Key Lime Cookies
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 23, 2025 
This melt-in-your-mouth soft Key Lime Cookies Recipe uses fresh limes, so every bite is bursting with delicious summer citrus flavor!
When Life Gives You Limes, Bake These Key Lime Cookies!
It’s key lime time, y’all! Bright, sweet, and delightfully tart key limes are perfect for baking into summertime treats. These irresistible soft fluffy Key Lime Cookies definitely stand out as one of our favorite quick and easy recipes for the season.
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
These Key Lime Cookies are chewy, tart, sweet and totally irresistible. I love how refreshing these are, and this cookie recipe give tropical vibes year round! It’s key lime flavor packed into the best bite!
Why You’ll Love These Key Lime Cookies
- Easy To Make – Even though these cookies are decadent, they’re a breeze to make! No complicated tools or cooking methods here.
- Bright Flavors – From the tangy lime to the sweet and citrusy key lime glaze, these cookies are packed with bright and bold flavors.
- Soft Texture – These cookies are so buttery and soft that they just melt in your mouth with every bite.
These key lime cookies are the perfect treat, and they’re sure to be a hit with everyone who takes a bite!
Ingredients and Tips
- Limes – You can use regular limes for this recipe, but I love to use a whole bunch of Key Limes straight from the Florida Keys!
- Wet Ingredients – You’ll need unsalted and softened butter, eggs at room temperature and a good quality vanilla extract for these cookies.
- Dry Ingredients – For the cookie dough, use white granulated sugar or light brown sugar, baking powder to make these cookies super fluffy, sifted all-purpose flour and a pinch of salt to balance out the sweetness.
- Heavy cream – To make that decadent glaze mixture, you’ll need a full-fat heavy cream.
Recipe Variations and Dietary Swaps
- Shredded coconut – Add some shredded coconut into the dough for an extra tropical taste.
- White chocolate chips – Stir in a handful of white chocolate chips to give each bite some extra sweetness.
- Gluten-free – Swap all-purpose flour with your favorite GF-friendly baking mix.
- Dairy-free – Skip the dairy butter and heavy cream, and instead use your preferred plant-based alternatives.
- Less sugar – Feel free to omit the lime glaze for cookies that aren’t quite so sweet.
- Other flavors – This recipe is terrific with freshly juiced and zested oranges or lemons, too.
- Add color – A drop or two of food coloring into the glaze adds a fun pop of color.
How to Make Key Lime Cookies
These soft and delicious key lime cookies are made in 6 easy steps. All you need to make this show stopper treat is a baking sheet, a wire rack an electric mixer with your large bowl and your oven!
Find the full Key Lime Cookies recipe with detailed instructions and storage tips in the printable form at the bottom of the post!
Storage Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Keep the cookies in an airtight container, and store them at room temperature in a dry and cool place for up to 4 days. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of parchment paper between the rows of cookies.
- Freezing Leftovers – Place the cookies in an airtight plastic zipper bag with all the air squeezed out. If stacking and freezing glazed cookies, keep a piece of parchment paper between the layers. Keep homemade cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
I love to eat these Key Lime Cookies with a nice tall glass of Sweet Tea or soda, especially during the summer when I’m craving something refreshing.
You can also turn these into ice cream sandwiches, with a generous scoop of vanilla or coconut ice cream in between. Yum!!
For a more creative twist on these cookies, top them off with whipped cream and fresh lime zest for a deconstructed version of key lime pie. You can also serve them alongside fresh pureed strawberries as a dipping sauce.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Key limes are much smaller, with a more tart punch.
You can, technically. However, the beauty of key limes is that they are a good deal tangier and more intense than “regular” limes, giving the cookies a stronger lime flavor.
For the fluffiest cookies take care not to overmix or overbake the dough. A gentle touch is best!
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Key Lime Cookies with Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 6 key limes zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
For the Glaze – (Optional)
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons key lime juice
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set out several baking sheets and line them with parchment paper.
- Set out an electric stand mixer. Combine the softened butter and sugar in the bowl. Beat the butter and sugar on high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula. Then add in the eggs, key lime zest, baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt. *SAVE THE KEY LIME JUICE FOR THE GLAZE!
- Scrape the bowl again, then turn the mixer on low and slowly add in the flour. Once the flour is just combined, turn off the mixer as to not overmix the dough.
- Use a 1 ½ teaspoon cookie scoop, to portion out small balls of dough. Roll the balls in your hands and place them on the cookie sheets 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies for 10 minutes, until domed on top and barely golden around the edges.
- For the glaze, set out a medium mixing bowl. Combine the powdered sugar, Key lime juice, and heavy cream. Whisk well until very smooth. When the cookies come out of the oven allow them to cool for five minutes. Then dip the top of each cookie in the glaze, and flip them over onto a wire cooling rack.
- Allow the glaze to spread over the entire dome of the cookie. If desired, you can use extra key limes to add fresh lime zest across the top of the cookies while the glaze is still wet. Once the cookie glaze has set, you can stack the cookies in an airtight container for storage.
Notes
- Storing Leftovers – Keep the cookies in an airtight container, and store them at room temperature in a dry and cool place for up to 4 days. If you need to stack them, place a sheet of parchment paper between the rows of cookies.
- Freezing Leftovers – Place the cookies in an airtight plastic zipper bag with all the air squeezed out. If stacking and freezing glazed cookies, keep a piece of parchment paper between the layers. Keep homemade cookies in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, or at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Every bite is bursting with citrus flavor, so so good! It was a huge hit at home last weekend, thank you for sharing this recipe!
These key lime cookies were the perfect balance of tangy and sweet! They were so easy to make too, I’ll definitely be having these again!
These adorable lime cookies are definitely decadent! The glaze is flavorful making these cookies more delicious and delightful!
Key lime pie was always one of my favorites growing up and I abosolutely devoured these amazing cookies! they were literally the best things I ever had! thank you so much for sharing this recipe!