Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies

I was so excited when I saw these cookies at My Baking Addiction. Lime and coconut in a cookie - how could it not be fantastic! What a perfect cookie to bring to the Cinco de Mayo party I was attending! Well, the batter was insanely good so I think my expectations got set a bit too high. The cookies themselves are quite good as well, but not exactly what I was hoping for. As they turned out for me, they were a slightly chewy sugar cookie with a hint of lime flavor. If I make them again I will add more lime juice and much more coconut (you couldn't taste the coconut at all) and under-cook them slightly to make them more chewy.

A note on the size. The recipe says to make them into teaspoon sized balls, and I tried that for one batch, but they turned out much too small for my liking (below photo). They also were much less chewy that way and more reminded me of a lime flavored butter cookie. I ended up doing heaping tablespoon sized balls (above photo) for the rest and I preferred that result.

Coconut Lime Sugar Cookies
How I did it:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest of one large lime
3 tbsp lime juice
1/2 toasted coconut
1/2 - 3/4 cup white sugar (for rolling the batter)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

3. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. It will crumble at first, but after a few minutes it will become fluffy-looking.

4. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, lime juice, and lime zest until well combined.

5. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients and the toasted coconut. Be careful not to over-mix.

6. Roll rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into balls. Place sugar in a very small bowl and roll the dough balls in the sugar until well coated. Place on the cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart and bake for about 10 minutes, or until edges are light brown and the cookie starts to crack.

7. Let cookie set on sheet for a minute or two and then remove to cooling rack.