Key Lime Pie Cookies

I should probably start by saying that these cookies were the most spontaneous thing I ever did.

No jokes. I’m not a spontaneous person at all.

But it snowed yesterday, and nobody warned me. I know, someone should have said something. So I find myself getting home from work with a couple of inches of snow on the ground. All of my grand plans for the evening were cancelled. Instead, I slowly drove home, had some soup, and crawled into bed with my laptop. Honestly, that’s the only place to be when the weather is so nasty.

Suddenly though, I realized that I haven’t posted anything on this blog since Sunday, and that was only a link to my guest post elsewhere. Which means that I decided it was time to make something new to post.

So what if it was 11:30 pm, with too much snow on the ground to go to the store? I was going to bake some cookies!

My initial plan was to peruse my many cookbooks and food magazines for some inspiration, but then I realized that thanks to the snow, I needed to bake based on what I had in my pantry.

And just like that, I walked into the kitchen. No plan. No recipe. Just knowing I wanted to bake something.

I opened the fridge to take out some margarine to bring it to room temperature (an important thing to do when baking cookies!) and saw some key lime juice. Aha, I thought to myself. Key lime cookies! Then I checked my pantry, saw some graham cracker crumbs, and my idea was completed. Key Lime Pie Cookies!

Just like that. Spontaneity.

And it was so worth it. Because these cookies are fabulous. They have a glorious mix of chewy and crunchy that people can’t quite figure out, making them all go back in for seconds. And the taste? “Perfectly balanced,” to quote my new favorite taster (who may or may not thing he’s a judge on Iron Chef America.)

And now I return you to our regular and very highly scheduled programming.

Key Lime Pie Cookies:

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3 Tablespoons key lime juice*
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

About 1/3 cup additional graham cracker crumbs, for rolling.

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (or lightly grease) and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter or margarine, sugar and brown sugar until combined and fluffy.

Add vanilla, egg and key lime juice, beating well to combine after each addition.

In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and graham cracker crumbs.

Turn the mixer to low, and slowly stir in the dry ingredients. Beat just until the dough comes together.

Use a medium cookie scoop (or a heaping tablespoon) to scoop out a ball of dough. Roll it in the remaining graham cracker crumbs to fully coat. Place on prepared tray. Repeat with remaining dough. Space cookies about 2 inches apart, to allow for spreading.

Bake the cookies at 350 for ten minutes. Leave the cookies to cool on the tray for a couple of minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

*If you don’t have key lime juice, you can sub regular lime juice.

Enjoy!

Thanks folks for stopping by! Hope you love these cookies! Have a wonderful weekend! -Miriam