Iced Lime Shortbread Cookies

Iced Lime Shortbread Cookies are tender, buttery, and filled with fresh lime flavor. Perfect for summer, these lime cookies only need five ingredients to make.

There’s nothing better than a quick and easy dessert recipe for summer. These lime shortbread cookies do the trick. Lightly sweet, filled with lime flavor, with a tender, buttery texture. These cookies are a must try. 

If you’re a fan of lime sherbet, you’ll love these sweet lime cookies. Topped with a thin, easy to make glaze, the flavor is reminiscent of a bowl of lime sherbet.

Looking for more shortbread cookie recipes? Try my Birthday Cake Shortbread Cookie Bites, Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookie Dippers, or Mint Chocolate Shortbread Cookies. Shortbread cookies for any time of year. 

Lime Shortbread Cookie Ingredients

The best part about this recipe? You only need five ingredients.

What you’ll need:

• Unsalted butter
• Confectioner’s sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Lime
• Vanilla extract

You’ll be using that lime throughout the entire recipe, with the zest in the dough, and more zest and lime juice in the icing.

My favorite part about shortbread cookies is the fact that the dough comes together with only three ingredients – butter, sugar, and flour. The rest of the ingredients are flavor enhancers only – vanilla, lime, and salt.

Tips for Making Lime Cookies

The most common issue I hear from readers is regarding the texture of shortbread cookies. Shortbread cookie dough will be crumbly once you’re done mixing, but will hold together when pinched between two fingers.

Once the dough is pressed together into a tube and refrigerated, the dough will keep its shape before and after baking. Because there are no eggs or leavening agents in shortbread cookies, the cookies are tender, dense, and delicate.

Due to all of these circumstances, it is extremely important to accurately measure the few ingredients you’re adding to your lime cookies. 

Measuring Flour for Shortbread Cookies

If you scoop your flour with a measuring cup, then shake it off until it’s level, or scoop and level with a knife, this will be between 5 and 6 ounces of flour.

If you spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level with a knife, it may be as little as 4 ounces of flour. The USDA states that 1 cup of flour should be 5 ounces, right in the middle.

If you are packing your measuring cup with extra flour, you may be adding too much to your cookies. The only way you can know for sure is if you have a kitchen scale and can measure the weight of your flour.

If you don’t have a kitchen scale and are struggling with shortbread cookie dough, I suggest the following. Reserve 1/2 a cup of the flour in this recipe. Mix in the first two cups.

How does your dough look? If it’s sticking to the bowl and hard to roll into a ball, you need more flour. If your dough rolls easily into a ball without sticking to your hands, it’s just right.

How do you know you’ve added too much flour? Your dough will be overly crumbly and doesn’t come together in a ball or log shape.

In this case, you may need to adjust your measurements of butter and sugar, adding a small amount at a time of each until your dough comes together. Reserving some flour will prevent this from happening.

Print Recipe

Iced Lime Shortbread Cookies

My Iced Lime Shortbread Cookies are tender, buttery, and filled with fresh lime flavor. Great for summer, this slice and bake recipe only needs five ingredients to make.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Resting Time30 mins

Total Time57 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: iced lime shortbread cookies

Servings: 36 cookies

Calories: 100kcal

Author: Heather

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
• 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Lime Icing

• 2 and 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 teaspoon lime zest

Instructions

• In a bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add vanilla and lime zest and stir to combine. 
• In a separate bowl, sift (or whisk) together flour and salt. Add dry ingredients* to butter mixture and mix until a dough forms. Dough should easily roll into a ball, but not sticky, and not crumbly.
  
• Shape into a long, round tube about 2 inches thick and wrap in wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
  
• Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
  
• Remove dough from refrigerator and unwrap. Using a sharp knife, slice dough into 1/4 inch slices and place on lined baking sheet. 
  
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until cookies barely begin to brown around edges. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before removing from sheet to cool completely.
  

Lime Icing

• While cookies are cooling, combine confectioner's sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. If too thick, add more lime juice 1 teaspoon at a time. 
• Once cookies have cooled completely, ice cookies with a knife and set on a cooling rack for one hour until set. 

Notes

* Optionally, reserve 1/2 a cup of flour. Your dough should be firm, easily roll into a disc, and should not be sticky. If your dough is still sticky, add the remaining 1/2 cup of flour.

Your cookies will keep for 5-7 days in a sealed container. To help keep cookies fresh, you can place a slice of bread in the container with the cookies. Replace the bread slice as needed. You can keep raw cookie dough in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cookie dough and baked cookies freeze well, up to 3 months in a sealed plastic container or freezer bag. Allow frozen dough to thaw for up to 10 minutes on the baking sheet before baking, or add 1-2 minutes to the baking time.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 100kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 12mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 160IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 0.4mg