lime sugar cookies with macadamia nuts recipe

To ice this cookie we used the royal icing recipe flavored with 1 tablespoon of Lemoncello liqueur and 1 teaspoon grated lime zest. Use small amounts of food coloring added to the icing for decoration

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1 cup chopped macadamia nuts

1. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and beat until combined. Gradually stir in flour and lime zest. Add the macadamia nuts by hand. Refrigerate the dough 1 hour.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/4 inch. Using cookie cutters, cut the dough and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before icing.

3. To ice the cookies, use a pastry bag to pipe the icing around the edges of the cookie. This will create a boundary and keep the icing from running over the sides of the cookie. Then flood the cookie with icing and spread out smoothly.