Key Lime Pie Cookies (Crumbl Copycat)

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Hello Daring Bakers!

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE: Pleasant Key Lime Pie Cookies have all the Graham cracker crust goodness and citrusy creamy filling of the traditional pie in a handy, private measurement! These fast and simple treats would be the star of any summer season get together. 

• Irresistible textures: Crumbly Graham cracker meets creamy citrus filling, making for a dream pairing.
• No machine wanted: You should use a stand mixer to make the dough, but it surely’s not crucial.
• Higher than the cookie store: Even higher than the fan-favorite Crumbl key lime pie cookie! Graham dough and contemporary elements, together with lime juice, give my cookies the sting.
• Palms-off ease: Don’t let the overall time idiot you—most of it’s chilling and setting time within the fridge.
• Cute! Everybody adores a mini dessert.

When the climate heats up and also you’re searching for a refreshing dessert recipe, suppose lime! This tropical taste is vibrant and tangy, and feels splendidly cooling. Get pleasure from all of my lime desserts this summer season, together with Frozen Lemon and Lime Soufflé, 10-Minute Key Lime Pie, and Key Lime Pie Dairy-Free Ice Cream.

As a fan of the Crumbl key lime pie cookie, I’m all about making my very own model at dwelling. After testing this recipe a number of instances, I like to recommend making and chilling the dough upfront, ideally as much as 5 days previous to baking. This helps develop the flavors of the dough, similar to after we make sourdough bread. Additionally, be happy to make the important thing lime pie filling as much as a day upfront to permit it to relax and thicken. In the event you make the filling upfront, you should definitely whisk it to loosen it earlier than transferring it right into a piping bag.

Desk of Contents

What are Key Lime Pie Cookies

• Key Lime Pie Cookies are mini variations of the enduring key lime pie. This recipe is way more than a Crumbl copycat. This elevated model options superior taste and texture, and is really like a mini pie.
  • Genuine Graham cracker crust: There are Graham cracker crumbles all through the dough, supplying you with a homey style and wonderful crunch in every chew.
  • Tangy, real-lime filling: My cream cheese-based filling is flavored with zingy contemporary lime juice, and is simply candy sufficient, not cloying.
  • Genuine form: The miniature pie crust makes my lime cookies extra-special.
• Key limes, also referred to as West Indian limes or Mexican limes, are recognized for his or her vibrant, barely floral, tart-sweet taste. They’re typically smaller, a bit sweeter, and extra fragrant than commonplace limes (Persian limes).
• Key limes aren’t from the Florida Keys, however the island’s bakers there made them well-known once they created Key Lime Pie within the late 1800s. With no refrigeration and restricted entry to contemporary milk, utilizing canned sweetened condensed milk was a revelation, and the uniquely flavored limes gave the filling its distinctive style.

Key Components and Substitutes

Graham Cracker Cookie Dough

All-purpose flour

Graham crackers

• Crumbled Graham crackers are pressed into the dough of this key lime cookies recipe to offer all the taste and sandy crunchiness of a Graham cracker pie crust.
• Moreover, the toasty, heat taste of Graham is the proper associate for the tangy-sweet filling.
• Learn to make do-it-yourself Graham crackers, and chances are you’ll not return to store-bought!
• Substitute: In the event you desire, use crumbled digestive biscuits or Biscoff cookies as an alternative of Graham crackers.

Baking powder

• Baking powder reacts first with the liquid elements after which with the warmth of the oven to launch carbon dioxide, which lifts and leavens the cookie dough.
• Substitute: See Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda When Baking Cookies for all the things it is advisable find out about these leaveners.

Baking soda

Salt

• Salt is important to intensify the distinctive flavors of this cream cheese lime cookie.

Butter

• Butter provides moisture, richness, and unimaginable taste.
• Importantly, butter makes the Graham crumbs toasty, mimicking the feel of a Graham cracker crust.
• Substitute: Use an equal quantity of stable coconut butter.

Granulated sugar

• Granulated sugar sweetens the cookies.
• Importantly, sugar helps maintain the cookies tender and moist.
• Granulated sugar additionally contributes to the crispiness.

Darkish brown sugar

• Darkish brown sugar, which accommodates molasses, provides the important thing lime cookie base a deep taste with a caramel notice.
• Moreover, darkish brown sugar provides the cookie softness and a slight chew.
• Making your individual darkish brown sugar is a snap with my no-fuss recipe!
• I like to recommend utilizing darkish brown sugar as an alternative of sunshine brown sugar, because it accommodates practically twice the quantity of molasses, which supplies these cookies a richer taste.

Egg

• The egg serves as an emulsifier, which implies it brings all of the elements collectively and unites them in a steady dough.
• Egg provides richness to the dough and contributes to the flavour.
• To combine in easily and evenly, your egg have to be at room temperature.  Right here’s the best way to heat up eggs straight from the fridge.
• Substitute: Use a flax egg (use 1 tablespoon of floor flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water per egg, combine, and put aside for five minutes earlier than including to the batter) or a chia seed egg (use 1 tablespoon of chia seeds plus 3 tablespoons of water per egg, combine, and put aside for five minutes earlier than including to the batter).
• For extra concepts, take a look at my information, 12 Greatest Egg Substitutes for Baking Recipes and Easy methods to Use Them.

Vanilla extract

• Vanilla provides the proper rounded, warmly candy notice to the Graham dough.
• Make your individual Vanilla Extract with my simple recipe.
• Substitute: Use an equal quantity of Vanilla Bean Paste.

Key Lime Pie Filling

Cream cheese

• Cream cheese provides my lime cookies a delightfully tangy filling.
• Moreover, cream cheese provides the topping a luxuriously wealthy texture.
  Use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese, not a cream cheese unfold.
• Substitute: You should use an equal quantity of Neufchâtel cheese, which has a really comparable taste and texture to cream cheese.

Sweetened condensed milk

• Sweetened condensed milk thickens and sweetens the filling.
• With my Condensed Milk Recipe, you by no means have to fret about operating out!
• Substitutes: You’ll be able to simply make condensed milk at dwelling!

Key lime juice

• Lime juice provides the filling a pointy and vibrant, sweet-tart taste.
• Moreover, acidic lime juice balances out the richness of the cream cheese and condensed milk.
• Substitute: You should use an equal quantity of common lime juice or lemon juice as an alternative of key lime juice.

Key lime zest

• Zest is an important ingredient as a result of the lime skins comprise citrus oil, which supplies an attractive aroma and extra contemporary taste.
• Make sure to zest solely the inexperienced peel, and never the bitter white pith.
• Substitute: In the event you desire, use the identical quantity of common lime zest or lemon zest as an alternative of key lime zest.

Easy methods to Make Key Lime Pie Cookies

To Make the Graham Cracker Cookies

1. Put together to bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put aside.
2. Combine dry elements: In a big bowl, mix the flour, 1 cup (3 ½ oz/99 g) Graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Put aside.

3. Add butter and sugars: Add the butter, white and brown sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a big bowl and a hand mixer) and blend on excessive pace till pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Combine in egg and vanilla: Flip the pace to low and blend within the egg and vanilla extract.
5. End dough: Lastly, stir within the flour combine.

6. Divide and form: Divide the dough into 8 equally sized parts (about ⅓ cup/2 ½ oz/71 g), roll them right into a ball, then roll these within the remaining ⅓ cup (1 oz/28 g) of Graham cracker crumbs.

7. Kind and bake: Use a tablespoon to create an indent within the heart of every cookie ball, then prepare on the ready cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes.

8. Reshape: Pull the cookie sheet out of the oven and use the tablespoon to create a deeper indent within the heart of the cookies and return to the oven for 2 extra minutes, or till evenly browned and simply set.

9. Cool: Let the cookies calm down on the baking sheet for 10 minutes then switch to a cooling rack to chill utterly.

To Make the Key Lime Pie Filling

10. Combine filling: In a big bowl, whisk the cream cheese, condensed milk, key lime juice and lime zest collectively till mixed.

11. Pipe: Put the filling in a piping bag fitted with a medium spherical tip and fill the cookies in a swirling sample.
12. Let cookies set: Refrigerate for an hour or two to let the filling set earlier than having fun with.

FULL (PRINTABLE) RECIPE BELOW!

Gemma’s Professional Chef Suggestions

• Make them mini: These make giant, Crumbl-style cookies, however you can also make them half the scale for smaller cookies. The baking time will probably be shorter—verify them after 8 minutes.
• Piping optionally available: In the event you don’t need to use a piping bag, you possibly can fill the important thing lime cookies with a small spoon.
• Lime choices: Key limes can typically be discovered contemporary in grocery shops or the juice bottled within the juice aisle, however you can also make these with common, fresh-squeezed lime juice as nicely.
• Make it lemon: Change the lime juice with lemon juice for a Lemon Pie Cookie variation!
• Recent or bottled: Recent key limes is likely to be laborious to search out in some areas, however you should buy bottled key lime juice on Amazon or search for it in your grocery store close to the tonic water and different drink mixers.
• Cool first: Ensure the cookie is cooled utterly earlier than including the filling.

Make Forward and Storage Directions

• Make-ahead suggestions: You may make the dough upfront—it would style even higher after it chills.
  • These cookies will be baked upfront and saved at room temperature for as much as 5 days.
• Easy methods to retailer leftovers:
  • Easy methods to retailer leftovers: As soon as stuffed, these cookies needs to be refrigerated and consumed inside two days.
  • Retailer them in a single layer in an hermetic container.
  • I don’t suggest freezing the leftover cookies, as freezing will adversely have an effect on the feel.

FAQs

Can I make these Crumbl look-alike cookies gluten-free?

• Sure, you can also make these Crumbl look-alike cookies gluten-free.
• Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking combine, corresponding to my Straightforward Almond Flour Baking Combine or one other gluten-free flour, as an alternative of the all-purpose flour.
• Additionally, be sure that all of your different elements are licensed gluten-free.

Is it doable to make these key lime cookies with out egg?

• Sure, you can also make these key lime cookies with out egg.
• A flaxseed or a chia seed egg would work nicely right here. Combine 3 tablespoons of both chia seeds (floor or entire) or floor flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Let sit for 5 minutes earlier than mixing into the dough.
• There are extra choices in my 12 Greatest Egg Substitutes for Baking Recipes.

What are some enjoyable methods to garnish these Key Lime Pies?

• If you wish to add just a little one thing  for an additional enhance of taste and texture, strive:

Extra Summer season Cookie Recipes