52 Sundays of Dessert: Week 22
I know, gang. I didn't post this yesterday as I should have. It was intentional this time, though. My mom was staying with us since Friday (she just left this morning) and I didn't want to separate myself from the fun-tivities to write a blog post. (These take longer than you may think!)
But without further ado, I'm happy to tell you that we made Key Lime Meltaways for this week's dessert.
I was worried about finding key limes since I hadn't seen them in the grocery store and I thought I might have to resort to using boring old regular limes. But on Saturday, my mom, Adam and I went out to the Winter Park farmer's market and, lo and behold, one of the stands was selling key limes at $1.00 a basket. Which was a little over a dozen. Not bad, right?? And local, too! (We are definitely making a habit of going from now on.)
So I'm proud to say that we made our delicious limey cookies while supporting the little guy.
In order to use most of the key limes (since I couldn't think of many other applications for the leftovers and I didn't want them to rot), and also because we promised to ship some to both Adinah and Adam's mom, I doubled this recipe. I definitely made it harder on myself.
I think it would be manageable to zest four small key limes and squeeze out 2 Tbsp. of key lime juice as the recipe says to do, but coming up with double that amount results in major hand cramping. I had to ask for assistance about halfway through the juicing.
I also found it a little difficult to roll out the dough logs because they kept splitting apart. Perhaps my flour became too compacted as I measured it and I ended up with more than the recipe wanted me to have. (But really, if they don't give you a weight, there's no way to be exact.) It was a little easier for me to get things started by just squeezing out some length from the dough like you might do with play-doh, rather than actually rolling it on the counter.
Anyway, the cookies were great! At first, I was concerned about the amount of zest and juice going into the batter because it seemed like a lot, but I didn't hold back because there was also a lot of sugar to balance it out, so I decided to trust the recipe.
In the end, my only critique was quite the opposite. I ended up thinking they weren't lime-y enough! They definitely had a lime flavor though and the texture was slightly crisp but crumbly in your mouth. Awesome.
All in all, I would make these again without hesitation, but I would probably add more lime juice to increase the tartness.
I find the best key lime pies, for example, to be those that are almost too tart, but have a lovely sweet whipped cream on top that cuts through the sharpness. That's what I wanted from this recipe originally. Unfortunately, this was a case of expectations being different than the results.
Still, don't let my ramblings convince you that these weren't good! They really were wonderful, especially if you're a key lime aficionado. Just don't expect them to have a super strong lime flavor. Truthfully, my only real regret in all of this is that we've given them all away, with the last two groups shipping out to North Carolina and Pennsylvania today.
4.5 out of 5 stars for Key Lime Meltaways.
I'm starting to think, "Yeesh, Liz, if you keep rating everything so high, no one's going to really believe these are accurate." But to that, I'll say that I do put thought into these ratings and I'm glad that most of what I've made so far is a 5. That's the way it should be, right? The ones I rate at slightly below 5 are simply because I loved almost everything about them and would recommend them, but think they have a chance to be even better. Don't worry, there are still desserts yet to come in this project that have huge potential for totally bombing.
Difficulty rating: 1 out of 10.
Key Lime Meltaways
From smittenkitchen.com, adapted from Martha Stewart, with minor tips from me
Key Lime Meltaways
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 5 dozen (Liz: I didn't get nearly this many.)
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C. confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 4 tiny or 2 large key limes
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C. plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (or 2 C. minus 2 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
Take out the butter ahead of time so it can soften.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 C. confectioners' sugar until fluffy.
Add lime zest, juice and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
Cut two pieces of parchment paper, approximately 8 inches wide. Roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Wrap in parchment paper. Chill at least 1 hour.
Preheat 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.
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 two weeks. You can keep the logs frozen for up to two months.
But without further ado, I'm happy to tell you that we made Key Lime Meltaways for this week's dessert.
I was worried about finding key limes since I hadn't seen them in the grocery store and I thought I might have to resort to using boring old regular limes. But on Saturday, my mom, Adam and I went out to the Winter Park farmer's market and, lo and behold, one of the stands was selling key limes at $1.00 a basket. Which was a little over a dozen. Not bad, right?? And local, too! (We are definitely making a habit of going from now on.)
So I'm proud to say that we made our delicious limey cookies while supporting the little guy.
In order to use most of the key limes (since I couldn't think of many other applications for the leftovers and I didn't want them to rot), and also because we promised to ship some to both Adinah and Adam's mom, I doubled this recipe. I definitely made it harder on myself.
I think it would be manageable to zest four small key limes and squeeze out 2 Tbsp. of key lime juice as the recipe says to do, but coming up with double that amount results in major hand cramping. I had to ask for assistance about halfway through the juicing.
I also found it a little difficult to roll out the dough logs because they kept splitting apart. Perhaps my flour became too compacted as I measured it and I ended up with more than the recipe wanted me to have. (But really, if they don't give you a weight, there's no way to be exact.) It was a little easier for me to get things started by just squeezing out some length from the dough like you might do with play-doh, rather than actually rolling it on the counter.
Anyway, the cookies were great! At first, I was concerned about the amount of zest and juice going into the batter because it seemed like a lot, but I didn't hold back because there was also a lot of sugar to balance it out, so I decided to trust the recipe.
In the end, my only critique was quite the opposite. I ended up thinking they weren't lime-y enough! They definitely had a lime flavor though and the texture was slightly crisp but crumbly in your mouth. Awesome.
All in all, I would make these again without hesitation, but I would probably add more lime juice to increase the tartness.
I find the best key lime pies, for example, to be those that are almost too tart, but have a lovely sweet whipped cream on top that cuts through the sharpness. That's what I wanted from this recipe originally. Unfortunately, this was a case of expectations being different than the results.
Still, don't let my ramblings convince you that these weren't good! They really were wonderful, especially if you're a key lime aficionado. Just don't expect them to have a super strong lime flavor. Truthfully, my only real regret in all of this is that we've given them all away, with the last two groups shipping out to North Carolina and Pennsylvania today.
4.5 out of 5 stars for Key Lime Meltaways.
I'm starting to think, "Yeesh, Liz, if you keep rating everything so high, no one's going to really believe these are accurate." But to that, I'll say that I do put thought into these ratings and I'm glad that most of what I've made so far is a 5. That's the way it should be, right? The ones I rate at slightly below 5 are simply because I loved almost everything about them and would recommend them, but think they have a chance to be even better. Don't worry, there are still desserts yet to come in this project that have huge potential for totally bombing.
Difficulty rating: 1 out of 10.
Key Lime Meltaways
From smittenkitchen.com, adapted from Martha Stewart, with minor tips from me
Key Lime Meltaways
Adapted from Martha Stewart
Yield: 5 dozen (Liz: I didn't get nearly this many.)
12 Tbsp. (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 C. confectioners’ sugar
Grated zest of 4 tiny or 2 large key limes
2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 C. plus 2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour (or 2 C. minus 2 Tbsp.)
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt
Take out the butter ahead of time so it can soften.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and 1/3 C. confectioners' sugar until fluffy.
Add lime zest, juice and vanilla; beat until fluffy.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.
Add to butter mixture and beat on low speed until combined.
Cut two pieces of parchment paper, approximately 8 inches wide. Roll dough into two 1 1/4-inch-diameter logs. Wrap in parchment paper. Chill at least 1 hour.
Preheat 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.
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 two weeks. You can keep the logs frozen for up to two months.