Cookie of the Week: Lime Meltaways

Lime Meltaways

This is a recipe I saw on a Martha Stewart television show about 8 years ago and have been a favorite of mine ever since. They are light and refreshing and hard to resist having another, and another, and... yet another.

Ingredients

Makes about 3 dozen
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar divided (1/3 cup for dough, 2/3 cup for coating later)
Finely grated zest of 2 limes
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. 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 lime zest and juice and vanilla, and mix until fluffy.
2. Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt in a bowl. Add to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until just combined.
3. Divide dough in half. Place each half on an 8-by-12-inch sheet of parchment (or waxed) paper. Roll in parchment to form a log 1 1/4 inches in diameter. Refrigerate logs until cold and firm, at least 1 hour. (I put mine in the freezer for an hour because it took too long in the fridge)
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove parchment from logs; cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Space rounds 1 inch apart on baking sheets. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 13 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool slightly, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. While still warm, toss cookies with remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag.

Cookies can be stored in airtight containers at room temperature up to 2 weeks.