Easy Key Lime Pie Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
These key lime cookies are key lime pie in cookie form. The middle is chewy and creamy while the outside is golden brown and slightly crispy. The zingy key lime and sweet white chocolate just hit the spot and I can’t get enough.
What takes these next level is the use of cream cheese. It gives the cookies the best creamy and chewy texture you can’t get with butter alone. We use less fat cream cheese so can keep the calories lower than the average cookie.
For more delicious cookies, check out almond flour peanut butter cookies, chocolate chipless cookies or these 10+ Low Calorie Cookies.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- 120 calories per cookie.
- Tangy lime flavor meets sweet white chocolate.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients for key lime pie cookies. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients list and instructions for these key lime pie cookies:
- All-Purpose Flour
- White Chocolate Chips: I use Lily’s brand.
- Fresh Limes: both regular limes (Persian limes) or key limes work but I prefer the flavor of fresh key limes because they have a sweeter flavor. Persian limes are more tart. You’ll be using fresh lime juice as well as lime zest.
- Light Brown Sugar: or dark brown sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: if you want to make these even lower calorie use a sugar substitute, but that will change the taste and texture of the cookie.
- Unsalted Butter: make sure your butter is softened to ensure the best texture. Butter can be substituted with coconut oil 1:1 ratio, but will change the cookies.
- Reduced Fat Cream Cheese: you also want cream cheese to be room temp. You can use full-fat for richer cookies.
Variations
- Add in graham cracker crumbs for a fun twist on this recipe.
Dietary Modifications
- To make gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour but omit 2 Tbsp. as it bakes a bit drier. Be sure your white chocolate chips are gluten-free.
- For dairy-free, sub out the butter for coconut oil at 1:1. You will also need to sub out the cream cheese for a dairy-free alternative. This may change the taste and soft texture of the cookie.
How to make key lime pie cookies (a visual step-by-step guide):
Step 1: preheat and mix wet ingredients
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy (image 1), about 2-3 minutes.
Add the cream cheese cheese, lime zest, and lime juice and mix until combined (image 2).
Step 2: mix dry ingredients
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt (image 3).
Step 3: combine wet and dry
Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips (image 4).
Step 4: scoop and bake
Drop 1.5 tablespoons of cookie dough balls onto the prepared cookie sheet. This recipe makes approximately 19 cookies with a medium cookie scoop. Sprinkle additional fresh lime zest on top, if using (image 5).
Step 6: remove and cool
Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Allow the baked cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Expert Tip!
Do not over-mix your dough as it will result in dense cookies. Mix until only just combined for chewy cookies.
Recipe FAQs
Store your cookies in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
If you want the cookies to all be the same shape after baking, take to top of a mason jar lid, place it over the cookie and swirl it around in a circular motion for a few minutes. This will result in the perfect circular cookies.
Space cookie dough evenly on the pan and make into even sized cookie dough balls. I use a 1.5 Tbs cookie dough scoop to ensure they are the same size.
These cookies have not been tested with protein powder. If added, it can make them a much fluffier or denser cookie (depending on the protein powder used) so I suggest sticking to the below recipe. If you’d like to try with protein powder try replacing ¼ cup of flour with 1 scoop of protein powder, adding more to meet the desired cookie dough consistency and leaving a comment so others know how it worked.
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Key Lime Pie Cookies
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Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar (or sugar substitie) lightly packed, 90g
- 1/2 cup sugar (or sugar substitute) 100g
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 lime zest
- 3 small limes, juiced approx. 1/4 cup
- 2 oz. reduced fat cream cheese room temp
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 210g
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup LIly's white chocolate chips (any brand) 40g
- lime zest on top optional, but recommended
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheight and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
- Add the cream cheese cheese, lime zest and lime juice and mix until combined.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Drop 1.5 Tbsp. spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. This recipes makes approximately 19 cookies with a 1.5 Tbsp. cookie scoop. Sprinkle additional lime zest on top if using.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden. Allow the cookies to cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
- Do not over-mix your dough.
- Use softened butter. I like to pull mine out a couple hours before using.
- If you want the cookies to all be the same shape after baking, take to top of a mason jar lid, place it over the cookie and swirl it around in a circular motion for a few minutes. This will result in the perfect circular cookies.
- Want to make these lower calorie? Use a 1:1 sugar substitute (this will change the taste of the cookies and possibly the texture) or make them smaller into 1 Tbsp. cookies.
Nutrition
Photos by Marie-Catherine Dube
