Lime Coconut Shortbread Food

COCONUT-LIME BARS WITH HAZELNUT SHORTBREAD CRUST

Steps:

• For crust:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Blend nuts and sugar in processor until nuts are finely ground. Add flour and salt; blend 5 seconds. Add butter and process until well blended. Press dough evenly onto bottom of 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan. Bake crust until golden brown, about 28 minutes; cool completely in pan on rack. Maintain oven temperature.
• For filling:
• Whisk sugar and eggs in large bowl until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally. Whisk in lime juice, then flour and lime peel. Pour filling over crust in pan.
• Bake lime bars 25 minutes (filling will not be fully set). Sprinkle coconut evenly over. Bake until filling is completely set, about 10 minutes longer.
• Cool bars in pan on rack. Chill uncovered until cold, at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
• Cut around pan sides to loosen bars; cut into 24 pieces. Using small spatula, transfer bars to platter; serve chilled.

COCONUT KEY LIME THUMBPRINTS

Steps:

• For lime curd, in a small saucepan, whisk cornstarch and lime juice until smooth. Whisk in sugar and egg yolks; cook and stir over medium heat until boiling. Transfer to a bowl; cool slightly. Press plastic wrap onto surface of curd; refrigerate until cold., Preheat oven to 400°. Cream butter, confectioners' sugar and salt until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in extracts. Gradually beat in flour., In a small bowl, whisk together egg whites and water. Place coconut in a separate bowl. Shape dough into 1-1/4-in. balls. Dip in egg whites, then roll in coconut, coating well. Place 2 in. apart on parchment-lined baking sheets. Press a deep indentation in center of each with the handle of a wooden spoon., Bake until edges are golden brown, 12-14 minutes. Reshape indentations as needed. Cool on pans 5 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool completely., To serve, fill each cookie with about 1-1/2 teaspoons curd. In a microwave, melt white chocolate and shortening; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Refrigerate leftover filled cookies.

COCONUT LIME SQUARES

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Preheat oven to 325°F. and butter and flour an 8-inch square baking pan, knocking out excess flour.
• In a bowl blend together with fingertips flour, butter, coconut, confectioners' sugar, and salt until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pat mixture into prepared pan and bake in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
• Make custard:
• In a bowl whisk together eggs and granulated sugar until combined well and stir in flour, lime juice, and zest.
• Pour mixture over crust and bake in middle of oven 20 minutes. Top custard with coconut and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, or until just set. Cool confection in pan on a rack and chill 1 hour.

TOASTED COCONUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until coconut is light golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Cool completely, then grind in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender until coarsely ground.
• Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions. Stir in toasted coconut. Gather dough together, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic. Chill at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep chilled. Soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.).
• Preheat oven to 325°F Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Roll out dough disk on lightly floured work surface to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters, cut dough into rounds. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheets, spacing 1 inch apart. Gather dough scraps and reroll; cut out additional cookies. OR.
• Before chilling form dough into a log - 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter, wrap well in plastic and then place in a baggie or foil. After chilling, with a thin bladed sharp knife slice scant 1/4-inch thick rounds. Place on cookie sheets as above.
• Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. (Can be made ahead. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 week.).
• Note 1 - If you can't find unsweetened, use sweetened and cut back the sugar by 2 tablespoons.
• Note 2 - for unsweetened coconut, the smaller amount of salt, with sweetened, the larger amount. If you don't have Kosher salt, halve the amount of table salt.

COCONUT-KEY LIME SQUARES

Steps:

• Crust: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom and 2 sides of pan with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang; lightly butter the parchment.
• Combine flour, brown sugar, and salt in a food processor, and pulse a few times to combine. Add butter, and pulse until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add coconut and white chocolate, and pulse a few more times, just until mixture holds together. Transfer mixture to pan, and pack down firmly with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until crust is deep golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and reduce heat to 300 degrees.
• Filling: Whisk together eggs and granulated sugar in a bowl, then whisk in flour. Gently stir in lime juice (do not whisk or stir vigorously or batter will become foamy).
• Pour filling over hot crust, and bake until filling is set, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.
• Run the tip of a knife along the 2 sides of the pan not lined with parchment, then remove from pan by lifting with parchment overhang. Transfer to a cutting board, dust with confectioners' sugar, and cut into 1-inch squares.

COCONUT SHORTBREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour and mix well. Stir in coconut. Shape into two 8-in. rolls; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until firm., Unwrap and cut into 1/4-in. slices. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. , Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Dip both sides of cookies in confectioners' sugar while warm. Cool on wire racks.

CORNMEAL LIME SHORTBREAD FANS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grate 1 teaspoon zest from the limes. (You can usually get 1 teaspoon from 1 lime, but you may need to grate some zest off the other.) Add to a food processor.
• Add flour, cornmeal, sugar and salt and pulse once or twice to combine. Add butter and pulse until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pulse a few more times until some of the crumbs start to come together, but don't overprocess the dough. It should be somewhat crumbly and not form a ball. (Alternatively, you can mix this in a bowl using two knives, or use a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour.)
• Press the dough into an even layer in an ungreased, fluted 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom or in a 9-inch pie pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden brown, about 40 to 50 minutes.
• Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Using a butter knife, cut the shortbread into 12 wedges while still warm.
• Make the glaze: Halve the zested lime and squeeze 1 tablespoon juice into a small bowl. Whisk in confectioners' sugar and, if you like, more lime juice to taste. (More lime juice will make the glaze thinner and more tart, while less lime juice yields a thicker, sweeter glaze.) Drizzle glaze over the cooled shortbread, then zest the second lime over the icing before it sets. (Use a citrus zester, if you have one, or a regular zester, if you don't.)