Lime & Pepper Cookies

I am totally a cookie person. I rarely eat store bought cookies, though. Nothing beats a homemade cookie! I like soft, buttery cookies or chunky, chewy cookies. And as you may already know if you've read any of my earlier posts, I am crazy about lime. So, when I saw a recipe for Lime Meltaway Cookies on Serious Eats, I knew I just had to try it. Then, I found Martha Stewart's Lime Meltaways, and I ended up combining the two recipes and adding my own spin to them to create these little beauties.

I turned the lime cookies into a slightly more grown-up cookie with the addition of fresh cracked pepper. This doesn't really make the cookie spicy, like you might think it would, but just gives the cookie a flavor that you won't soon forget. The texture of the cookies is very similar to shortbread. Maybe just a wee bit firmer. I was a little nervous at first because I made quite a few changes to the recipes, but I was very pleased with the results.

For the pepper, I found this pretty little pepper melange at the supermarket. Unfortunately, it is in one of those sealed, plastic pepper mills, and so I couldn't get the pepper corns out to show you how pretty they are! They really are very pretty - a combination of black, white, green and pink pepper, really make a pretty picture.

Lime & Pepper Cookies
Ingredients
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp lime zest
1/2 tsp freshly ground coarse pepper
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp rice flour
2 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp salt

Note: If you don't have rice flour at hand, just substitute 3 tbsp of regular flour instead.

Method
1. In your mixer, cream the butter, lime zest, pepper, sugar, vanilla and lime juice at together at medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
2. With the mixer running on low, add the flours and salt and continue mixing until completely incorporated.
3. Turn the mixer up and cream for a further 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the cookie dough onto a large sized piece of cling film, and form into a log.
5. Chill for 15 minutes in the refrigerator.
6. Preheat the oven to 350.
7. Slice the cookies about 1/4 inch thick, and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
8. Transfer to a cooling rack, and let the cookies cool down completely.
9. Store in an airtight container.

If the cookies are not sweet enough for you, toss the cookies in more powdered sugar while they are still warm. They were sweet enough for us.

When you bite into these cookies, the first flavor that hits you is the lime. It is unmistakable. Then you taste the butteriness of the cookies. Just when you are getting ready to take your next bite, you feel a slight tingle at the back of your mouth. That's the pepper kicking in. A few seconds later, it's gone, and you're ready for your next lime-y, buttery, peppery bite.

Have I mentioned that my daughter loves lime too? Not quite the way I do. She loves LIMES. She actually eats limes. You know the lime slices that come as garnishes on plates and drinks? She eats those. Yes. Strange, I know, but that's just way things are. Well, she liked these cookies too. At first, I was nervous about giving her a cookie with pepper in it, but she devoured it without flinching. I can't guarantee that all your kids will like these cookies too, but I think you will!


Technorati Tags: Cookies, Lime, Pepper, Recipe