Tangy Lime Sugar Cookies

Jun

2013

It seems most people either love or hate sugar cookies, and for me, there’s always been something comforting and nostalgic about this simple little cookie. The smooth, sweet buttery flavor of a sugar cookie just kinda makes you feel better about life sometimes, you agree?

Since these cookies have a tangy citrus flavor, I thought that these little AirHeads Xtremes Bites would look adorable on top! They’re really not overly sour, but they add a little bit of extra zip to the flavor and they’re totally cute!

I recommend baking these cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, instead of greasing the sheet itself, as that can promote additional spreading of the cookie while baking. Keep your dough balls relatively small (a rounded teaspoonful works well) and I recommend chilling the dough for several hours before baking to make rolling them easier!

Tangy Lime Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

2¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar, plus extra for rolling dough
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Zest from one large lime (add more to taste)
3 tbsp lime juice
AirHeads Xtremes Bites candies for decorating (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
With a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice and lime zest.
In 2-3 additions, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
Refrigerate dough for several hours
Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and roll in sugar.
Place on lined cookie sheets 1 – 2 inches apart
Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned
If desired, remove cookies from oven about a minute before they’re doneand place an AirHeads candy onto the top (this will help the candy stick to the cookie).
Remove from oven and let stand on cookie sheet for a couple of minutes.
Transfer to cooling rack.

Sugar cookies come in all shapes and sizes – thick and cakey, chewy, crispy – these fall somewhere between chewy and crispy, and I love their small size!