Lime Meltaways

I love Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. I have had great success with the several recipes I've tried and I love that the recipes are sorted by type of cookie; soft and chewy, rich and dense and so on. I've had my eye on the Lime Meltaways for a while and thought they might be the perfect cookie to bring about some citrus therapy in my continued attempts to warm myself against these cold January days.

I found this recipe lived up to its billing under the crumbly and sandy section. Crumbly was an understatement. The dough never really came together and I had a hard time getting the crumbs, I mean dough, rolled into logs. By the time I put them in the oven I had decided this was my last time making this recipe. However, I changed my mind after popping a little snowy cookie in my mouth. The texture was melt-in-your-mouth and the taste slightly tart. I would have preferred the lime taste been a little stronger and may use bottled key lime juice in place of the fresh lime juice. I know, I know, never use bottled instead of fresh but I find the key lime juice to be stronger in flavor then the limes we get around here. I would still use the lime zest because I loved the flavor and seeing the little specks of green in the cookie.

Lime Meltaways
Cookies by Martha Stewart

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt

1. Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioner's sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the lime zest and juice and the vanilla, and mix until fluffy.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.
3. Divide dough in half. Place each log on an 8 x 12-inch sheet of parchment. 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.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 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.