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Key Lime Pie Cookies are soft, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth, bursting with fresh key lime flavor, and topped with a white chocolate glaze. They taste like a classic key lime pie but in a cookie – complete with a graham cracker cookie dough base, key lime juice, and fresh lime zest.
For more summertime key lime desserts – be sure and try Key Lime Cheesecake, The BEST Key Lime Pie, and Key Lime Lush.
Key Lime Pie Cookies
This key lime cookie recipe is the perfect blend of sweet and tangy, delivering all the flavor of the classic dessert in a soft, bite-sized treat. Whether you’re baking for a party, summer gathering, a picnic, or just craving something sweet and citrusy – this cookie recipe is guaranteed to impress.
They have all the elements of key lime pie – a buttery graham cracker crust and fresh citrusy flavor from key lime juice and lime zest – the base cookie dough is a soft graham cracker cookie filled with sweet and tart key lime juice, and fresh lime zest.
Why You’ll Love These Key Lime Pie Cookies
- 🌴 Bright & zesty flavor from key lime juice and lime zest
- 🌴 Soft, chewy texture with a melt-in-your-mouth finish
- 🌴 Easy to make with simple pantry baking ingredients
- 🌴 Taste exactly like key lime pie but in cookie form
- 🌴 Loaded with that bright, sweet, and tart key lime pie flavor
Simple Ingredients Needed
- Butter
- Granulated Sugar
- Large Egg
- Key Lime Juice : This is bottled key lime juice that you will find in the juice aisle, usually on the top shelf, near the bottled lemon and lim juice. Key lime juice is not the same as lime juice. Look for the ‘Nellie and Joe’s Key Lime Juice’. Bags of key limes are sometimes not easily found in most stores, but if your store has them, then you could use freshly juiced key limes instead of bottled.
- Fresh Lime Zest : About one to two limes. If you can find, or have access to key limes, go ahead and use key lime zest instead.
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Crushed Graham Cracker Crumbs : You can buy a box of these in the baking aisle, or crush up whole graham crackers using a food processor, food chopper, or a Ziploc bag and something heavy to crush them (rolling pin, meat pounder, hands).
- Baking Soda
- Sea Salt : If using unsalted butter I would recommend increasing the salt to 1/2 teaspoon.
- White Chocolate Baking Bar : You can find these in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips. Other options include white almond bark, white melting wafers, or a white chocolate candy bar (like the Lindt brand). I use the Ghirardelli white chocolate baking bar that you can find in the baking aisle.
How To Make Key Lime Cookies (Recipe Card)
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes; the mixture should look whipped, cloud-like, and lighter in color.
Add in the large egg, key lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined. You may have to scrape down the edges and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed together.
Add in the dry ingredients; all-purpose flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined and no flour dry spots or streaks remain in the dough. At first the dough will look crumbly but keep mixing on low speed until it comes together more; you should be able to pinch the dough together with your fingers and it should stay.
Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough out and release into your clean hands. Roll it into a ball and place 12 dough balls per cookie sheet.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are slightly cracked and the cookies are puffy, the edges should also be a very light golden color.
Let the cookies cool on the warm cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature before adding the white chocolate glaze.
White Chocolate Glaze : Melt the white chocolate baking bar according to the package directions. Once the white chocolate is completely smooth and melted you have two options; use a fork to randomly drizzle it over top the key lime pie cookies, or put the melted white chocolate into a Ziploc bag with the bottom corner slightly snipped, and drizzle the chocolate over top the cookies in a more even line pattern.
You can eat the cookies with the softer white chocolate glaze, or let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to let the white chocolate harden up and set before serving.
How To Store Leftover Key Lime Cookies
Keep leftover stored in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 3-4 days. I like to put a piece of parchment paper between layers so the chocolate does not rub off or get disrupted.
You can also freeze leftover cookies. Wrap each cookie in plastic wrap and then place the wrapped cookies in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or container, and freeze for up to 2 months. Let the cookie(s) thaw at room temperature or in the fridge.
Pro Tips From The Test Kitchen
- Key limes are not the same thing as regular limes; I don’t recommend using fresh lime juice or bottled lime juice instead. Key lime is a tart lime flavor but it’s also much more sweeter than regular limes. I use the bottled key lime juice from the Nellie and Joe’s brand; which you will find in the juice aisle on the top shelf, near the bottled lemon and lime juices.
- If you have access to fresh key limes then go ahead and juice those for the key lime juice. Also use them for the zest instead of regular limes. It’s harder to find them at most grocery stores (at least where I live) so bottled works just fine as does regular lime zest if that’s what you have access to.
- When zesting a lime, be sure and wash it first and only zest the outermost green skin layer Do not zest further than that, like into the white layer, or else the zest will be very bitter. That’s why you will probably need 2 limes for the zest.
- My kids love to use some spray whipped cream and put a little topping of whipped cream on top of the cookie. It’s actually really good and gives you that element of whipped cream like most key lime pies have.
More Cookie Recipes You’ll Love
- Cosmic Cookies
- M&M Cookies
- Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
- Chocolate Cherry Cookies
- No Flour Monster Cookies
- Easy Banana Pudding Cookies
- Lemon Cake Mix Cookies
- Strawberry Cake Mix Cookies
Key Lime Pie Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter softened
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons key lime juice (I use bottled)
- 2 teaspoons lime zest (about 2 limes)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 oz white chocolate baking bar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a cookie sheet(s) with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes; the mixture should look whipped, cloud-like, and lighter in color.1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- Add in the large egg, key lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined.*You may have to scrape down the edges and bottom of the bowl to ensure everything is mixed together.1 large egg, 3 tablespoons key lime juice, 2 teaspoons lime zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add in the dry ingredients; all-purpose flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking soda, and salt. Beat on low speed just until combined and no flour dry spots or streaks remain in the dough. *At first the dough will look crumbly but keep mixing on low speed until it comes together more; you should be able to pinch the dough together with your fingers and it should stay.2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup finely crushed graham cracker crumbs, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop the dough out and release into your clean hands. Roll it into a ball and place 12 dough balls per cookie sheet.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops of the cookies are slightly cracked and the cookies are puffy, the edges should also be a very light golden color.
- Let the cookies cool on the warm cookie sheet for about 15 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely to room temperature before adding the white chocolate glaze.
White Chocolate Glaze
- Melt the white chocolate baking bar according to the package directions. Once the white chocolate is completely smooth and melted you have two options; use a fork to randomly drizzle it over top the key lime pie cookies, or put the melted white chocolate into a Ziploc bag with the bottom corner slightly snipped, and drizzle the chocolate over top the cookies in a more even line pattern.4 oz white chocolate baking bar
- You can eat the cookies with the softer white chocolate glaze, or let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to let the white chocolate harden up and set before serving.
Notes
- Key limes are not the same thing as regular limes; I don’t recommend using fresh lime juice or bottled lime juice instead. Key lime is a tart lime flavor but it’s also much more sweeter than regular limes. I use the bottled key lime juice from the Nellie and Joe’s brand; which you will find in the juice aisle on the top shelf, near the bottled lemon and lime juices.
- If you have access to fresh key limes then go ahead and juice those for the key lime juice. Also use them for the zest instead of regular limes. It’s harder to find them at most grocery stores (at least where I live) so bottled works just fine as does regular lime zest if that’s what you have access to.
- When zesting a lime, be sure and wash it first and only zest the outermost green skin layer Do not zest further than that, like into the white layer, or else the zest will be very bitter. That’s why you will probably need 2 limes for the zest.
- My kids love to use some spray whipped cream and put a little topping of whipped cream on top of the cookie. It’s actually really good and gives you that element of whipped cream like most key lime pies have.
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on @togetherasfamilyblog and follow on Pinterest @together-as-family-blog-recipes or Facebook @togetherasfamilyblog for more!
Great recipe! Very creative with the graham crackers and key lime juice. Tasted like key lime pie. Thank you!