Lime Christmas Tea Cookies

Name: Lime Christmas Tea Cookies
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: about 4 dozen.
Ingredients: 1 cup butter, softened; 1/2 cup sugar; 2 teaspoons grated lime zest; 1/4 cup lime juice; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour; 10 to 12 drops green food coloring; 3/4 cup finely chopped pistachios; ICING:; 3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar; 5 to 6 tablespoons warm water; 3 tablespoons meringue powder; Green food coloring, optional

Brighten your holiday cookie tray with these tangy frosted fir tree that are flecked with pistachios and flavored with lime juice and vanilla. The festive treats are almost too pretty to eat! —Mary Ann Taday, East Lyme, Connecticut

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
10 to 12 drops green food coloring
3/4 cup finely chopped pistachios
ICING:
3-3/4 to 4 cups confectioners' sugar
5 to 6 tablespoons warm water
3 tablespoons meringue powder
Green food coloring, optional

Directions

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the lime zest, lime juice and vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well. Beat in food coloring. Stir in pistachios. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until easy to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. tree-shaped cookie cutter. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until set. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
In a large bowl, combine confectioners' sugar, water and meringue powder; beat on low speed just until blended. Beat on high 4-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Divide in half; if desired, tint one portion green. Keep unused icing covered at all times with a damp cloth. If necessary, beat again on high speed to restore texture.
Frost and decorate cookies as desired. Let stand at room temperature several hours or until frosting is dry and firm. Store in an airtight container.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 191 calories, 11g fat (6g saturated fat), 24mg cholesterol, 104mg sodium, 22g carbohydrate (9g sugars, 1g fiber), 3g protein.

Originally published as Lime Christmas Tea Cookies in Country Woman Christmas 2004

Reviews

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Average Rating:

boo

Dec 25, 2017

This cookie on it's own (without icing) tastes terrible. Seriously bad cookie. It was nightmare dough to work with (very dry and cracked). When it baked, a bunch of cookies broke (I'm guessing because of the cracked, dry dough I had to work with) and I followed this recipe very closely. Note: I LOVE lime. The flavours should have worked well for my taste - and they didn't.I normally try to stick to making recipes where there are many more reviews than just 2 reviews and this is a great example of why!!!I'm going to now make the icing to see if it will salvage this horrible cookie. If it does, I will come back here and let you know. If you don't see another review from me.. that means it didn't salvage the cookie and this cookie is unredeemable.I made the icing. It didn't taste any better.The next day however, the cookie was less bitter and the icing seemed to have evened out the bitter taste and it didn't taste quite as bad. I still wouldn't call this a good cookie. It's less than average.
boo

Dec 25, 2017

I tried the icing.. it still tastes terrible. What a bad cookie.
mm-mm

Dec 31, 2010

I just made these cookies a few hours ago, and they were delish! The tanginess is very unique and the cookie in combination with the frosting is very refreshing. Will definitely make these again.
Leitzke

Nov 2, 2010

I discovered this recipe a week before Halloween. I used bat and witch cookie cutters and my adult kids loved them. They love the tang and said they seem to get a little tangier after a few days. If you like limes, you will love this cookie