Soft Key Lime Cookies with Glaze
The Best Key Lime Cookies – These melt-in-your-mouth soft sugar cookies have fresh limes in the dough and sweet glaze, so every bite is bursting with delicious summer citrus flavor!
Why We Love This Key Lime Cookie Recipe
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.
Here we use both lime juice and zest, so each little two-bite cookie is brimming with unbelievably vibrant citrus flavor. Serve as-is, or dunk them in a simple glaze to really bump up the lime-y goodness!
The cookies are small, make fabulous gifts, and will disappear in minutes!
Ingredients You Need
For the Cookies –
- Butter – unsalted, softened
- Granulated sugar – white or coconut sugar
- Eggs – room temperature is best
- Key limes – zested and juiced
- Baking powder – leavening agent for super soft and fluffy cookies
- Vanilla extract – classic ingredient for sweet baked goods
- Salt – a pinch
- All-purpose flour – sifted
To Make the Lime Glaze –
- Powdered sugar – sifted
- Key lime juice – freshly squeezed
- Heavy cream – for a rich, perfectly decadent glaze
Recipe Equipment
- Citrus zester
- Standing mixer
- Baking sheets
- Cooling rack
How to Make Glazed Key Lime Cookies
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 so 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.
Get the Complete (Printable) Glazed Soft Key Lime Cookies Recipe Below. Enjoy!
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.
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.
Recipe Variations
- “Regular limes” – if key limes aren’t available, standard ripe limes are a good substitute
- 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
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t over mix the cookie dough! For the softest key lime cookies, be sure not to over mix the dough once you add the flour! Over mixing can result in tough cookies.
- Use normal limes if needed. Of course, key limes make these easy lime cookies stand out, but normal limes can be used too.
- Zest is key! The citrus zest is what gives these cookies so much flavor. To easily zest them, use a microplane!
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 to not overmix or overbake the dough. A gentle touch is best!
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 to preserve their appearance.
Yes, these lime cookies will freeze very well! I prefer to freeze them without the glaze, and then freshly dip them shortly before enjoying. Either way, 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.
Looking for More Easy Cookie Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Soft Chocolate Coconut Cookies
- Earl Grey Cookies
- Lemon Drop Thumbprint Cookies
- Lemon Crinkle Cookies
- Fruity Pillow Cookies
Soft 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.
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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!