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These lime cookies start with a box of white cake mix, so the dough comes together in one bowl in about five minutes. My secret is doubling the lime, with both fresh juice and a full two tablespoons of zest worked into the dough, then a quick lime glaze spooned over the top once they cool. They bake up light and fluffy, and we like them best cold, straight from the refrigerator.
This is one of the easiest cookies on the site. The base is a box of white cake mix, with a half cup of cake flour added to give the dough enough structure to hold its shape. You combine everything in one bowl, then scoop, and bake, so there’s no creaming butter and sugar and no dough to chill.
The lime flavor comes from both the dough and the glaze. I use fresh juice and a full two tablespoons of zest in the dough, then a little more zest in the glaze, so you taste lime in every bite.
Testing results for lime cookies
- I made these cookies without adding any additional flour, but with all the lime juice the batter was too loose and the texture of the cookies was too crumbly. Adding a little more flour gave the dough its necessary structure.
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
P.S. These cookies are perfect for an afternoon tea or a shower. I serve them cold on a platter next to a pitcher of Sweet Tea.
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things to know about the ingredients in this recipe.
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
White cake mix. Use a white cake mix rather than yellow. White keeps the cookies pale so the lime color and flavor come through cleanly. I prefer either Pillsbury Pudding in the Mix or Betty Crocker Super Moist.
Cake flour. The half cup of cake flour firms up the soft cake-mix dough so the cookies hold their shape instead of spreading thin. Cake flour is lower in protein than all-purpose, which keeps the texture tender.
Lime juice and zest. Fresh is best here, since the zest carries most of the lime aroma. You will need two tablespoons of zest, which is roughly four to six regular limes, plus a quarter cup of juice. Zest the limes before you juice them, because zesting a squeezed lime is no fun. Don’t ask me how I know this 🤪
Pin this now to save it for laterHow to make lime cookies
So easy — combine the dough in one bowl, scoop, bake, cool, and glaze. Here’s a quick overview of each step before you start.
- Combine the cake mix, cake flour, butter, egg, lime juice, and lime zest in one bowl and mix until the dough comes together.
- Scoop the dough into balls and space them on a parchment-lined sheet.
- Bake until the edges are lightly browned, then let the cookies firm up on the pan before moving them to a rack to cool completely.
- Whisk the glaze ingredients together, loosen with a little milk until it drizzles, and spoon it over the cooled cookies.
How to make the lime glaze
The glaze is four ingredients: powdered sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and a splash of milk. Whisk them together in a small bowl. It will look thick at first.
Start adding milk a teaspoon at a time until the glaze runs off the whisk in a thin ribbon. Too thick and it sits in a lump, too thin and it soaks in and disappears. Let the cookies cool completely before glazing, or it will melt and slide off. Spoon a little over each cookie, or drizzle it across the tops for a lighter finish.
Regular lime vs. key lime
This recipe uses regular limes, the large green Persian limes in every grocery store. They are easy to find year-round, simple to zest, and give you plenty of juice from just a few. That availability is the main reason I use them.
Key limes work too, if you want a sharper, more floral flavor. They are smaller and seedier, so you will need quite a few to get a quarter cup of juice, and they are not always in stores.
Why a cake mix base works
A boxed white cake mix is really just flour, sugar, leavening, and emulsifiers already measured and balanced for you. It’s basically like using self-rising flour but with more stuff. That balance is what lets you skip creaming butter and sugar. The fat and egg coat the flour and the mix does the rest, which is why these cookies come together so fast.
The half cup of cake flour is the small adjustment that makes a cake mix behave like cookie dough. Cake mix on its own is built to spread and rise into a light cake, so cookies made from it alone can bake up thin and flat. Adding a little extra flour, specifically low-protein cake flour, tightens the dough just enough to hold a scooped shape while keeping the crumb soft and tender.
That soft crumb is also why these are best cold. Straight from the refrigerator the cookies firm up and the lime tastes brighter.
Variations and add-ins
- Lemon cookies. Swap the lime juice and zest for the same amount of lemon. For a lemon version through and through, finish them with my Lemon Glaze for Desserts.
- Orange cookies. Use orange juice and zest in place of the lime for a mellow, sweeter cookie that’s nice around the holidays.
- Lemon-lime cookies. Use half lemon and half lime in both the dough and the glaze for a flavor that splits the difference.
- Coconut lime. Fold a half cup of shredded sweetened coconut into the dough and sprinkle a little toasted coconut over the wet glaze.
- White chocolate. Stir white chocolate chips into the dough. The sweetness works against the tart lime.
- Cream cheese frosting instead of glaze. For a richer topping, skip the glaze and spread on a thin layer of my Cream Cheese Frosting with a little lime zest stirred in.
Make-ahead and storage
Freeze the dough. This dough freezes well, and freezing it in balls is the easiest way. Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet, freeze until solid, then transfer the balls to a freezer bag or container. To bake, set the frozen balls on a lined sheet and let them thaw before they go in the oven.
Freeze baked cookies. You can freeze the baked cookies too. Freeze them unglazed and add the glaze after thawing, since glaze does not freeze cleanly. Layer them between parchment in an airtight container and thaw at room temperature.
If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below!
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Lime Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1 white cake mix
- ½ cup cake flour
- 1 butter, softened
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons lime zest
Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon milk, plus more as needed
Instructions
Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, combine the white cake mix, cake flour, butter, egg, lime juice, and lime zest. Mix until well combined.
- Scoop the dough with a small cookie scoop and place on the prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned.
- Let the cookies sit on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before glazing.
Glaze
- In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, lime zest, lime juice, and milk. Mix well. If the glaze is too thick, add more milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it reaches a drizzling consistency.
- Drizzle over the cooled cookies.
Notes
- Best served cold. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week; the refrigerator keeps them firmer.
- Freeze the dough in balls, or freeze baked cookies unglazed and glaze after thawing.
- Swap the lime for lemon or orange to change the flavor. [Lucy: confirm butter state, softened vs melted.]
Nutrition
Questions and tips
Storage
Store the cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week. Because they taste best cold, I keep mine in the refrigerator, where they also last about a week. Let the glaze set fully before you stack them so it doesn’t smear.
Spreading usually means the dough was short on flour or the butter was too soft. Measure the cake flour carefully, and if your kitchen is warm, chill the scooped dough balls for 10 to 15 minutes before baking so they hold their shape.
Yes. Use a gluten-free white cake mix along with a gluten-free cake flour or a 1-to-1 baking blend. The texture should stay soft and close to the original, although we have not tested this.
You can. The cookies are good on their own or rolled in a little powdered sugar while warm. The glaze adds another layer of lime and a touch of sweetness, so it’s worth it if you have a few extra minutes.
These bake up pale, so if you want a brighter green, stir a drop or two of green gel food coloring into the dough or the glaze. Gel coloring works better than liquid because it won’t thin the glaze.
No. There’s no butter to cream, so a hand mixer or even a sturdy spoon will do. Just mix until the dough comes together and no streaks of cake mix remain.
