Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookies

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Today I thought we’d take a trip back down into the blog’s archives to revisit one of my all-time favorite cookie recipes.

I actually posted the recipe for these cookies back in my very first year of blogging, and they’ve been getting progressively buried in our cookie archives ever since. But I still make them every single year around the holidays, and can hardly believe their buttery, citrusy, sweet goodness each time I do. They are just the best!!!

Even better, they’re super nice and sturdy, which has made them my go-to recipe for cookie exchanges over the years. I must admit — I have received many a box over the years that has been full of cookie crumbles, especially when shipped through the mail system. But when packed correctly, I promise that these cookie will hold up well even when being shipped across the country, or carried in a toddler’s wobbly path down the street to a neighbor. :)  I’ve given them out for years, and they always receive rave reviews.

So, as is my annual tradition, a friend and I actually made a quadruple batch of these this month to get ready for the holiday season. Half of mine were packed up to give out as part of the World’s Largest Cookie Exchange that I’m participating in with Better Homes & Gardens, and half went in the freezer to have on hand for last-minute holiday gatherings and such. (Ok, actually we couldn’t wait and some friends helped demolish a few dozen of them early while cheering on our Royals during the World Series, which I have to think helped contribute to their sweet win, right?! Right.)

So let’s make some more together, and spread the sweet cookie love!

Alright, well first off, I want to give credit where credit is due. I actually received this recipe after begging for it at a bridal shower 6 years ago with my friend, Amy. Her aunt, Bonnie, is a fantastic baker and always goes all-out making amazing spreads of sweets and bars and cookies for parties. And at this particular shower, the fruity-dessert lover in me was immediately drawn to the cute little handwritten sign that said coconut-lime shortbread cookies.

In the middle of the freezing winter in Kansas, these sounded like a taste of no less than tropical paradise.

Turns out…they were just that.

Buttery shortbread cookies baked with a good hint of lime and toasted coconut…then topped with a sweet lime glaze…how could you go wrong?!

The answer is that you can’t. :)

You absolutely can’t go wrong with these.

And because of that, I highly recommend making a double or triple batch of these if you can. Shortbread cookies are a bit of a time commitment either way, so if you’re going to go to the work, I always vote that you might as well make extras to freeze or give away. (And a quick note — if you aren’t going to eat them right away, I recommend stirring the lime zest into the glaze as pictured above, instead of sprinkling it on top.)

But if you are going to eat them fairly quickly, I love the look of that bright green zest topping each cookie like confetti. So cute!

As I mentioned above, I packed up a few little boxes of these to give away this year as part of The World’s Largest Cookie Exchange with Better Homes & Gardens, which you can join too if you’re interested! They have all sorts of great little free printable holiday gift tags an recipe cards online, as well as hundreds and hundreds of other cookie recipes that you can browse for inspiration.

So if you’re needing some simple (and inexpensive) homemade gifts to give out this year, I highly recommend getting involved and giving the gift of something homemade from your kitchen. I have some more great DIY homemade projects coming up on the blog this month, too, so stay tuned for more ideas.

Cheers to sharing the homemade cookie love!

Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookies

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.6 from 13 reviews

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 20 -30 cookies 1x

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Description

These Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookies are perfectly light, sweet, buttery, and full of fresh lime and coconut flavor!

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Ingredients

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Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookie Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1-tablespoon pieces

Lime Glaze Ingredients:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2–3 tablespoons water

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Instructions

To Make The Coconut Lime Shortbread Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a food processor, combine coconut, sugar, lime zest, and the vanilla extract.  Pulse a few times until the coconut is finely chopped. Add flour, and pulse until combined.  Gradually add in the butter pieces and pulse until the mixture is smooth and combined.  (The dough will appear fairly dry.)
3. Transfer to a very large bowl, and knead dough until smooth.  (If the dough is still too dry and crumbly, add in a half teaspoon of water at a time until it clings together.)  Shape dough into a ball, then divide in half.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the dough portions to about 1/4-inch thickness. Using your desired cookie cutters (I used a 1.5-inch round cutter), cut out dough. Place cutouts 1″ apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
5. Repeat with the remaining dough on a second cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or just until bottoms start to brown. Transfer cookies to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature.
7. Drizzle each cookie with the lime glaze, adding extra lime zest on top if desired.

To Make Lime Glaze:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, lime peel, and lime juice until combined. Add in the two or three tablespoons of water, and whisk until it reaches a good consistency for spreading.

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Notes

Recipe from a friend.

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