This may be the best wedding cookies recipe ever, friends. Lime ginger wedding cookies, your time has come. Finally.
The pairing of tart key lime juice and zest with some heat from Thai ginger salt makes for a just-sweet-enough, hard to stop eating snowball cookie you will want to make again and again.
Festive enough for the holidays but tasty enough you will want to make them all year long!
For ease of browsing, find all my cookie and bar recipes here. Thanks for being here!
I printed this one out years ago and it’s still one of my favorites! I break it out every Christmas and love to watch the surprise on people’s faces when they’re hit with the unique and wholly unexpected flavors. They never last long!
Reader and Cookie Maker Jessica
When Ginger Met Key Lime
Growing up, ginger was one of those flavors that I only knew in a very middle class American way.
Ginger ale.
Sweet and sour sauce.
Ginger ale.
It has taken me awhile to start exploring more of what ginger has to offer, but it’s still not a spice that I grab without thinking about it.
I have to plan for ginger. Here’s the story of how the plan came together.
I bought some Thai ginger sea salt and it had been sitting around looking for a job.
When Cheryl from Pook’s Pantry gifted me with a bag o’ key limes, Inspiration struck, and these ginger lime wedding cookies were born.
Here was my thought process:
- I like wedding cookies.
- I could totally shove some ginger salt into some wedding cookies
- That seems a little boring. What would be lovely with the ginger?
- Well, hello there, key limes!
See there?
Wedding Cookies Are Similar To Shortbread
Wedding cookies are not hard to make. Think of them as shaped balls of nut-enriched shortbread.
Like shortbread cookies, wedding cookies don’t contain any eggs or additional liquid. This allows the fat from both the butter and the nuts to thoroughly coat the flour and prevent gluten from forming.
This fat coating is what makes the texture of shortbread and wedding cookies so crumbly and magical.
If you check out my brown butter pecan shortbread, you can see that the ginger wedding cookies share the same bones as those guys.
Ingredients for The Best Wedding Cookies (Seriously. They Are!)
The ingredient list for these cookies is relatively short, and you may own most of the ingredients this very second.
- unsalted butter
- powdered sugar
- ginger sea salt
- ground ginger
- key lime juice (fresh or bottled–I like Nellie and Joe’s)
- key lime zest (or zest from Persian limes)
- toasted pecans
- all purpose flour (or a combination of all-purpose and cake flour
Add a delicious kick of savory gingery goodness to everything. Fantastic in these cookies, which I developed specifically to use ginger salt, but also great in soups and as part of a rub for poultry. I'm sure you'll find a bunch more uses for it!
How to Make These Cookies
The ingredients come together really quickly.
Don’t forget to toast your pecans before chopping them very finely. It will add depth of flavor.
- Toast the pecans and pulse in a food processor until finely chopped. You can also do this by hand with a good chef knife.
PRO TIP: Allow nuts to cool completely before pulsing them in the food processor so you don’t end up with nut butter.
- Cream together butter, powdered sugar, Thai ginger sea salt, ginger, lime zest, and juice until creamy.
- Blend in the finely chopped nuts.
- Mix the flour in on low speed just until combined.
- Shape into balls and bake.
- Roll in spiced powdered sugar once (or twice for additional sweetness)
Can You Make These As Slice and Bake Cookies?
Yes, you can.
Rather than shaping the dough into balls, shape the entire mass into a log the diameter of the cookies you want to make. Roll up in waxed paper or parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.
Slice the log into 1/3″ slices and bake before rolling in the powdered sugar.
What Do These Wedding Cookies Taste Like?
These cookies, oh my goodness. You guys, I am so pleased with how these came out!
Buttery, delicate, crumbly-crunchy, sharp with key lime, warm with ginger, well-seasoned with the ginger salt. Lightly sweet. Lightly savory.
Makes sense, too. Pecan, lime and ginger are flavors equally at home in both savory and sweet dishes.
And these little cookies, as unassuming-looking as they are, really do strike the perfect balance between sweet and savory.
Wedding Cookie Variations
You can play up the sweetness to whatever extent you like by adding more or less powdered sugar coating or even leaving it off entirely.
Switch out the pecans for walnuts or macadamia nuts. I think macadamias would be especially lovely with the ginger-lime flavor profile.
You can also switch up the citrus, using orange juice and zest, lemon juice and zest, tangerine, etc.
If you’re not a ginger fan, you can use a different spice.
Keep the proportions the same and consider these flavor options:
- Orange Cinnamon (with pecan)
- Lemon Thyme (use the crushed/powdered thyme rather than the dried leaves)
- Mocha (use 1 oz of cocoa powder in place of 1 oz of flour and add some espresso powder rather than ginger)
- Pistachio Grapefruit (use grapefruit zest and juice and sub pistachios for the pecans)
Other Holiday Cookie Recipes
If you’re planning on making cookies plates for giving during the holiday season, you’ll want to make more than just the lime wedding cookies, although anyone would be happy to get only the best wedding cookies ever!
My favorite Christmas cookies are Angel Slices. A sable-type crust baked with gooey coconut pecan filling and iced with a thin, crackly glaze of lemon icing.
Brownie brittle is also a fun cookie for gifting. My version is peppermint brownie brittle and it is Very Very Good–crispy and munchable.
Round out your plate with some chocolate peppermint bark cookies, some beautiful rugelach, and Swiss Brunsli Cookies for a cookie plate with many different shapes and flavors.
A Note About Measurements
NOTE: Most of my recipes are written by weight and not volume, even the liquids.
Even though I try to provide you with volume measurements as well, I encourage you to buy a kitchen scale for ease of measuring, accuracy, and consistency.
This is the scale I use, love, and recommend. If you’re unsure, please read my post about how to use a food scale.
Don't let its small price and small size fool you. The Escali Primo is an accurate and easy-to-use food scale that I have used for years. It's easy to store, easy to use, has a tare function, and easily switches between grams and ounces/pounds for accurate measurements.
I really hope you think these are the best wedding cookies ever, you guys! And that you make some.
If you make this recipe and/or have enjoyed or learned from reading this post, I’d appreciate it if you could share this!
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Ginger Lime Wedding Cookies (Snowballs)
Ingredients
For the Cookie Dough
- 8 oz (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 1/2 teaspoon Thai Ginger Sea Salt, (or other fine sea salt)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons powdered ginger, (more or less, to taste)
- 1 Tablespoon key lime juice, (fresh or bottled, such as Nellie and Joe's)
- zest of 3 key limes or one Persian lime
- 1 cup pecans, toasted and finely ground in a food processor
- 10 oz all purpose flour, (see note)
For the Powdered Sugar Coating
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Thai ginger sea salt, , or to taste (or other fine sea salt)
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger, , or to taste
Instructions
- Cream the butter, sugar, salt, ginger, zest and juice until very creamy and smooth.
- Beat in the pecan meal on low speed.
- Beat in the flour on low speed until everything is evenly combined.
For Traditional Wedding Cookie shapes
- Portion cookies at about 1 1/2 Tablespoons each. Roll into balls and place on a baking stone or cookie sheet covered with parchment or Silpat. These cookies barely spread, so you only need to leave about 1 1/2" between them.
- Bake at 325F for about 20-25 minutes, until fairly firm and barely browned.
- Let cookies cool on the racks for about 5 minutes and then roll gently but thoroughly in the powdered sugar coating. Double dip them for added sweetness.
For Slice and Bake
- Roll dough into a log of whatever diameter you want. Chill until firm.
- Slice into about 1/3" slices and place on a baking stone or lined cookie sheet, leaving about 1 1/2" between the cookies.
- Bake at 325F for about 15-18 minutes until fairly firm and barely browned.
- Let cool on the sheet for 5 minutes and then toss gently but thoroughly in the powdered sugar coating. Double dip for extra sweetness.
- You can also roll the dough in the sugar before baking.
For the Powdered Sugar Coating
- Whisk all ingredients together thoroughly. Taste and add more ginger and/or more salt if you need to. It shouldn't taste salty, but there should be a noticeable salt bite or two in the midst of the sweet. The ginger should make your tummy warm. But it should not make you sweat.
Notes
Use 10 oz all purpose flour for a crumbly-yet-sturdy cookie. Use 5 oz each of cake flour and all purpose for a more delicate-crumbly cookie. Your choice.
Consider flavor variations by switching up the nuts you use and the spices and zests you choose. This is a great base cookie recipe, so make it your own.
The oven temperature should be 325F. Any hotter, and the cookies might not bake all the way through before the outside starts to burn, so check your oven temperature.
Note that cookies should not brown much at all except for a little on the bottoms. You'll know the cookies are done when they are firm. Cookies will get crunchier as they cool.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 36 Serving Size 1 cookieAmount Per Serving Calories 98Total Fat 5gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 7mgSodium 53mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 1gSugar 6gProtein 1g
The stated nutritional information is provided as a courtesy. It is calculated through third party software and is intended as a guideline only.
And I hope you guys like these wedding cookies, too.
Thank you so much for stopping in, and I hope you have a wonderful day.
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Katrina says
Yum! I think these will be made for my next book group. Have a friend who LOVES all things lime (and doesn’t like chocolate). Does Thai Ginger Sea Salt have a ginger flavor to it? I’ve never seen or heard of it, but I have sea salt.
onlinepastrychef says
The sea salt does have a lovely ginger flavor. Here’s a link should you want to get some: http://www.oldcitysalts.com/product_p/thaiginger.htm It is great, but no, it’s not strictly necessary. You can just add a bit more powdered ginger. And you know what else would be nice? Some minced candied ginger, too @disqus_b8CVxmwB0e:disqus ! I hope your whole book group enjoys them!
Katrina says
Thanks for the link and info. I thought of candied ginger, that’s a good idea. These sound so good.
onlinepastrychef says
I think that you will really enjoy them–do let me know! =)
Maureen | OrgasmicChef says
I’d gnaw my right arm off for some key limes 🙂 I love your pretty cookies and would consider getting married if you’d bring them along. 🙂
onlinepastrychef says
Wow! For a minute, I thought you were proposing to *me,* Maureen! LOL I will gladly bring you these cookies whenever you and J decide to renew your vows! =)
movita beaucoup says
I hear ya, sista. I’ve been battling time constraints and writer’s block, but can’t bring myself to post… just a recipe. How un-fun! Also, why is photography so hard? Sigh. Hey! You know what would make me feel better? SOME OF THESE COOKIES.
onlinepastrychef says
Let’s sit on the couch together, munching cookies and watching old episodes of Alias. Maybe we’ll find inspiration then, MV! 😉 LOL And I don’t know why photography is so hard. It hurts my head.
mandy says
I LOVE your post. The cookies sound amazing, I can’t wait to try!! I don’t mean this to be a criticism (and maybe it’s my computer) but I had a hard time reading it because of the colors. Thank you for a lovely post!!
onlinepastrychef says
A friend told me she had issues w/the colors, too. I don’t know what’s going on, because it renders just fine for me, both on laptop and desktop. I’ll see if I can find out what is up. Thanks for letting me know, and I’m glad you liked the post. The cookies are really good–I do hope you give them a try!
Dionne Baldwin says
I always love coming by to see what you’re up to. Truthfully, I do get a little ad if I don’t see a new post, but I understand where you are coming from. No filler here! Just heart. 🙂 And the cookies look very mouth watering, to say the least!
onlinepastrychef says
<3 Thanks, Dionne. And I do hope you give the cookies a try. They are Quite Yum. =)
Meghan says
They turned out so great, Jenny! I can see why you couldn’t stop eating them!
onlinepastrychef says
Oh, that’s great, Meghan! I’m so glad you’re enjoying them, and I feel better about myself knowing that I’m not the only one w/o restraint in the face of these little guys! =)
Jamie says
Well, you know how I feel about posting a gazillion times a week, posting anything just for traffic. I would much rather wait for a great post, informative, entertaining, emotional, with some kind of purpose as well as real food any day!!! And good golly I so want to bake these cookies! That sea salt sounds unbelievable!
onlinepastrychef says
The salt is really very good–I can see a ton of savory dishes in my future. And yes, you need to bake these cookies. I will see if I can grab some of that salt for you and send you a Care Package. =)
Erin says
These sound absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing. I ordered the salt yesterday and can’t wait for it to arrive. I’d like to make them to give to guests at my wedding but I’ve got a few questions I hope you can answer. How long can the dough be refrigerated? How far in advance can I make them?
onlinepastrychef says
Oh, I hope you love them, Erin! We all certainly did! And the idea that you’ll be giving these to your wedding guests makes me very, very happy!
I would say that you could keep the dough in the fridge for a good 2 days or so before scooping and shaping. You’ll want to take it out at least an hour or so before baking so it can soften up. We didn’t eat the last 3-4 cookies until probably 8 days after I made them, and they were still as good as new–we were both very pleasantly surprised!
I hope you and your guests enjoy the cookies, and I wish you and your new husband a very long and happy marriage! 🙂
Erin says
These were absolutely amazing cookies! Everyone at the wedding–old and young–loved them! It was very humid so the powered sugar was a bit sticky and they didn’t look as lovely as yours. But they still tasted divine! Thanks again for sharing your recipe and expertise!
onlinepastrychef says
I am so thrilled that everyone loved the cookies! I wish you and your new husband many, many happy years of marriage–and many batches of tasty cookies! I’m very happy for you, and I’m honored that these cookies had a place on your dessert table. 🙂
Amy Stafford says
Love these, they look delicious! Your pictures have really improved, they look dynamite. I hope you are doing well and your book is coming along. I am rooting for you. xo Amy
onlinepastrychef says
Oh, thank you Amy! I’ve been working hard to try and improve, so I’m glad it’s working! The cookies really are wonderful, too! Will keep you posted about the book–I’m just waiting to hear back from the Secret Agent Lady. =)
Holly says
These are in the oven right now. The raw batter tasted amazing, so I can not wait to try them once they have been baked and coated in powdered sugar. butter, sugar and lime. heaven.
Jennifer Field says
Yay! You are going to be so happy! Not sure if I said in the post, but coat them twice for Maximum Sugary Goodness. I hope you love them, Holly:)
Sheryl says
I had a party last Friday, food was all Thai themed. It was all finger food, so I was limited in what I could make, with forks not in the picture. I made a double recipe of these for dessert. These cookies were amzing. Everyone loves wedding cookies anyway, but the ginger/lime was unexpected, but add to that the “sparkle” you get when you hit a touch of ginger salt, and that put them right over the top! My only complaint was – 14 people and no leftovers!!
Jennifer Field says
I’m so glad you and your guests enjoyed them! Next time, keep half a batch in reserve for yourself. You made them. You deserve them! =) Although I think I’ve made a lot of delicious things for the blog, I rarely revisit them because there are always new flavor combinations and ideas to pursue. I’ve made these cookies w/o any alteration three times. That is saying something! So happy they have another new fan!
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
One word that will NEVER be used to describe one’s reaction to your posts is ‘underwhelmed’…EVER! These cookies are fabulous and I love how you incorporated your new boyfriend into them.
Jennifer Field says
<3 Your comments always make me smile, Betsy! I try not to be underwhelming, so thank you for that! =)
Laura says
You had me at lime. My goodness these cookies sound and look amazing. I’ve got limes in my fridge and they are calling me to make these fabulous cookies!
Jennifer Field says
I think it’s a sign, Laura! It’s wedding cookie time! 🙂
Sandi says
Wow!! I love the lime flavor that you added. I can’t wait to try these for the holidays.
Jennifer Field says
They turned out to be really really good. I hope you guys enjoy them, Sandi! I offered these cookies to a reader as part of a giveaway. The winner was local and I met her to give them to her. She and her family really loved them, so they are Reader Approved! 🙂