I was talking to my mom the other day about these little lime cookies with cornmeal on the outside that I had at a birthday tea party when I was twelve. This lady made them that was friends with my mom. I remembered them and had wanted to make them for a while, but I didn’t have the recipe. My mom found it for me so I spent the day baking! I love baking, especially at Christmastime! 🙂 Here is the recipe:

Icebox Shortbread

2 sticks unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
plus your choice of mix-ins and/or coatings (optional)

Flavor variations:
– mix in grated zest of two oranges & 1/2 cup dried cranberries
– mix in grated zest of two lemons & coat with 1/4 cup poppy seeds
– mix in grated zest of two limes & coat with 1/4 cup cornmeal
– mix in 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots & coat with 1/2 cup finely chopped pistachios
– mix in 1/2 cup peanut butter or mini chocolate chips
– mix in 1/4 cup finely chopped candied ginger & coat with 1/4 cup sesame seeds

1. With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth. With mixer on low speed, add flour, mixing just until a dough forms. Stir in desired mix-ins (above).

2. Divide dough in half. Place each half on a piece of lightly floured parchment or waxed paper. Gently roll the dough into a 1 1/2 inch in diameter log. Divide the desired coating evenly among each log and coat, rolling each log and pressing the coating into the dough. Wrap the logs tightly in the paper, twisting the ends to seal. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 or 1 and 1/2 hours. (to store longer, place wrapped logs in resealable plastic freezer bags and freeze up to 6 months)

3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Unwrap logs. With a serrated knife, cut dough into 3/8 inch thick slices. (if dough is crumbly, leave at room temperature 5-10 minutes) Place slices on baking sheets about 1 inch apart.

4. Bake, rotating baking sheet about halfway through, until lightly golden around the edges or about 15-20 minutes. Cool on baking sheet for a minute or two and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

5. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container at room temperature. 🙂

I ended up making the lime/cornmeal ones and I also made a batch with orange zest and about 1/2 cup of finely chopped walnuts mixed in. You can make them with whatever you would like, or you can also leave them plain. 🙂