oatmeal cut out cookies with lime cream cheese frosting & toasted coconut
bright and fresh lime cream cheese frosting paired with perfectly chew oatmeal sugar cookies
- Yield: 2 dozen 1x
Ingredients
oatmeal cookie ingredients
226g unsalted butter (salted is fine), room temp (1 cup | 16 Tbsp)
100g granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
110g light brown sugar (1/2 cup, packed)
1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/2 tsp regular table salt)
1 egg, large
2 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
270g all purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
100g old fashioned oats, lightly chopped in a food processor (1 1/4 cups before chopping)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking powder
lime cream cheese frosting ingredients
3 oz. cream cheese, room temp
85g unsalted butter (salted is fine), room temp (6 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp regular table salt)
1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
lime zest from one lime
juice from one lime (about 1 Tbsp)
milk- optional
toasted coconut, for garnish
additional lime zest, for garnish
Instructions
make the cookies
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a mixing bowl with a hand held mixer, beat the butter on low speed until smooth. Add the sugars and salt and beat on medium-low until combined and slightly lightened, about 1-2 min. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
Add the egg and vanilla and beaut until the mixture is fully combined and emulsified, scraping the bowl well. (Don’t over mix at this stage, or the dough will be too aerated and cause some spreading during baking.)
Add the flour, oats, cinnamon, and baking powder. Mix on low speed until combined, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as you go.
Roll the dough to 1/4″ between two lightly floured sheets of parchment paper, flouring the dough as needed. (This dough can be a bit stickier.) Refrigerate the dough for two hours or overnight. (If you’re in a rush, a quick 20 minute freeze will do the trick.)
When it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).
Dip cutters in flour and cut shapes in the dough, placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze the cut shapes for 5-10 minutes before baking to help prevent spread, if desired.
Bake for 6-8 minutes for smaller shapes and 8-10 minutes for larger shapes or until the center is no longer shiny. Don’t over bake, or you won’t have a chewy cookie.
Cool on the sheet pan for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cookies are baking and cooling, make the frosting.
make the frosting
Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
Add the lime zest, lime juice, salt, and vanilla bean. Continue mixing until perfectly smooth.
Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until smooth. If the frosting is too thick, drizzle in a bit of milk.
Frost completely cooled cookies. Sprinkle with toasted coconut and lime zest. (I like to zest the lime with a microplane directly over the cookies.)
Notes
- Because this frosting has cream cheese, it should be refrigerated.
- For unfrosted cookies, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
- The unfrosted, baked cookies can be frozen in an airtight container. You can also freeze the unbaked dough for up to two months.
- I originally tested this recipe with 250g flour. Using 270g will help the cookies hold their shape really well and spread less for cutting shapes to decorate with royal icing. (recipe here) If you want more chew, and you don’t care about a tiny bit of spread, use 250g for the best texture. If you want even less spreading, you could up the flour to 290g.
- To halve this recipe, use one egg yolk.
- The cinnamon in the cookie is optional if it doesn’t fit the flavor profile. For example, I would leave it out when combining this cookie with the lime cream cheese frosting.
- Add 1/2 cup of finely chopped raisins or chocolate chips for an oatmeal raisin or oatmeal chocolate chip cookie vibe.