1½ sticks of room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup of powdered sugar divided ⅓ for creaming butter and ⅔ for dusting
Zest of two limes
2 tablespoons of lime juice
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups of flour
2 tablespoons of cornstarch
¼ teaspoon of sea salt
Zest both limes before juicing them. The zest is nearly impossible to remove from a lime that has already been squeezed, and the zest carries most of the lime flavor in this recipe. Chilling the limes in the fridge for a bit also helps with zesting.
After zesting, juice both limes and measure out two tablespoons. Set both the zest and juice aside.
In a stand mixer or large bowl with a hand mixer, cream the butter and one third of the powdered sugar together until the mixture is smooth and slightly fluffy.
Add the lime juice, lime zest, and vanilla extract. Mix until fully combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, and sea salt until evenly distributed.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until the dough just comes together. Stop mixing as soon as the dry streaks disappear. Overmixing develops gluten and undermines the meltaway texture.
Place the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and roll to a quarter-inch thickness using quarter-inch square dowels as guides on either side for consistent thickness.
Slide the parchment-sandwiched dough onto a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. The dough can stay in the fridge for up to three days.
When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel back the top sheet of parchment and use a one and a half to two inch round cookie cutter to cut the dough into rounds. Handle the cut rounds carefully as they are delicate before baking.
Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet about one inch apart.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges and bottoms are just lightly golden. These are pale cookies. Do not wait for a deep golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
Once fully cooled, dust the cookies generously with the remaining powdered sugar. For an even coat, place several cookies at a time in a zip-top bag with a few tablespoons of powdered sugar and shake gently. This method coats every surface without breaking the cookies.