Lime Meltaway Cookies

Makes about 5 dozen

Recipe from Martha Stewart

Husban-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

These cookies are truly melt-in-your-mouth good.  Make a batch or two and freeze the dough logs.  Thaw the logs in the fridge the night before you plan to bake them.  Slice and bake the cookies later when you have need of a perfect treat to go with a cup of hot tea.

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar, divided


Finely grated zest of 2 limes


2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract


1¾ cups plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cornstarch


¼ teaspoon coarse salt

Put butter and 1/3 cup confectioners’ 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.

Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.

Divide dough in half. Place each log on an 8 by 12-inch sheet of parchment. Roll in parchment to form a log 1¼ 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.

Preheat oven to 350°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. (I found that putting the powdered sugar in a pie plate and gently tossing the cookies in the sugar worked better and kept the cookies from crumbling.) Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.