Lime up your life with these sweet, zesty tea cookies!  Soft and delicate, with a splash of fresh citrus icing, they’ll take your taste buds on a tropical vacation. These hugely popular cookies are light, and refreshing – and addictive. The first step is admitting it.

(makes 2 dozen)

The Cookies:

  2 tsp lime juice

  1/3 cup milk

  ½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

  ¾ cup sugar

  1 egg

  2 tsp lime zest

  1 ¾ cups flour

  1 tsp baking powder

  ¼ tsp baking soda

The Glaze:

  2 tbsp lime juice

  ¼ cup sugar

The Icing:

  1 cup powdered sugar

  1 Tbsp meringue powder

  Zest of one lime

  Lime juice as needed

For the cookies: Preheat oven to 350. Cover two cookie sheets with parchment paper*. Combine lime juice with milk and let sit for 5 minutes. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg, then stir in lime zest and milk mixture. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and blend into creamed mixture. Drop by rounded spoonfuls onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

For the glaze: Stir together lime juice and sugar and brush over cooled cookies. Let dry completely before icing.

For the icing: Combine powdered sugar, meringue powder, and lime zest. Whisk in just enough lime juice to make a glaze that is pourable but thick enough to set up on the cookie. Spoon a little on the top of each glazed cookie and spread out just a bit.

* From the Soup Charmer: I always use parchment when making cookies. It ensures even browning, there’s no need for oil, and your cookie sheets will say, “Merci beaucoup!”

Lake Oroville was formed by the tallest earth-filled dam in the country at 900 feet at max capacity. (770 feet above the stream bed of the Feather River), which the State Department of Water Resources completed in 1967 after 5 years of construction. This man-made lake conserves water for distribution by the State Water Project to homes, farms, and industries in the San Francisco Bay area, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. The Oroville facilities of the project also serve to provide flood control and smog free generation of electric power in addition to recreation.

When the Lake is at its maximum elevation, it includes some 15,500 surface acres for recreation and 167 miles of shoreline. Lime Saddle Marina, now known as Oroville Marina, offers direct passageway to the lake for a

variety of outdoor activities including camping, picnicking, horseback riding, hiking, sail and power boating, water-skiing, fishing, swimming, boat-in camping, floating campsites and horse camping. 

The Soupinatrix has launched a few watery adventures from this storied spot, and made several attempts at water-skiing that reinforce her relief at the absence of social media in the 80s & 90s.  

Lake Oroville SRA

Did you make these cookies? Let us know in the comments!