| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Prep: | 30 min |
| Inactive: | 30 min |
| Cook: | 15 min |
| Yield: | 3 dozen (1 1/2-inch) cookies |
Ingredients
- 3 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup lime zest, about 6 to 8 limes
- 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, chilled
- 6 ounces shelled pistachios
- 5 egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/8 teaspoon natural almond extract
- 3/4 cup fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a food processor work bowl, add sugar and lime zest. Process until sugar and zest are well mixed, about 20 seconds. Scrape into a large mixing bowl. Reserve about 1/2 cup of lime sugar in a separate bowl for later use.
- Add flour, baking powder and salt into food processor and pulse briefly to mix. Add cold butter into food processor with flour mixture and 3 ounces of the pistachios. Process with short pulses until mixture resembles cornmeal and no large lumps of butter remain, about 10 seconds. Add remaining pistachios and mix briefly, about 5 seconds. Pour this mixture into the sugar and lime mixture in the large mixing bowl and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix egg yolks, vanilla extract, almond extract, and lime juice together.
- Using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, pour in the lime/sugar and flour/butter mixture and stir until combined, about 15 seconds. Then, while the mixer is still running, slowly add egg/lime juice mixture and mix until well combined and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 15 to 30 seconds.
- Scrape the dough into a large bowl and refrigerate until cold, but not solid, about 30 minutes. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough onto parchment-lined cookie sheets. Take the dough balls and roll the tops into the reserved lime sugar. Use the bottom of a water glass to press the cookies flat, about 1/4-inch thick. Bake the cookies until slightly browned, about 15 minutes. Remove the parchment paper with the cookies from the tray to a cooling rack and cool.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 36 servings |
| Calories | 247 |
| Total Fat | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 31 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 17 g |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Cholesterol | 47 mg |
| Sodium | 115 mg |
Reviews
Love Rachel but must have done something wrong here after reading all the reviews of others that loved it. I tried doubling the recipe and my food processor wasn’t big enough so then I had to process in batches which was a giant pain and then mixing all that egg mixture in at the end I felt made the cookie way to gummy and pasty and they flattened out and did not look anything like the picture. And the lime flavor, although big in the dough, did not transfer into the final product. I used a little extra lime juice cause I really wanted that flavor so maybe that and not incorporating the egg yolks as I should was my downfall. Not on my Christmas list of cookies. Would have to have bigger equipment to try it again. It’s a lot of butter, sugar and flour and then to use only egg yolks was weird. I thought it would be more like a short bread type cookie and it was not for me. Word of wisdom to myself, don’t double the batch unless you know you’re gonna nail it and love it.
Good cookies! I added a little green food coloring to use them for a St. Patrick’s Day treat. Also, the shelled pistachios in my area were more than $8 for about 8 oz., so I substituted Marcona almonds which were a few dollars less. Worked fine. Think I could have used regular almonds for a little more economy; will next time. One idea: I used the leftover egg whites and the leftover lime sugar to make meringues. Just put the sugar in a blender to make it superfine (NOT confectioner’s sugar powder). Yes, I put green food coloring in them as well. I also put almond flavoring in it but go real easy with that or the lime is overpowered. Or skip the almond flavoring and add extra lime zest if you have any leftover.
I feel the lime taste is overpowering. I expected more of the pistachio nut flavor. Perhaps next time I would add pistachio extract to get the flavor I thought I was achieving.
Just made under 200 of these (only 2 batches for a cookie exchange. They were so delicious that they won the cookie tasting contest!! The first batch I did not use all of the egg mixture and those turned out a bit better I think.
Unique flavor combo unlike any other cookies I’ve had. I baked for an extra five minutes though, trying to make them a little crunchy, but they were still quite chewy. I know it’s not my oven, because it matches up pretty much exactly with most of the other recipes on food network and also on other websites. Maybe it was just me. But my husband and I liked these anyway
Delicious cookies! Very tangy and flavorful. I used 1,1/2 c white flour, 2 c wheat flour and 1 c almond flour and they turned out great, next time I’ll use more almond flour and less regular flour. I don’t know how necessary it was to mix the lime zest in with the sugar, it just seemed like an extra step that could have been avoided, but they are delicious! If you want your cookies to remain a little chewy, make sure to take them out just before they begin to brown.
Absolutely delicious! The flavor of these cookies is fantastic! (And some of the yummiest cookie dough, I might add…)
A few notes:
This recipe does not make 3 dozen. If you make your cookie balls about the size of a walnut, you end up with at least 6 dozen.
When you press down the cookies with a water glass, dip the bottom of the glass in your lime sugar to prevent the glass from sticking to the cookies.
Make more lime sugar so you can set more aside. I think at least another half of a cup of lime sugar for dipping. I ran out and just used white sugar for a good portion of the cookies.
Overall fabulous and highly recommended!!!
These cookies came out golden and buttery. The taste was zesty-sweetness! Not your run of the mill cookies here. The pistachio flavor blended nicely into the zing of the lime.
Directions were a bit hard to follow (as I do not currently have a food-processor). However over came the hinderance just fine, using my hands, and a good hand held mixer! 🙂
This recipe might have taken a lot longer to prepare than the 30 mins. the recipe suggested, but I also did a different variation for preparing the cookies.
Overall, these Pistachio-Lime cookies are an enjoyment to nibble on. You can’t find that flavor packed in a box.
Cheers!
one of my favorite cookies ever! Also the other two on that $40 a day show is awesome too!
Everyone loved these cookies. They have a tangy lime flavor with the crunch of the pistachio nuts. wonderful! I will make this recipe again and again.