Sweet and Sour

"For a candied sweet or a pickled beet, step up to my smorgasbord. Walk around until you get your fill. Baby, you won't ever be bored!" -- Comden and Green, from On the Town

A few weeks ago, my dear friend Red introduced me to Chocolate Chipped, an incredible dessert blog that never fails to trigger my sweet tooth. They featured this recipe for vegan white chocolate lime cookies the other day, which I absolutely couldn't resist testing out. Between us -- and I can almost hear the cries of countless Italians across two continents just by thinking this -- I actually enjoy vegan baking. It came in handy in college when I never kept eggs around and it's about as health-conscious as desserts can get.

That didn't prevent me from completely de-veganizing the recipe before I attempted it, though! See below for my full-fat, animal-products-galore version of the recipe, which turned out a batch of gorgeous cookies. I don't usually like white chocolate, but combining it with lime results in a unique, refreshing, and altogether delicious flavor.


White Chocolate Lime Cookies
(Adapted from a recipe by Celine of Have Cake, Will Travel)

1/2 stick of softened butter
2 heaping tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp (or packets) sugar-in-the-raw
Zest and juice of half of one large lime
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 tbsp whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, lime juice and zest, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, vanilla, milk, and chocolate chips and mix by hand until the batter holds together. Drop batter by the teaspoonful (for small cookies) or tablespoonful (for large cookies) onto a parchment- or foil-covered cookie sheet. Flatten each ball of dough to desired cookie thickness before baking, since the batter will not spread in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges have started to brown. Makes 10 large cookies or 20 small cookies.