Soft and pillowy, these incredibly easy sugar cookies are flavored with fresh squeezed lime juice and grated lime zest then topped with a coconut cream cheese frosting and even more sweet coconut for sweetened citrus flavor in every bite.
These Pillowy Soft Cookies Practically Melt in Your Mouth
I usually save the phrase “little pillows of heaven” for when I’m bellied up to the bar of my favorite Italian restaurant gushing over my bowl of gnocchi alla norma, that when cooked just right, is indeed heaven sent. But today, I’m extending my catchphrase to these soft and easy-to-make sugar cookies because they totally deserve it.
While these cookies are perfectly poised for holiday toasting, they’re also totally appropriate for a wedding/bridal/baby shower, Easter celebration, and especially Cinco de Mayo. Pass the tequila and olé!
This recipe was submitted by FoodieCrush reader Sara G who said it’s her favorite for any day (she loves the summery flavors all year long) and is one of her most favorite to dress up for Christmas. While pregnant, Sara had a craving for coconut, lime, and everything tropical flavored.
To cure Sara’s craving, her sister made these cookies for her, and BOOM! The sweet cure had been found. “She’s a pretty awesome sister,” Sara says. I’d have to totally agree.
Enjoy!
Don’t Skip These Key Ingredients!
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Powdered sugar — In addition to the usual flour, butter, and granulated sugar in the cookie dough, this recipe incorporates powdered sugar to give the cookies a melt-in-your-mouth tenderness that’s impossible to beat.
- Vegetable oil — We’re teaming up butter and vegetable oil in this cookie recipe to deliver tons of moisture and to keep the cookies soft.
- Cream of tartar — Reacts with the baking soda to give the cookies some lift. It also has a nice tanginess to it that complements the coconut and lime nicely.
- Cream cheese — Use full-fat for the richest, creamiest frosting.
- Coconut extract — The frosting has a bold coconut flavor. If you want yours to taste a little more subtle, scale back the amount of coconut extract.
- Sweetened shredded coconut — Adds texture to the frosting and drives home the coconut flavor.
How to Make Coconut Lime Cookies
- Make the cookie dough. You know how it goes! Cream together the butter and sugar before mixing in the wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients last and mix just until combined.
- Shape into balls. To shape the cookies, I used a #24 cookie scoop (3 tablespoons) then sprinkled the tops of each ball with a little of the sugar and salt mixture.
- Press to flatten. I used the bottom of a glass jar to press them into flattened circles. Schmear a little cookie dough on the bottom of the glass, just enough to dirty it a bit so the sugar mixture will stick to the glass.
Heidi’s Tip: Press the cookies with even pressure to create a well-rounded circle with shaggy edges. The rustic look proves these homemade babies are made with heart.
- Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies will look pale and underdone, but I pinky promise they’re ready to be pulled out!
- Cool before frosting. When frosting the cookies, I like to leave a bit of cookie showing instead of running the frosting all the way to the edge. Especially with this lighter shade of cookie it adds dimension and texture instead of a slick slather of frosting.
- Garnish as you please. For the lime toppers, slice the limes super thin into slivers (as thin as you can get them without tearing). Then, cut into half moons or quarters. Slicing them thin makes them easy to chew along with the cookie for an extra burst of citrus that after taste-testing I started saving for the last bite. Why? Because like this cookie recipe, it’s the best.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Frosted Coconut Lime Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Lime Cookies
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar , plus 3 tablespoons for pressing cookie dough balls
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, about 2 ½ limes plus 1 lime for garnish
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 large egg
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 4 tablespoons full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 teaspoons coconut extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons half and half (or heavy cream)
- ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- Lime slivers and coarse sugar crystals, for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cream the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, cream the ⅔ cup granulated sugar, the powdered sugar, and butter until fluffy and light.⅔ cup granulated sugar, ⅓ cup powdered sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter,
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the vegetable oil, lime juice and zest, and the egg and then cream until smooth.⅓ cup vegetable oil, 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice,, 1 teaspoon lime zest, 1 large egg
- Mix together the dry ingredients, then finish the dough. In a smaller bowl, toss together the flour with the baking soda, cream of tartar and salt. Mix half of the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and then add the other half and mix until dough comes together and is mixed through.3 cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon cream of tartar, ½ teaspoon salt
- Shape into balls. Roll dough into balls the size of golf balls (I use a #24 cookie scoop) and place 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat or sprayed with non-stick baking spray.
- Roll in sugar and press down. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar to a shallow bowl. Smudge a bit of the cookie dough on the bottom of a small glass jar before dipping in the sugar so the dough doesn't stick to the jar. Press the dough balls with the jar dipped in sugar to ½ cm thick and the edges crack just a bit.
- Bake. Bake for 8 minutes. The cookies won't brown and may look look undercooked, but they will be done. Let them sit on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Make the frosting. While the cookies are baking, prepare the frosting by combining the ingredients in a bowl and mixing until smooth.¼ cup unsalted butter,, 4 tablespoons full-fat cream cheese,, 3 teaspoons coconut extract, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoons half and half , ½ cup shredded sweetened coconut
- Frost and garnish. Once cookies are cool, frost the cookies and garnish with a few pinches of coconut flakes and sugar crystals and top with a sliver of lime.Lime slivers and coarse sugar crystals,
Nutrition
More Easy-Breezy Summer Cookie Recipes
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Kelly
Can this dough be frozen, before baking the cookies? If so, for how long?
Hayley
Hi Kelly! You can portion the dough , then freeze and bake from frozen (just keep in mind the bake time might be a bit longer, so be sure to keep an eye on them). We hope you enjoy!
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Shefali Tuteja
Woah. I love everything that is made of coconut! I will definitely try these cookies. Thanks a ton.
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