Lime Meltaways

I have been on a cookie kick for the last few weeks. It first started with the Mississippi Mud Cookies, then the TWD Chocolate Chip Cookie topped brownie, after that was the Strawberry and Cream cookies. Over the weekend I made Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, they kids loved them, I loved them, the hubby loved them...so saying all of that, they were all gone before I could snap a pic, but they were from BFMHTY by Dorie.

So now, I give you these little dainty Lime Meltaways. I have seen these in both lime or lemon, and just hadn't taken the time to make them. So, my friend from Icing Heals All Wounds, don't you love the name? She really is just stating the facts!, made these little babies and I had a couple of limes just hanging out ready to be used. Perfect!

I love them! The good thing is that the dough makes 2 logs, so you can bake one now and freeze the other log for later. If you can contain yourself and not bake them right away. I want to make them with the lemon and maybe with an orange.

Lime Meltaways
From Martha Stewart

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup confectioner's sugar
2 Tbs. lime juice
Zest of 2 limes
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups plus 2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream butter and sugar. Add lime juice, zest, and vanilla extract and mix until well-combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, and salt). Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat until just combined.

Divide the dough into two halves.

Shape each half into a log that is about 1 1/4 inch in diameter, wrap in freezer paper, and freeze for at least one hour.After one hour, remove the dough from the freezer. Slice the logs into thin slices, between 1/8 and 1/4 inch, place the slices on a cookie sheet with some space between them (there will be minimal spreading), and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Make sure you only slice as many cookies as you can fit in the oven at a time--if you have part of your log left after filling your cookie sheet, return the uncut portion to the freezer until it's ready to bake.Remove the cookies from the cookie sheet and allow to cool on a cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Roll cookies in bowl with additional powdered sugar.

Blackberry-Lime Cupcakes

Blackberry-lime cupcakes?! Such a strange combination, but refreshing! Here it is--a vanilla bean and lime cupcake, filled with a blackberry-lime curd, topped with cream cheese icing. Yum! The lime is not as strong as I imagined that it would be, but just a hint, and that is plenty. I would have never thought of a cupcake with lime as an ingredient, I would rather have chocolate, but when I saw "Who will be the next cupcake hero"
(http://slush.wordpress.com/2007/09/03/cupcake-lovers-of-the-world-unite/)I knew that I had to at least try. So, here it is...



Vanilla Bean & Lime Cupcakes:

1/2 Cup unsalted butter, softened
zest and juice of 1 lime
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs, room temp
3/4 Cup self-rising flour
1/2 Cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
4-5 Tbsp milk
1/2 vanilla bean


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Cream butter and zest in the bowl of an electric mixer on medium speed until butter is smooth. Gradually add sugar and continue beating until fluffy.

-Add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping the bowl and beating until smooth after each addition.

-Squeeze the lime directly into a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to total 1/2 cup of liquid, whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk flours together to combine.

-Add the flour mixture to the batter in four parts, alternating with thirds of the milk mixture and beating after each addition until incorporated.

Add in the vanilla beans.

-Divide batter among the 12 cups of a lined standard cupcake pan. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until cupcakes are just starting to turn brown and toothpick comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely.



Blackberry-Lime Curd



2 Cups blackberries
1 Stick unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/2 Cup sugar
1/4 Cup fresh lime juice
3 Large eggs
4 Large egg yolks


-Fill medium saucepan three-quarters full of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.

-Puree the berries in a food processor or blender, then pass the puree through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl. Measure 1 cup of puree and reserve any remaining puree for another use.

-Melt the butter and blackberry puree together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute. Stir in the sugar and lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

-Combine the eggs and egg yolks in a medium heatproof bowl and whisk briefly to combine. Slowly drizzle the hot blackberry mixture into the eggs, whisking continuously.

-When all the mixture has been added to the eggs, place the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water. Cook, whisking continuously, for about 5 minutes. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl from time to time. Insert a thermometer and check the temperature. The curd is done when it has the consistency of sour cream and a temperature of 160 degrees F.

-Strain the curd through a fine-mesh strainer into another medium bowl and let cool completely.



Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temp
2 lb. bag powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
about 4 Tbsp milk


Cream together the cream cheese, vanilla and about 1/2 of the powdered sugar. Continue to add powdered sugar and milk to get your desired consistency for the frosting.






Now, to assemble:
Cut a cone out of the top of the cupcake and fill with the curd. Replace the top on back on the top of the blackberry-lime curd and frost with the cream cheese frosting.