These soft, chewy, and zesty lime cookies are packed with a bright, citrusy flavor! With graham cracker crumbs in the dough and a lime glaze on top, these are an easy take on key lime pie...but in cookie form!
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Why I Love These Chewy Lime Cookies
- Soft & chewy: This recipe is a spin off of my frosted birthday cake cookie dough which uses melted butter & an extra egg yolk to give these a Crumbl-like texture! The addition of graham cracker crumbs in the dough also gives these a depth of flavor & chewy texture.
- No mixer required! The use of melted butter in the dough means that you can mix these up by hand, no mixer required!
- Packed with flavor: Using lime zest & fresh lime juice, these cookies are a lime lovers dream! If you want to keep them more subtle, these are also great without the icing.
- Easy to make! While some key lime cookie recipes require you to make a lime curd and fancy frosting, this recipe is as quick as baking up the cookies and spreading on the glaze!
More graham cracker recipes! If you love these, make a batch of my s'more cookie bars next! These are a viral fan favorite & are one of my favorite graham cracker doughs!
Ingredients & Substitutions
This is just an overview, jump down to the full recipe card for the recipe amounts and condensed recipe instructions.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in most of my baking but you can use salted butter for these. The most important thing is to not use margarine, as it does not work well with melted butter doughs and will result in soupy dough.
- Limes: I like to use small round Persian limes vs. the larger oval shape ones, as they tend to produce more juice. You can also use key limes if you can find them at your local store. I've found that one lime (as shown above) produces about 1 teaspoon of zest and 1 tablespoon of juice, so for this recipe, I suggest getting at least 4 small (or 2 large) limes to be safe.
- Lime Juice: Since you already have to buy the fresh limes, we're using the juice, too! I do not recommend using bottled lime juice, as it doesn't give the same flavor.
- Vanilla extract: For a bright white icing, I recommend using clear vanilla extract (or just leave it out entirely). Using a dark extract will give the icing a slightly tan tint.
- Graham cracker crumbs: you can use premade crumbs or crush them yourself, as long as you use ½ cup total (which is roughly 4 rectangles or 8 square graham crackers).
Want a thicker, rich frosting? You can use the cream cheese frosting from my lemon sugar cookies and swap out the lemon juice for lime juice and the extract for fresh lemon zest!
How to Make Chewy Lime Cookies
This is just an overview, jump down to the full recipe card for the recipe amounts and condensed recipe instructions.
Step 1: Crush Graham Crackers
Place graham crackers in a plastic bag or food processor and crush into fine crumbs. I like to use the back of a metal measuring cup but a heavy rolling pin or meat mallet also work great. We're using 4 rectangle graham crackers (i.e. 8 squares) to make ½ cup of crumbs.
Step 2: Make Dough
- In a small glass bowl, microwave unsalted butter (¾ cup, i.e. 1 ½ sticks) until melted. Pour into large mixing bowl. Add in granulated sugar (½ cup) and brown sugar (½ cup) and stir until incorporated.
- Add whole egg (1 large), extra egg yolk, fresh lime juice (1 tablespoon), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and lime zest (2 teaspoons) and stir until incorporated.
- Add baking powder (1½ teaspoons), baking soda (½ teaspoon) and salt (¼ teaspoon). Mix until combined. Half cup at a time, add all-purpose flour (2 cups), and graham cracker crumbs (½ cup) and mix until everything is just incorporated.
Step 3: Scoop & Bake
- Scoop dough into 3-tablespoon sized scoops, then roll into a ball. Lightly flatten each ball before placing on cookie sheet. (Because this has melted butter, do not let the dough sit out before rolling into balls & baking, or your dough can become dry and crumbly.)
- Bake at 350° degrees for 9-11 minutes until center no longer looks wet. They may look slightly underdone, but they will finish baking on the hot cookie sheet after you take it out of the oven. (Of course, because ovens bake differently use your best judgment to keep them in a minute longer if they look severely underbaked.)
Step 4: Make Glaze
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together powdered sugar (1½ cup), milk (1 tablespoon), lime juice (1-2 tablespoons, as needed*), lime zest (½ teaspoon), and vanilla extract (¼ teaspoon), and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth.
*Use 1-2 tablespoons of juice to help thin the glaze into a thick, yet spreadable consistency.
Step 5: Spread Glaze
- Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of glaze onto the center of a test cookie, avoiding spreading it to the very edges. If glaze is too thin & is running off the cookie, add more powdered sugar until it is a spreadable glaze that doesn't run off the edges. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lime juice.
- Top with extra lime zest and a lime wedge, if desired. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days (store in the fridge if you add the lime wedge on top).
Tip: The lime wedge on top is just for decoration. I only suggest adding it if you plan to enjoy the cookies soon, otherwise the juices can create a little moisture ring on the icing.
Tips & Variations
- Zest first! Be sure to zest the limes before you cut and juice them. Otherwise it's almost impossible to do it afterwards.
- Drizzle on icing: If you like the cookies on their own & don't want to add more sweetness, you can cut the icing recipe in half and do a simple drizzle instead!
- Try them chilled! The texture gets even more perfectly dense & chewy after a night in the fridge!
- Color them green! For an extra limey look, skip adding the zest into the icing and instead color it lime green.
- Add coconut! If you love coconut, you can add a couple drops of coconut extract to the icing! Just like my frosted coconut cookies, the extract adds a special flavor without being overpowering.
Storage & Freezing
- Storing: Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days. If adding the lime wedge on top, store in the refrigerator (I also just prefer these chilled!). These cookies stay soft & moist for 3-4 days.
- Freezing: While you can freeze the frosted cookies, I would recommend freezing them unfrosted to prevent the icing from defrosting weird. When ready to serve, thaw cookies and top with freshly made icing and zest.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes, this lime glaze will harden pretty quickly after being spread. Because of that, I suggest adding the zest on top immediately after adding the icing. The icing should be hardened within 1 hour, depending on how thick you spread it.
I do not recommend using bottled lime juice, as it doesn't give the same flavor. Since we're already using fresh lime zest, you will already have the juice ready to freshly squeeze!
Key limes are tiny limes that pack a more tart, iconic lime flavor. They can sometimes be hard to find, so you can use regular Persian limes (I like to use the small round ones vs. the larger oval shape ones).
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Chewy Lime Cookies
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (i.e. 1 ½ sticks) you will be melting this; do not use margarine
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons lime zest see notes, I suggest get 4 small (or 2 large) limes and you'll have enough for both the zest & juice
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice see notes
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk (you will be using 1 whole egg + 1 extra egg yolk)
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs (roughly 4 rectangles or 8 squares)
Lime Glaze
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon lime zest see notes
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract use clear extract for a bright white icing
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh lime juice as needed to thin
- 1 tablespoon milk as needed to thin frosting
- pinch of salt
Optional Toppings
- Lime zest
- Lime wedges These are more for decoration, you can leave them off!
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and set aside.
- Place graham crackers in a plastic bag or food processor and crush into fine crumbs. Set aside.
- Use a citrus zester to zest 3-4 small limes, or until you have about 1 tablespoon of zest. Cut 2-3 limes in half and squeeze out juice, until you have at least 3-4 tablespoons.Note: be sure to zest before you cut and juice!
- In a small glass bowl, microwave unsalted butter (¾ cup, i.e. 1 ½ sticks) until melted. Pour into large mixing bowl. Add in granulated sugar (½ cup) and brown sugar (½ cup)and stir until incorporated.
- Add whole egg (1 large), extra egg yolk, fresh lime juice (1 tablespoon), vanilla extract (2 teaspoons), and lime zest (2 teaspoons) and stir until incorporated.
- Add baking powder (1½ teaspoons), baking soda (½ teaspoon) and salt (¼ teaspoon). Mix until combined. Half cup at a time, add all-purpose flour (2 cups), and graham cracker crumbs (½ cup) and mix until everything is just incorporated.Consistency note: Because we're using melted butter, the dough will be a little soft and looser than traditional doughs right when you first mix it. Because of this, allow the dough to set for 2-3 minutes to help it firm up; then re-stir. If it still seems too soupy (likely due to your butter being really hot), refrigerate for 5-10 minutes to help the butter firm up again.
- Scoop dough into 3-tablespoon sized scoops, then roll into a ball. Slightly flatten each ball before placing on cookie sheet.
- Bake at 350° degrees for 9-11 minutes until center no longer looks wet. They may look slightly underdone, but they will finish baking on the hot cookie sheet after you take it out of the oven. (Of course, because ovens bake differently use your best judgment to keep them in a minute longer if they look severely underbaked.)
- After removing from oven, allow the cookies to cool on the hot baking sheet for 10 minutes before removing them from cookie sheet. Allow to fully cool before adding the glaze.
To make lime glaze:
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together powdered sugar (1½ cup), milk (1 tablespoon), lime juice (1-2 tablespoons*), lime zest (½ teaspoon) and vanilla extract (¼ teaspoon), and a pinch of salt. Stir until smooth.*Use 1-2[/] tablespoons of juice to help thin the glaze into a thick, yet spreadable consistency.
- Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of glaze onto the center of a test cookie, avoiding spreading it to the very edges. If glaze is too thin & is running off the cookie, add more powdered sugar until it is a spreadable glaze that doesn't run off the edges. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more lime juice.
- Top with extra lime zest and a lime wedge, if desired. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days (store in the fridge if you add the lime wedge on top).
Last Step! Please leave a review and rating letting me know how you liked this recipe! This helps my small business thrive so I can continue providing free recipes and high-quality content for you.
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