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Published: Apr 16, 2012 · Modified: Sep 12, 2019 by Keri · This post may contain affiliate links · 37 Comments

Key Lime Shortbread Bites

Name: Key Lime Shortbread Bites
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 30
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Key Lime Shortbread Cookies; 1 cup butter, softened; 1/4 cup powdered sugar; 2 teaspoons key lime juice; 2 teaspoons grated key lime (or just plain ol' lime) zest; 2 cups all purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts (I omitted these in this batch because Holly doesn't like nuts.); Key Lime Glaze; 2 cups powdered sugar; 1/4 cup key lime juice; 1 teaspoon finely grated lime peel

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How about that title!! Can you believe I'm posting a citrus recipe that does not have lemon in it?! My good friend Holly - one of my faithful taste testers, blog readers and fellow baseball mom - requested a key lime dessert. And she has perfect timing because I am still cranking out citrus inspired desserts like they're going out of style!

Like these key lime shortbread bites with key lime glaze ... Yep, you're going to want to {taste this}!!

Key Lime Shortbread Bites

From the Taste of Home Cookies Magazine

Makes about 2 ½ dozen cookies

1 cup butter, softened

¼ cup powdered sugar

2 teaspoons key lime juice

2 teaspoons grated key lime (or just plain ol' lime) zest

2 cups all purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup chopped macadamia nuts (I omitted these in this batch because Holly doesn't like nuts.)

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then, beat in lime juice and peel. In a separate bowl, combine flour and salt and add gradually to creamed mixture. Stir in the nuts (if you use them).

I made two batches of cookies. The second time I chilled the dough for a while (just because my pans were too hot to bake another batch on right away) and the second batch came out a little fluffier. Moral of the story? I would chill your dough 🙂

Roll dough into 1 - 1 ½ inch balls and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone. Bake at 400* until the bottoms are lightly browned - about 8-10 minutes. Allow cookies to cool on wire racks and make the key lime glaze ... recipe below.

Key Lime Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

¼ cup key lime juice

1 teaspoon finely grated lime peel

Stir together and drizzle pour drench your cookies in the glaze. Allow the glaze to set (if you can wait that long) and store in an air tight container.

With their soft crumbly shortbread base and kicky key lime glaze, these really do taste like ...

These are not a super sweet cookie ... buttery with a tangy little zip and they would be a great way to end a rich meal, serve with coffee or add to a Spring Time buffet or party table. Oh go on ... make a batch! Do you really need an excuse to bake cookies?

Coming up this week? A sweet Spring table and another citrus recipe that makes a great homemade gift! Stay tuned and see you soon!