Lime Meltaways

As some of y'all may know, I love the tart, citrusy flavor of lime. I've even been known to eat limes straight with sugar or salt! And these cookies are absolutely perfect for those citrusy types of cravings. They are called meltaways because of the way they, well, melt in your mouth. The powdered sugar called for in the recipe contributes to this melty sort of texture. If you have access to key limes, then by all means use them. I can never find key limes at my local stores though, if any locals can help, please let me know!

I love my microplane zester, but be careful when using it because I have cut myself more than once!

Sorry that I haven't been posting, this semester has been extremely difficult, and I have been using all of my energy to keep up with my classes! Once my summer begins (in three weeks), I will be back to posting weekly or even bi-weekly, depending on how much baking I will be doing. Thank you for being so understanding about my unintended hiatus!

Lime Meltaways

From Smitten Kitchen & Martha Stewart

Yield: 5 dozen

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Grated zest of 4 tiny or 2 large key limes

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour (a.k.a. 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 cup sugar until fluffy. Add lime zest, juice, and vanilla; beat until fluffy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add to butter mixture, and beat on low speed until combined.

3. Between two 8-by-12-inch pieces of parchment paper, roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Chill at least 1 hour.

4. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Place remaining 2/3 cup sugar in a resealable plastic bag. Remove parchment from logs; slice dough into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Place rounds on baking sheets, spaced 1 inch apart.

5. Bake cookies until barely golden, about 15 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool slightly, just three or four minutes. While still warm, place cookies in the sugar-filled bag; toss to coat. Bake or freeze remaining dough. Store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Beach Lime Pie with Meringue

Well, I couldn't find key limes, so I had to get a bit creative with the name. I'm vacationing at Topsail (Top-sul) Island this week, and I thought that you couldn't get much beachier than a key lime pie. I didn't bring any prep tools or ingredients to the beach with me, which I discovered about an hour ago to be a MISTAKE. The beach house didn't have a juicer, so I hand squeezed all of the limes (not too difficult, just messy), I didn't have a measuring cup, so I had to guesstimate on the lime juice by filling half of a small juice glass with lime juice, (I mean, it said half a cup, right?) and I literally used "table spoons" to measure out the sugar for the meringue. At least I found a hand mixer in the back corner of the one of the cabinets! I didn't know how many limes would make 1/2 cup of lime juice, so I bought 6 limes, which was 3 limes over the limit; luckily, that gave me plenty of limes for decoration on top of the pie! Also, I made my life a whole lot easier and bought a pre-made graham crust (which I recommend if you are at the beach and want your life to be without stress). It would be pretty to mix a tablespoon of lime zest into the filling, but I couldn't find a zester. It still tastes awesome without it though! 

Sophia was extremely interested in the limes, and even tried to lick them until she realized they weren't peanut butter/chicken/other delicious treats she isn't supposed to eat. Then she wandered away.

Hand squeezing the limes weren't as bad as I expected. I mean, lime juice did go everywhere, but at least it didn't end up in my eyes. I've also heard rumors of an elusive product called key lime juice that would probably be good (but not as good as fresh squeezed limes) in the pie.Coincidentally, I toured a beach house on the south end of the island, and THEY had a zester, juicer, can opener, AND measuring spoons. We reserved that beach house for next year :)

My handy boyfriend managed to find some sort of tool that punches holes in cans, and I used that in place of a can opener, and it worked!

I would've liked if the pie filling came up higher in the pan; I might use an 8 inch crust next time, but that's just personal preference.

After baking, the pie should be firm in the center, and wiggly around the edges. 

I completely forgot to photograph the meringue process, but it really isn't difficult, and it only took me five minutes, tops.

My filling wasn't as set/chilled as I would've liked, but I'd already cut the piece by then. It was delicious though, and as I type this my family is preparing Philly Cheesesteaks, and the pie will be dessert tonight! Also, this pie took only 15 minutes to make in prep time.


Beach Lime Pie with Meringue
adapted from All Recipes

Ingredients

• 5 egg yolks, beaten
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup key lime juice/juice of 3 or 4 regular limes
• 1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust
• 4 egg whites
• 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Combine the egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk and lime juice. Mix well. Pour into unbaked graham cracker shell.
• Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Allow to cool.
• To make the meringue, in a large glass or metal bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
• Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.