Coconut-Lime Thai Snowballs
- Cuisine: Asian
- Course: Dessert
- Features: Fast, Holiday (Christmas)
Summary:
Delicate and elegant, with a bit of a citrusy flavor twist. If these are to be presented as part of a holiday cookie collection, be sure to house them in small paper cups. The recipe uses 2 to 3 medium limes.
STORE: The dough may be refrigerated in a resealable plastic food storage bag for up to 5 days. To freeze, form the dough into balls and freeze in a heavy-duty resealable plastic food storage bag for up to 2 months. Let the cookies come to a cool room temperature (about 65 degrees) before baking.
Makes 36 to 48 cookies
Ingredients:
For the dough- 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (medium shred)
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (medium shred)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, sifted
Directions:
Position oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
For the dough: Combine the butter and sugar in the large bowl of a stand mixer (or use a hand-held electric mixer); beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the lime juice and beat to combine. Stop the motor and fold in the lime zest, salt, flour and coconut, mixing well.
Lightly flour your hands and roll the dough between your palms into 1-inch balls. Place the balls about 1 inch apart on the baking sheets (the cookies will spread slightly); bake for about 15 minutes or until the cookies are puffy but not browned; the bottoms will be just golden. Cool on the baking sheets for no more than 5 minutes.
For the coating: Meanwhile, combine the coconut, confectioners' sugar, lime zest and sifted cornstarch in a quart- or gallon-size resealable plastic food storage bag. While the cookies are still warm, add 3 to 4 to the bag at a time and toss to coat evenly. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.
When ready to serve, sprinkle additional confectioners' sugar and lime zest atop each cookie, if desired.
Recipe Source:
Adapted from "The Great Big Butter Cookbook," edited by Diana von Glahn (Running Press, 2007).
E-mail the Food Section with recipe questions.
(Julia Ewan)
