Saturday, August 22, 2009

Lime Sugar Cookies...

I was looking for a cookie to bake this morning, but I was feeling in a plain kind of mood... nothing too fancy or souped up. We had just opened a box of crispy rice cereal the other day and that was the first thing I saw when I opened up the pantry, which reminded me of these Lime Sugar Cookies I've had in my to-try pile for awhile.

The cookie dough is a breeze to prepare with everyday staples - butter, sugar, flour, baking powder and an egg. You wouldn't even need to have a mixer to bring this dough together as it doesn't end up being too stiff, but out of convenience and habit, I did use it today. Because cookies just taste better with at least a little vanilla, that of course went in too, along with the bright zest of a fresh lime. Don't have limes? Make them a lemon cookie with lemon zest, or go with orange zest for an orange-flavored cookie!

The cookie dough ends up being firm enough that you could touch it without pulling your finger back with dough attached, yet remains on the softer side soft so that you can easily portion it out to roll into balls. For a fun, crunchy coating, the dough balls are then rolled through a valley of the rice cereal. After being coated and set on the baking sheet, use your palm or fingers to press the dough balls down slightly - they need a little extra push to evenly spread out while baking, unless you want them more of a tall mound.

I wondered if the cereal was going to turn soggy or soft at all, but they definitely kept their crunch and crackle (though I think the snap faded?... hee hee!). While they are called sugar cookies, they didn't come across as being too sugary at all - I found them more to be a cross between a traditional sugar cookie and a shortbread - more moist than shortbread, but not as crisp as a thin sugar cookie. They had a decent thickness to them, without being cake-like, along with a chewy quality that we both liked. The lime certainly made them pop, with a sweet vanilla finish that kept them from being too boring or bland. I think you could even get away with having a couple of these for breakfast... just a new way to get that cereal in, right?

8 comments:

  1. These look great! I love the crackle, crunch, but no snap! Your written description about your recipes and what you've done always sound SO yummy! And the pictures usually just solidify that for me!

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  2. Lime anything is always a winner, in my opinion!

    Did you know they have chocolate covered bacon at the MN state fair (probably on a stick, haha)?! I saw it today on the news and it reminded me of your bacon cookies...

    Courtney

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  3. These look great. Im gonna try them

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  4. Hey - tried these today with Orange because we were out of limes. They taste fab and the spelled incredible while baking!

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  5. Katrina - I appreciate the kind words! Thank you!

    Courtney - Yes, it debuted last year. Of course, on a stick! That was one of the reasonings behind making those cookies!

    Judy - Great!

    BookWyrm - Fantastic! Thanks for the feedback.

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  6. These look terrific. There's a Cowboy Cookie that I make that has rice krispies in it, and the kids always like it. Lime or lemon, I think I'd like both.

    I see that you have your house up for sale- best of luck! Hope you get an interested buyer quickly so you can have your kitchen back :)

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  7. These look great. I wonder if they would be too lime-y if I substituted lime juice in for the milk?
    Jennifer

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  8. Lori - Thanks!

    Jennifer - It may take away from the tenderness a bit, but it may be worth the experiment!

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