Springtime Treat: Meltaway Lime Shortbread Cookies

Citrus tastes like spring. I don't know why that is. Maybe it's just that the fresh flavor burst is reminiscent of colorful bulbs popping open to color our world.

Anyway, these Meltaway Lime Shortbread Cookies are a tasty way to add that bright citrus flavor to your Easter dessert table. Lemon or orange juice and corresponding zest could easily be substituted, if those are more to your liking.

I have lots of tools taking up space in my kitchen drawers, some of which I never use. (Sad, but true.) But a microplane zester is worth the real estate it occupies. It makes zesting easy and gets the flavorful zest while leaving the bitter white "pith" behind. (The zester is pictured in the photo above.)

These are not cookies built to travel through the mail. They are delicate, buttery cookies that tend to be fragile. But it's worth the "handle with care" designation for the yummy taste. As long as you let them cool completely before frosting, they should stay together fine. Now, I'm not saying that we didn't sample one or two when they were warm.

The cookies themselves aren't particularly sweet, but the glaze packed with more juice and zest adds just the right tart-sweet mix.  I added a little more Easter finery with holiday sprinkles. It is the season for Easter bonnets, you know!

Meltaway Lime Shortbread Cookies

with Lime Glaze

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
I cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp. freshly-squeezed lime juice
1 tsp. finely-grated lime zest
Lime Glaze
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. melted butter
1 1/2 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. grated lime zest

Combine flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch and salt; set aside.

Cream butter in a stand mixer for about 3 minutes on high speed, scraping down the sides of bowl occasionally. When the butter is thoroughly whipped and smooth, slowly add in dry ingredients, along with juice and zest. Mix just until dough comes together.

Using a medium-sized cookie scoop, scoop the dough onto prepared baking sheets. (Either spray with cooking spray or use parchment paper.) If you like puffy cookies, leave as is. If you prefer a flatter cookie, press down lightly.

Bake cookies for 12-15 minutes until edges are slightly golden. Remove to cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting with lime glaze.

For glaze:  Combine all ingredients and mix until smooth. Spoon about a teaspoon of glaze on each cookie and gently spread around until the cookie is coated. If you want to add holiday sprinkles, do so while the glaze is still wet. Let the glaze set for approximately 30 minutes.

Store in an airtight container. Cookies are very tender, so handle carefully.

***

When I was in Topeka last week, Kinley and I made Noodle Nests for an Easter treat. They are a cute addition to any Easter dessert table. It's OK to let kids play with their food - really!

Use Peeps along with candy eggs or just make a nest of eggs. Either way is cute.

Looking for other Easter treats? Try these:

Bunny Bait

Lemon Muddy Buddies

Coconut Macaroons

Resurrection Rolls

A Twist of Lime

Cherry limeades were a special treat at Grandma Marie's house. For a summertime treat, Marie would combine fresh limes and sugar-free Cherry 7-Up and serve it up with ice and a straw. Maybe you watch those Food Network shows, and the chef is always squeezing or zesting a fresh lime to create that perfect balance of acidity (whatever that means).

Well, this is about lime. But it's got nothing to do with the Food Network or cherry limeades.

It's all about agricultural lime. Several weeks ago, Randy gathered soil samples from different fields and took them to the co-op so they could be sent to a lab for testing.

Some tests for the pH of the soil came back low. An ideal soil pH is around 7. We had some tests that came in at 4.8.

The pH is a logarithmic scale: The lower the pH, the more acid in the soil. The higher the pH, the more alkaline the soil.

Lime is a long-lasting soil additive made from crushed limestone or chalk. The finer it's crushed, the more effective it is. The application done this year should balance the soil for several years to come. Raising the soil pH should make more nutrients available for crops.

We had a local applicator deliver the lime, and they left it in sandhill-type piles in the fields that needed it. Then, last week, on the day the lime was to be applied, a front loader filled the applicator truck bed.

Off he went, applying 1 ton of lime per acre to those fields, with the loader refilling him as needed.

We hope the soil gets refreshed as well as a cherry limeade would refresh us on a hot summer day!

A Mountain or a Mole Hill?

Maybe if I'd taken off my glasses, I could have pretended I was still in the mountains.

After all there was a mountain - of sorts - at the corner south of our house and matching "foothills" catty-cornered across the section.

There were a few obstacles to this fantasy:

• I certainly didn't need a long-sleeved shirt on my morning trek.
• The "mountain" was surrounded by wheat stubble and not green valleys.
• The mountains mysteriously disappeared in a single afternoon.

It wasn't so mysterious. My short-lived fantasy was crushed as finely as the limestone the co-op spread on our farm fields. My homespun mountains were there only until the co-op had time to apply agricultural lime to the last field that needed it.

Much as I miss the cool of the mountains - both literally and figuratively - I am never sorry to come back home.

We may not have the mountains, but you can't beat the sunrise on the County Line.

Home sweet home!

A Twist of Lime

Cherry limeades were a special treat at Grandma Marie's house. After she died, I brought the juicer home because my kids had such great memories of making limeades with their grandma.

She would combine fresh limes and sugar-free Cherry 7-Up and serve it up with ice and a straw. Sounds tasty on this hot summer day, doesn't it?

Maybe you watch those Food Network shows, and the chef is always squeezing or zesting a fresh lime to create that perfect balance of acidity (whatever that means).

Well, this is about lime. But it's got nothing to do with the Food Network or cherry limeades.

It's all about agricultural lime. Several weeks ago, Randy gathered soil samples from different fields and took them to the co-op so they could be sent to a lab for testing.

Several tests for the pH of the soil came back low. An ideal soil pH is around 7. We had some tests that came in around 5.

The pH is a logarithmic scale: The lower the pH, the more acid in the soil. The higher the pH, the more alkaline the soil. A pH of 6 is 10 times more acidic than 7. A pH is 100 times more acidic than 7.

Well, I didn't get all that either. That's just what Randy told me. But I do understand that the soil needed lime.

Lime is a long-lasting soil additive made from crushed limestone or chalk. The finer it's crushed, the more effective it is. The application done this year should balance the soil for several years to come. Raising the soil pH should make more nutrients available for crops.

The co-op delivered the lime and left it in sandhill-type piles in the fields that needed it. Then, on the day the lime was to be applied, the Caterpillar front loader filled the truck bed ...

and off he went, applying 1 ton of lime per acre to those fields.

Hope the soil gets refreshed as well as a cherry limeade would refresh me right about now!