Coconut Lime Cookies
Sweet and soft, these Coconut Lime Cookies taste just like vacation! With all the flavors of a tropical beach, you will not regret baking up a batch of these.
Coconut Lime Cookies Recipe
It's no secret that I love living in Arizona. It may be hot, yes, but I love this great state. We frequently visit the mountains where it's cooler (and there's a lake!), but I love the desert parts too.
But Arizona is technically landlocked, and sometimes I really miss living in North Carolina where the beach is just a few hours away! I'm so glad we went to the Outer Banks last summer with family for a little bit of beach time.
So how do I get by without the beach? I bake! I cook! I make tropical smoothies!
These Coconut Lime Cookies are my latest endeavor to bring the beach to Phoenix, and they are so good. Buttery, zesty and sweet, these cookies taste just like vacation.
Why you'll love this recipe
These buttery, light, sweet, and a bit sour cookies are absolutely delicious.
- If you love tropical flavors, these cookies are for you! They’re baked with a good amount of lime and coconut, then topped with sweet lime glaze.
- They are easy to make. You don't need much cooking experience to make these cookies.
- These cookies taste so good! They have the crumbly texture of shortbread.
They would be perfect for a summer party, like a backyard barbecue featuring cilantro lime marinated chicken.
You could even make them for a fun party like a baby shower or a bridal shower. Pair them with other tropical-tasting treats like coconut macaroons.
And they would be perfect alongside a lime margarita!
Ingredients
Add these items to your grocery list to make these coconut cookies.
- all purpose flour
- cornstarch
- desiccated coconut (AKA shredded coconut)
- salt
- limes (you will need zest and juice, so get the real things!)
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- egg
- vanilla extract
- powdered sugar
How to make Coconut Lime Cookies
Making Coconut Lime Cookies is so easy! Here's what to do.
First, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Then, toast the coconut lightly in a pan over medium heat till it turns slightly brown in color.
In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients — the flour, cornstarch, coconut, and salt.
In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar and beat it at medium speed, scraping down the sides for at least 2-3 min.
Add in the egg, lime zest and vanilla, mix until everything is incorporated well.
Add the flour mixture in batches to the sugar mixture and mix it well until the dough forms.
Flatten the dough, wrap it with a plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Once chilled, roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness and cut out cookies using your favorite cookie cutter.
Place the cutouts on the prepared baking tray and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until the bottom and sides start turning golden-brown.
Once baked, let them cool completely before adding glaze.
How to make the Lime Glaze
To make the lime glaze, add the lime juice and water to the powdered sugar and mix well; the consistency should be flowy but not runny.
Add the zest, mix well and set aside til you're ready to frost the cookies. Don't refrigerate the icing, however.
Once the cookies have cooled, apply a layer of the glaze on top of the cookie with the help of a spoon or a butter knife.
Spread it carefully making sure to leave some space on the sides of the cookie. Sprinkle some more lime zest on top for a beautiful look!
Substitutions
Lime zest is what makes these cookies so zippy, but if you need to use the bottled concentrate for the zest, you can skip the zest. Garnish the cookies with green sprinkles or just let them have plain icing on top.
If you need to make the cookies gluten-free, you can. Use your favorite 1:1 baking alternative. (I like Bob's Red Mill.)
Desiccated coconut is essentially a less dry, finer version of dried coconut. If you only have regular dried coconut, you could pulse it in a food processor to get it more fine, then toast it.
Looking for another citrus variation? Try these lemon cookies!
How to store these cookies
Coconut Lime Cookies will stay fresh for about 3-4 days when stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
In the fridge, they will keep for about a week.
If needed, you can freeze balls of dough to bake later on. Simply thaw the cookie dough and then bake them as directed.
Madison's Pro Sharing Tip:
Here are a few ways to make these cookies shareable:
- Double the batch and bring half to a friend who needs a vacation.
- Make a batch for a new neighbor for a housewarming.
- Take these to margarita night with your pals.
More cookie recipes
If you love cookies, you will not want to miss these amazing recipes:
- Berry Sugar Cookie Bars
- White Chocolate Dipped Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
- M&M Cookie Bars
- Funfetti Sugar Cookie Bars
- Cinnamon Cookies
Coconut Lime Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ⅔ cup desiccated coconut toasted
- a pinch of salt
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime zest from 1 whole lime
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime Juice
- zest from 1 lime
- 2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toast the coconut lightly in a pan over medium heat until it turns slightly brown in color.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, cornstarch, coconut and salt.
- In a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat it at medium speed, scraping down the sides, for at least 2-3 min.
- Add in the egg, lime zest and vanilla. Mix until everything is incorporated well.
- Add the dry ingredients in batches and mix it well until a dough forms.
- Flatten the dough, wrap it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Once chilled, roll out the dough to about ¼-inch thickness and cut out cookies using your favorite cookie cutter.
- Place the cutouts on the prepared baking tray and bake for 12-15 minutes or until the bottoms and sides start turning golden-brown.
- Place on a wire rack to cool completely before adding glaze.
- To make the glaze, add the lime juice and water to the powdered sugar and mix well — the consistency should be flowy but not runny. Add the zest, mix well and keep aside.
- Once the cookies have cooled, apply a layer of the glaze on top of the cookie with the help of a spoon or a butter knife.
- Spread it carefully making sure to leave some space on the sides of the cookie.
- Sprinkle some zest on top for that beautiful look!
Hi!
I am looking forward to making your cookies today. Am I supposed to use sweetened or unsweetened coconut please?
Thank you!
Hey Jill! Thanks for clarifying. Desiccated coconut is unsweetened 🙂