release from the scoop and place onto the baking sheet lined with parchment. These cookies do not spread while baking so they can be close together on the sheet. Place the pan into the preheated oven for 15 minutes. While the meltaways are baking mix 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon of lime juice, 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/4 teaspoon of the lime jello for color, set aside. When the meltaway cookies are done remove from oven and immediately begin to gently roll them into a bowl with the remaining 1 cup of powdered sugar. Once the cookies are cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top as desired, note, if glaze is a little thick, add a drop or two of water at a time to make it thin enough to drizzle.

Steps:

• To make the dough. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in the lime juice and zest.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
• When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Drop teaspoon size balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your thumb to indent the tops of the cookies and create a "nest" for the frosting to sit inches Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until set. These cookies should not brown or spread, and will be quite fragile.
• Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before frosting.
• To make the frosting, in a medium bowl use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with the butter, scraping the bowl several times to ensure there are no lumps. Mix in the powdered sugar and key lime juice. Frost each cookie with a dollop of the frosting.
• Cookies can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.