A sibling to the Lemon Meringue Pie cookie, as soon as I made them I had to make Key Lime Pie. A chocolate cookie, lime curd, toasted meringue, what's not to like?
Makes 16
Hands-on Time 30 minutes plus chilling (overnight)
Baking Time 15 minutes
Ingredients
320g Unsalted butter (softened)
200g Light brown sugar
325g Caster sugar
2 tsp Almond extract
2 Eggs, large
300g Plain flour
100g Cocoa
1 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp Fine salt
1 tbsp Instant coffee powder (fine)
5 Limes
2 Eggs, medium
2 Egg yolks, medium
Swiss Meringue using 4 medium egg whites and 280 grams of sugar
Equipment
Freestanding mixer with paddle
Spatula
Fine grater
Baking parchment
Baking sheet (ideally aluminium)
Knife
Round bottomed spoon, such as a tablespoon measure
Wire rack
Heatproof bowl
Juicer
Saucepan filled with water
Measuring jug
Whisk
Piping bag with star tip
Spoon
Blowtorch (optional)
Add 250 grams of butter, light brown sugar, and 175 grams of caster sugar to the bowl of the mixer and beat on a medium-high speed for 5 minutes until you have a very light and fluffy mixture.
Add the almond extract and two large eggs and beat for a couple of seconds until combined.
Add the flour, cocoa, bicarb, salt, and instant coffee and again beat for a couple of seconds until combined. Scrape the sides down using a spatula to make sure everything is incorporated. You shouldn’t need to run the mixer for more than 10 seconds. The key thing is not to over-mix.
Take a sheet of baking parchment and place the dough onto. Shape the dough into a wide, long sausage and roll up before popping it into fridge to chill for 30 minutes.
Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Take the dough out of the fridge, slice into 16 equal rounds. Roll each round into a ball and place onto the lined baking sheet.
Pop the sheet back into the fridge, ideally overnight, so the dough balls can firm up.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C (Fan)/325°F/Gas mark 3.
Slide the baking sheet out of the fridge and leave the dough balls on the shelf.
Once the oven has warmed up line the baking sheet with another piece of parchment.
Place approx 6/8 balls spaced about 10cm apart from each other onto the baking parchment.
Pop the tray into the oven on a middle shelf and bake for 15 minutes.
Once the time is up remove the tray from the oven. Slide the parchment carefully, with the cookies, onto the worktop. Immediately use a round bottom spoon to press down into the centres of the cookies to make a dimple for the curd.
Re-line the baking sheet with more paper and bake your next batch.
After the cookies have rested for a couple of minutes they should be firm enough for you to transfer onto a wire rack to fully cool. Don’t forget they will get firmer as they cool.
When the cookies have cooled you can get on with the lime curd and Swiss meringue.
For the lime curd grate four limes over the heatproof bowl before juicing them and the remaining lime. You’re looking for 150ml of lime juice. If you’re a tad short, top up with water or use lime juice from a squeezy lime bottle if you have one to hand.
Add 150 grams of caster sugar along with 70 grams of butter to the lime juice.
Pop the pan over a medium heat. When it’s simmering place the bowl on top. Stir the lime juice until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted.
Take the pan off the heat.
Beat the 2 medium wholes eggs and 2 yolks in a jug. Whilst whisking the lime juice, slowly pour in the eggs and keep stirring.
Pop the pan back over a medium heat and keep stirring the mixture until it has thickened up. Keep an eye on it.
Once the curd is lovely and thick, take the pan off the heat again. Remove and dry the bowl and leave until it’s complete cooled.
When the curd has cooled make the Swiss meringue as instructed.
Transfer the meringue into a piping bag and pipe a circle around the dimples you’ve made in the centres of the cookies.
Spoon the lime curd into the centres of the cookies before piping the rest of the meringue over the top, sealing it in.
You can either use a blowtorch to brown the meringue or you could pop the cookies under a grill. Do keep an eye on them if you’re doing the latter as they will turn quickly.
Enjoy
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