These Key Lime Cookie Cups serve up the best and easiest flavors of Key Lime Pie! They’re mini in size but major in taste! You can’t go wrong with the tanginess of key limes and the crisp cookie cup.
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Classic key lime pie is a favorite of mine but I think it might have some stiff competition with these key lime pie cookie cups. These are seriously the most adorable key lime pie versions I have ever seen. So glad I invented them (hehe). Enjoy!
The Low Down on These Key Lime Cookie Cups
Cuisine Inspiration: Southern Key Lime Pie
Primary Cooking Method: Bake
Dietary Info: Decadent Dessert
Key Flavor: Sweet crumbly cookie with tart lime creaminess.
Skill Level: Beginner
Ingredients to Make Key Lime Cookie Cups
- Sugar Cookie Shortcut: We’re using Pillsbury Ready to Bake Sugar Cookie Dough to make the cookie cups. It’s your fast track to cookie cup greatness. It’s the easy-peasy base of your dessert.
- Egg Yolks Only: Bring richness and color to your key lime filling.
- Key Lime: Key lime juice for that tart, tropical zing.
- Sweetened Condensed Milk: Sweetens the deal and adds creaminess.
- Vanilla: Rounds out the flavors. Please use pure vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Garnish: Whipped cream and lime zest to dress up your cups.
How to Make Key Lime Cookie Cups
Step 1: Making the Cookie Cups
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 24-mini muffin pan with non-stick baking spray before you get going on making the cups.
- Roll the cookie dough into balls and place each one in the bottom of each muffin tin.
- Bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and gently press a spoon in the center of each baked cookie to make the shape of the cup. Let them cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
- Gently remove the cookie cups from the muffin pan and place them on a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Step 2: Making the Filling
- Combine the egg yolks, key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and pure vanilla extract in a medium bowl.
- Whisk together until creamy and well-mixed.
- Pour the mixture into a medium-sized pot and cook over medium-low heat to cook the eggs. Cook for 12-14 minutes, stirring frequently until the mixture is nice and warm.
- Remove the pot and allow the mixture to cool.
Step 3: Assembling the Cups
- Fill a Ziploc bag with a snipped corner or a piping bag with the key lime curd mixture.
- Pipe key lime curd into the direct center of each cookie cup until filled.
- Garnish with whipped cream and lime zest and refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Tips for Making the Best Key Lime Cookie Cups
- Lime Zest Garnish. Use a microplane or fine grater to zest the lime to sprinkle over the top. Zest before juicing — it’s much easier.
- Make Cookie Cups While Warm. Make sure you form the cookie cups while the cookie dough is still hot. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Don’t Over Bake. Make sure to check the cookie cups a few minutes before time is up just in case your oven cooks slightly warm.
- Juicing Your Limes. Roll them on the table firmly with the palm of your hand before juicing them. This process breaks up the pulp inside and makes the fruit easier to juice. You also get more juice!
- Avoid the White Pith. The white layer of lime peel that lies right under the green outside is quite bitter so when you are zesting it you want to make sure to avoid scraping it off. Use a light touch and a fine grater for best results.
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- Lemon: You can easily use lemons instead of the key limes to make a creamy lemon filling or even make a homemade lemon curd.
- Use regular limes: Key limes will provide a more tart flavor but if you can’t find them use regular limes instead.
- Add berries on top: For an extra vivid splash of color add a blueberry or raspberry on top of each cookie cup.
- Cookie flavor: Experiment with other cookie dough flavors such as funfetti or birthday cake. You can even try them with homemade chocolate sugar cookie dough.
- Use homemade cookies: If you prefer to make your own cookie dough for the cups, try my homemade sugar cookies recipe.
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What to Serve with Cookie Cups
- Serve these up for all your summer parties along with this berry icebox cake and blackberry lemon bars for a summertime dessert display that’s sure to be loved by all.
- Sip on a summer drink such as a mint julep, sweet peach tea, or peach punch to stay cool.
- These are perfect for any cookout, family reunion, or gathering along with crowd favorites such as grilled chicken kabobs, BBQ baby back ribs, and Southern potato salad.
How to Store Key Lime Cookie Cups
To keep your cookie cups fresh and delicious store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The lime filling requires these to be stored in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, simply take them out and let them sit at room temperature for a short while. Letting them warm up a bit brings back their full flavor and texture.
You can also make the cookie cups ahead of time and store them at room temperature in an airtight container for a couple of days.
How long will cookie cups last?
When stored properly, they’ll stay scrumptious for up to 5 days though the whipped cream may fall after a few days. If possible, store them without the cream, and add it just before serving again.
Can I freeze key lime cookie cups?
I don’t recommend freezing the fully prepared cookie cups but you can bake the cookie cups ahead of and freeze them to use later on. Store them in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure if you prefer a larger cookie you certainly can! Simply divide up the cookie dough into 12 equal portions and roll into balls. Follow the same process for baking but you may need to add a couple minutes to account for the larger ball of cookie dough.
Yes, you can! I recommend sticking with a cookie dough that makes a softer style of cooking such as a sugar cookie, chocolate chip cookie, or oatmeal cookie as these are soft enough to press into the muffin tin to create the cookie cups.
You definitely don’t want to overcook these cookies since you need them still somewhat soft in order to shape them. Watch for the edges of the cookies to crisp up and the centers should appear cooked and no longer dough-y. Remember that there will be some carryover cooking so the cookies will continue to cook as they are cooling.
Enjoy these key lime cookie cups which taste just mini key lime pies! They make a great addition to summer parties, family gatherings, and even a snack for the kids. You can’t go wrong with the ease of using store-bought cookie dough to make these simple cookies.
Favorite Key Lime Recipes to Try
- Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
- Key Lime Pie Cookies
- Key Lime Pound Cake
- Key Lime Pie
- Raspberry Key Lime Pie
- Atlantic Beach Pie
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Key Lime Pie Cookie Cups
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Ingredients
- 1 package Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Sugar Cookie Dough
- 3 large egg yolks
- ½ cup key lime juice
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk 1 can
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Whipped cream and lime zest for garnish
Instructions
For the cookie cups:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a 24 mini muffin pan with non-stick baking spray.
- Roll each separate cookie into a ball and place in the bottom of each muffin tin.
- Bake cookies for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove cookies from oven and gently press a spoon in the center of each baked cookie to make the shape of the cup.
- After 10 minutes, gently remove cookie cups from the muffin pan and place on a cooling rack until completely cooled.
For the key lime filling:
- Whisk together egg yolks, key lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and pure vanilla extract.
- Pour into a medium sized pot and saute over medium to low heat to cook through the eggs.
- Keep on heat and stir for 12-14 minutes until nice and warm. Remove and allow to cool.
To Assemble:
- Fill a ziploc bag with snipped side or piping bag with key lime curd mixture.
- Pipe key lime curd into direct centers of each cookie cup until filled.
- Next garnish with whipped cream and lime zest and refrigerate for at least one hour and serve.
Notes
- Lime Zest Garnish. Use a microplane or fine grater to zest the lime to sprinkle over the top. Zest before juicing — it’s much easier.
- Make Cookie Cups While Warm. Make sure you form the cookie cups while the cookie dough is still hot. The cookies will firm up as they cool.
- Don’t Over Bake. Make sure to check the cookie cups a few minutes before time is up just in case your oven cooks slightly warm.
- Juicing Your Limes. Roll them on the table firmly with the palm of your hand before juicing them. This process breaks up the pulp inside and makes them easier to juice. You also get more juice!
- Avoid the White Pith. The white layer of lime peel that lies right under the green outside is quite bitter so when you are zesting it you want to make sure to avoid scraping it off. Use a light touch and a fine grater for best results.
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Love, love, love these! I decided on the spur of the moment to make these and they turned out great. I’m not a fan of store bought sugar cookies, but I needed the convenience today. The delicious filling more than compensated for me not loving store sugar cookies. These were amazing and so easy! People will think you put way more time into these than you do.
I found that a tablespoon measuring spoon worked perfectly to make the cookies into cups. I was afraid I’d poke through them with a spoon and the tablespoon measuring spoon worked great!
Thank you for the lovely recipe!
You’re so welcome! Glad you liked them, sometimes a short cut isn’t always so bad!