Coconut Lime Thumbprints

We've been getting some snow here in the Carolinas. We only got a little dusting today but it's supposed to start again overnight and give us about 3" - 5". Everybody run for your lives!!! haha

Anyhow, I thought these coconut lime cookies were a good way to put everyone in the mood for summer. I keep telling myself, "only one more month then spring starts!"

Coconut Lime Thumbprints
Yield: About 18 cookies

Cookies:
2 sticks butter, ice cold
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks, whites reserved
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sweetened coconut

Lime Curd:
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup lime juice

Make the cookie dough:

• Cut the butter into small cubes.
• Blend the sugar, flour, salt, and butter in a food processor until the mixture is the texture of cornmeal and it sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand.
• Whisk together the egg yolks and vanilla (reserve the whites for later). Mix into the flour mixture. The dough will be extremely dry and crumbly. That's what you want.
• Line a dinner plate with plastic wrap. Dump the dough out onto the plastic wrap then form into a disk. Cover the dough with the plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• While the dough is refrigerating, make the lime curd.

Make the lime curd:

• Whisk the eggs, egg yolk, salt, and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the lime juice.
• Transfer the mixture so a heavy bottomed sauce pan and cook over medium heat stirring constantly.
• After about 7 -10 minutes, the lime curd should thicken so that it coats the back of a spoon - about the same texture as pudding. You want to make sure that you're stirring constantly, otherwise the curd will turn out lumpy.
• Once the curd is thickened, remove from heat and transfer to a glass bowl. Immediately top the curd with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming on top.
• Cool the lime curd in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
• While the lime curd is cooling, bake the cookies.

Bake the cookies:

• Using a spoon, "cut out" about 2 tablespoons of dough from your disk. Squeeze it between your hand to form it into a ball. It should be about the size of a golf ball.
• Roll the ball in the reserved egg whites. I found it was easier for me to just place the ball in the bowl of egg whites then brush it with a pastry brush.
• Then roll the dough ball in the coconut flakes.
• Place the ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

 

• Press your thumb into the ball of dough so that it flattens slightly and you leave an indentation in the cookie (that's your well for the lime curd!). I found that the dough crumbled a little bit when I pressed it with my thumb, so I had to kind of work with it to reshape it into a circle. Don't be afraid if they're not perfect circles, it gives them character!
• Bake at 350° F for 20 - 25 minutes.

Assemble:

• Allow the cookies to cool.
• Top with a small spoonful of lime curd. This gets a little messy so you want to wait until you're ready to serve the cookies before completing this step.