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Satisfy your sweet tooth with these delicious White Chocolate Key Lime Cookies. Made with zesty lime and creamy white chocolate chips, these cookies are the perfect treat for any occasion.
A while back, the hubby and I were trying to decide on dessert for the evening. We kept going back and forth about what we wanted. Then our dear friends stopped by and voted for trying out a new cookie, the Key Lime Cookie. I actually really liked them. I would have liked a touch more lime in mine, but everyone else liked them as they were, so I guess I’ll go with the majority vote.
Now I’ve circled back to this cookie recipe and updated it. You know I added more lime this time around, but feel free to dial it back if you want a more subtle lime flavor. This is the best key lime cookies recipe!
Ingredients For Key Lime Cookies?
There are no surprises here! Just your typical cookie-making ingredients, plus some fresh lime juice and zest, and white chocolate. That’s all you need! Here is your ingredients list:
- Flour: just regular all-purpose flour
- Baking Soda: acts as a leavening agent to give the cookies their rise
- Salt: enhances all the flavors
- Butter: unsalted butter is preferred, and you want it softened
- Sugar: adds sweetness
- Brown Sugar: adds additional sweetness and a deeper, richer flavor
- Egg: gives the cookies structure and binds all the ingredients together
- Vanilla Extract: adds flavor
- Limes: You definitely need fresh limes for the zest and juice; either regular limes or real key limes work great
- White Chocolate Chips: or white chocolate chunks work great too
The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.
How to Make Key Lime Cookies
These white chocolate key lime cookies come together quickly and are bright and zippy. Before you know it, your kitchen will smell like buttery citrus heaven. I promise you’ll be eating these cookies straight off the counter before they even have a chance to fully cool.
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or Silpats.
- Dry Ingredients: Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
- Wet Ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Then beat in the egg, key lime juice, and vanilla until smooth.
- Combine: Slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Stir: Add the white chocolate and key lime zest to the dough and use a wooden spoon to stir them in.
- Scoop: Use a cookie scoop or spoon to drop spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake: Bake the cookies for 8-9 minutes, and be sure not to overbake them.
- Cool: Let the cookies cool on the cookie sheet for a few minutes and then move them to a wire cooling rack.
Keep scrolling through the post down to the recipe card to see all these instructions in full detail.
Can You Use Regular Limes Instead of Key Limes?
Key limes are smaller and are more sour and a little bitter compared to regular limes. They are commonly used in baking because of their bold flavor, but you can use regular limes in place of key limes for this recipe.
Tips for the Best Cookies
Don’t Overmix: Once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, stop mixing. Overmixing develops gluten and will make the cookies tougher instead of soft and tender.
Don’t Flatten: Resist the urge to press down the dough before baking. These cookies are meant to bake up thick, soft, and chewy.
Don’t Overbake: Pull the cookies out when the edges are just turning golden. They will continue to set as they cool on the baking sheet, giving you that perfect soft center.
Variations For Key Lime Cookies
I’m obsessed with the combination of white chocolate and citrus flavors. There’s just something magical about the brightness of the citrus with the comforting creaminess of vanilla white chocolate chips. So, of course, I’ve had to try similar flavor combinations with lemon and orange flavor! Try our orange creamsicle cookies and our glazed lemon cookies!
If you want to go on a flavor adventure with this key lime cookie recipe, add ½ teaspoon of coconut extract to this recipe and ½ cup of coconut flakes. That’s a special shout-out to all my coconut lovers out there!
Storage and Freezer Instructions
Properly stored, freshly baked cookies will keep for about 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature. Soft cookies should be stored in an airtight container to keep them tender, while crisp cookies do best in a container with a loosely fitting lid.
For longer storage, these cookies freeze very well for up to 3 months. To freeze, place the fully cooled cookies on a baking sheet and freeze for 1 to 2 hours until firm, then transfer them to heavy-duty freezer bags to store.
Lime lovers unite! I love lime in desserts! Whether it be lime cheesecake, key lime pie, or torta de limão, I am there for it! These white chocolate key lime cookies are the perfect combination of vibrant lime and creamy white chocolate! They taste incredible, and the texture is muah! Yummmmmm!
More Irresistible Cookie Recipes:
- White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies
- Biscoff Stuffed Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Bakery Style Chocolate Cookies
- Glazed Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Drop Cookies
White Chocolate Key Lime Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 ½ Cups Flour
- ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Cup Butter, unsalted, softened
- ½ Cup Sugar
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 2 Limes, juice
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Limes, zest
- 6 Ounces White Chocolate Baking Chips, vanilla, Choc-Au-Lait
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.2 ½ Cups Flour, ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda, ½ teaspoon Salt
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light.1 Cup Butter, ½ Cup Sugar, ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- Beat in the egg, lime juice and vanilla until smooth.1 Large Egg, 2 Limes, ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Slowly add flour mixture until combined.
- Stir in the lime zest and white chocolate or vanilla chips.2 Limes, 6 Ounces White Chocolate Baking Chips
- Drop rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Do not flatten cookies; it will make them dry.
- Bake 8-9 min. or until golden brown around edges. Do not overcook! Cookies will be plump.
- Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do you think i could stuff these with lime curd? Also are you sure the automatic metric conversion is correct? Some of the weights seem a bit off and I only use grams to bake as it is much more accurately thank you
Hi Jaclyn! I bet these would be delicious stuffed with lime curd. I haven’t ever tried it though, so I can’t make any recommendations on the best method for doing that. I’ve double checked the metric conversions of the ingredients and they appear to be correct. I hope you enjoy this recipe!
I made theses for a family gathering and they were a huge hit!
Amazing texture and vibrant lime taste. The recipe wasn’t complicated and was easy to follow. I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thank you so much Rose! Love to hear it!
I made these for a family gathering and they were a huge hit!! AMAZING texture and vibrant lime taste, I wouldn’t change a thing.
I wish recipes would stop claiming to be key lime when they’re just using regular limes. There’s a HUGE difference in flavor between key limes and regular limes.
Hi Petunia! You can definitely use key limes in this recipe. I actually prefer it with key limes. They are often hard to find here and quite a bit more expensive so I like to provide an alternative!