Quick and easy key lime cookies recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. These crinkle cookies are sugary and crispy on the outside but soft and chewy on the inside. Full of fresh lime zest and lime juice.
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This weekend, I played around with one of my Mom's citrus recipes and ended up with these cookies that everyone in the family gave a big thumbs up. The original recipe used condensed milk which gave these more of a Coconut Macaroon texture that I didn't really enjoy. After some recipe testing, I had success! Now, these have all the flavors of my Easy Key Lime Cake (With Cake Mix) or key lime pie and the texture is perfect, just like my Easy Sugar Cookies. They are even better than the ones I have tried at Crumbl. If you are also a citrus lover like me, be sure to also try these Easy Lemon Bars (Lemon Squares) and this Lemon Glaze for Cake (Lemon Drizzle Icing).
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Key ingredients for best lime crinkle cookies
- Butter- Unsalted at room temperature is best.
- Sugar- Granulated makes these cookies sweet and tasty.
- Egg- Use a large one at room temperature for smooth mixing.
- Extracts and zest- Key to that lime taste.
- Lime juice- Fresh yields the best flavor.
- Flour- All-purpose is all you need for this recipe.
- Food coloring- This is optional, but adds fun.
- Coconut- Use unsweetened and shredded.
- Baking powder and baking soda- Are both used as rising agents.
Variations
- To make a strawberry version- Spread Lemon Frosting on top of each cookie and place a few sliced strawberries. Make sure to pat your sliced strawberries dry on a few sheets of paper towel to get rid of excess juices. Also, since fresh strawberries are used, store leftover cookies in the fridge. You can also replace strawberries with raspberries or blueberries or blackberries.
- Add white chocolate chips- By stirring in 1- ¼ cups white chocolate chips in the dough.
- Make cookie sandwiches- By placing a filling between two cooled cookies. This could be your favorite ice cream, Whipped Cream, Chocolate Whipped Cream, Chocolate Ganache Frosting, Marshmallow Frosting, or marshmallow cream.
- Make thumbprint cookies- These would look similar to my Jam Thumbprint Cookies and Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. Make cookie dough balls, place them on a baking tray, make an indentation in the middle and bake. If the indentation gets filled during baking, indent again. Fill with lime curd or Lemon Curd or even jams and preserves like this Homemade Strawberry Jam.
- Mix nuts into the dough- Such as chopped macadamia nuts or chopped cashews, pecans or almonds.
- Coat in powdered sugar- This would be similar to Snowball Cookies (Wedding Cookies). Make smaller cookie dough balls, bake them, and then roll them in a bowl of powdered sugar until fully covered.
- If you are using a store-bought sugar cookie mix- Prepare the dough according to the box instructions. Then, mix in 1 tablespoon key lime zest, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 teaspoon lime extract.
- To make these cookies with a cake mix- Cook according to my instructions in these Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies but use a yellow cake mix instead of chocolate cake mix. Then, add 2 tablespoon key lime zest, 1 tablespoon lime juice and replace vanilla extract with 1 teaspoon lime extract.
- Add a glaze- Top off each cookie with thinned out Royal Icing or Glace Icing. You can even add ½ teaspoon lime zest and 1 teaspoon lime extract in the glaze.
- Spread frosting on top- With a spatula. Only do this once it cools fully. Try my American buttercream frosting, Flour Buttercream (Ermine frosting), or Cream Cheese Frosting.
- Lime Oreo cookies- Add ½ cup chopped Oreos in the cookie dough mixture.
- For a shortbread version- Don't use this recipe. Instead, make my Best Shortbread Cookies but add some ½ teaspoon lime extract, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and ½ teaspoon lime zest.
- Make bars- Spread the dough in a square baking pan, bake and enjoy. You can also ice it with frosting, such as White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting, after it cools.
- Drizzle- Melted dark, milk, or white chocolate, Homemade Caramel Sauce, or Powdered Sugar Glaze over the top.
- Dip in chocolate- You can dip have the cookie in melted (and slightly cooled) semisweet, milk, or white chocolate for added flavor and aesthetic appeal.
How to make easy key lime cookies recipe from scratch?
- Cream together- Butter and sugar.
- Mix in- The egg, vanilla extract, lime extract, lime juice, lime zest, and gel coloring.
- Whisk together- The flour, coconut, baking powder and baking soda in a separate bowl.
- Dump dry mixture- Into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Roll out small balls- Of cookie dough and cover them in granulated sugar.
- Place them- On a lined cookie tray.
- Chill in the fridge- Before baking. Enjoy!
Tips and techniques
- Your butter and egg must be at room temperature- To allow even mixing and blending of ingredients.
- Number of cookies may vary- This depends on how big or small you make your cookie dough balls.
- You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut- I prefer unsweetened or else the cookies are a little too sweet for my liking.
- Don't use salted butter- Because it will make the cookies too salty.
- How to know cookies are ready and fully baked? They are firm and golden brown along the edges. Don't over-bake cookies because that would make them dry.
- Use both baking powder and baking soda- And don't substitute one for the other or these cookies won't turn out right.
- Don't replace key limes with lemons- Because this will change the whole flavor!
- Food coloring is optional- And can be omitted.
- Don't over-mix dough- Because that will yield tough cookies.
- Use butter instead of shortening- Because it creates the best texture. Shortening makes the cookies very greasy.
- Be sure to chill dough- Because this helps reduce spreading when baking.
Recipe FAQs
It is likely your oven was too hot and the butter melted before all the other ingredients could firm up. Chilling the dough before will help. Also, always be sure to measure your ingredients correctly. Using too much or not enough of various ingredients can cause this.
Key limes are usually smaller with a higher seed content. They are also less acidic, more tangy, and don't leave such a prominent aftertaste compared to the regular, or Persian, limes.
Lemon juice should not be used as a substitute because it changes the entire flavor of the cookie. You can use regular lime juice, but it won't taste quite the same or as good in my opinion.
Storage
- Room temperature- Leftover cookies can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days (as long as they are not frosted).
- Refrigerate- Leftover cookies can be stored in a sealed container for 1 week.
- Freeze- Leftover cookies can be stored in a sealed container for up to 1 month. If making frosting, store in a separate sealed container.
- Make ahead- These cookies can be made and placed in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 1 month before serving. Simply thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake according to instructions below. They can also be made a head and kept in the fridge up to 1 week before serving. If making frosting, store separately.
More homemade cookie recipes
Recipe
Easy Key Lime Cookies (Crinkle Cookies)
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Ingredients
Key Lime cookies:
- 1 cup Butter Unsalted, Room temperature
- 1½ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 Egg Large, Room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon Lime extract
- 2 teaspoon Lime juice From fresh key limes
- 1½ tablespoon Lime zest
- Neon green gel food coloring Few drops, Optional
- 2¾ cups All-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup Shredded coconut Preferably unsweetened
- ½ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 cup Additional granulated sugar For rolling cookie dough balls
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the egg, vanilla extract, lime extract, lime juice, lime zest, gel coloring until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, baking soda.
- Dump this dry mixture into the wet mixture and mix until just combined.
- Scoop out small portions of the dough and shape them into balls. Roll them in a plate filled with granulated sugar. Place them on a cookie tray, lined with parchment paper and chill the tray for 15-20 minutes.
- Then, bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until the edges are firm and golden brown.
- Allow these cookies to cool down and enjoy!
Notes
- Don't replace key limes with lemons.
- Use fresh key lime juice.
- Don't over-bake cookies because that would make them dry.
- Food coloring is optional and can be omitted.
- All ingredients must be at room temperature to allow even mixing and blending of ingredients.
- Don't over-mix dough because that will yield tough cookies.
- Leftover cookies can be stored in a cookie jar at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Read additional tips and variations above.
Nutrition
An automated tool is used to calculate the nutritional information. As such, I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information provided for any recipe on this site.
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