give a little sweetness

My friend Mel makes pretty things and then sells them at her online shop demoderby. I recently bought a cute little onesie from her as a gift for some friends who just had a baby and was so pleased at how cute it was that I figured I'd bake her some cookies. I decided to make the mexican chocolate cookies that I had bookmarked for ages from Milk & Honey and they turned out wonderfully. As a contrast to the spicy chocolate, I figured something citrusy would go nicely too. I found a recipe for Lemon Cookies from the Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates cookbook and instead of lemons, I used limes to make these cookies. They were perfect....light, buttery and not to sweet and full of lime flavour! Perfect for spring time gift giving...or for just munching outside in the park.

lime cookies
Recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates

topping:
1 1/2 t freshly grated lime peel
1 1/2 T sugar

dough:
1 3/4 c flour
1/2 t salt
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 T freshly grated lime peel
1 t vanilla
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 T fresh lime juice

1. Stir together the topping ingredients in a shallow bowl and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and sugar and mix well to combine. Add the butter and lime peel and mix with your hands until you get the texture of coarse meal. Add the vanilla, egg and lime juice and blend with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together to form a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

3. Preheat the oven to 350. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces. Working with 1 piece of dough at a time, roll the dough between your hands to make 12 small balls. Press each ball into the lime sugar topping, flattening into a 2 inch circle. Place on a cookie sheet, sugar side up. Bake until golden at the edges, about 7 to 8 minutes. Place on rack to cool.