Margarita Ribbon Cookies

Sweet, buttery and slightly tangy, these Margarita Ribbon Cookies are topped with a zesty homemade lime curd, then drizzled with a margarita-flavored glaze.  

When I was growing up, I always looked forward to making Finnish ribbon cookies in preparation for Christmas.  From a young age, I helped my mother bake and decorate the Christmas cookies, and ribbon cookies were one of my favorites.  It is a family recipe from my paternal grandmother, and a recipe that my own mother has been making for years.  The dough for these bar cookies is shaped into long ropes, and a slight indentation is formed along the length of each rope.  The cookies are then baked, and as soon as they came out of the oven, berry or apricot jam (often homemade) is spooned into the grooves.  The cookies are returned to the oven for a few more minutes to finish baking.  At the end, a powdered sugar glaze is drizzled on top, and the cookies are cut on a 45 degree angle.  The white glaze contrasts beautifully with the darker color of the fruit jam, which lends these cookies an elegant presentation.

Although I typically think of Finnish ribbon cookies as a Christmas treat, there's no reason they can't be eaten at other times of the year, as well.  In fact, why not top them with lime curd and a margarita drizzle, and enjoy them for Cinco de Mayo?  Why not, indeed.  Or you could enjoy them several weeks after Cinco de Mayo, since I'm so far behind in posting these.  Better late than never, right?

I used a homemade lime curd in this recipe, but you could certainly substitute store-bought lime curd, or even lemon curd, to save yourself some time.  For the margarita drizzle, I swirled a tablespoon of Skinnygirl Margarita into some sifted powdered sugar.  If you don't have Skinnygirl in your fridge, you should.  Go get some, because it's delicious.  But in all seriousness, if you don't have a ready-to-serve margarita on hand, you can make your glaze using tequila and lime juice instead.  No big deal.    

(click here for printable recipe)

Margarita Ribbon Cookies

(cookies adapted from a family recipe.  Lime curd adapted from Bon Appetit)

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 6.5 hours (if making lime curd from scratch)

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Zest of one lime
• 6 tablespoons lime curd (recipe below)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon Skinnygirl margarita (or, 2 teaspoons tequila + 1 teaspoon lime juice)

For the Lime Curd:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sguar
• 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3-4 limes)
• zest of 3 limes
• pinch of salt
• 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature

Instructions

For the Cookies:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet, and set aside.  
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together butter and sugar until creamy.  Add in egg yolk, vanilla, and lime zest; continue mixing until incorporated.  Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture, and mix on low speed until combined. 
3. Form cookies into 2 or 3 ropes of equal thickness.  Each rope should be as long as your baking sheet.  Use the side of your little finger to form a slight groove down the center of each rope.  Bake cookies for 13-15 minutes.  
4. Remove cookies from oven, and immediately spoon lime curd into grooves.  Return to oven for another 5-7 minutes, or until cookies are firm to touch and beginning to turn golden brown on the bottoms.  
5. In a small bowl, mix together powdered sugar and margarita (or tequila and lime juice, if substituting) to form a thin glaze.  Allow cookies to cool for approximately 5 minutes, then drizzle with glaze.  Allow cookies to cool for another 10 minutes.  Then, cut at 45 degree angle so that you have 1" cookies.  Transfer to wire racks and allow to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container if not serving immediately.  

For the Lime Curd:

1. Place a fine strainer over a mixing bowl, and set aside. 
2. Create a double boiler by setting a medium saucepan on top of a slightly larger saucepan filled with gently simmering water.  (Water should not touch the bottom of the second saucepan).  Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Remove from heat, and whisk in sugar, lime juice, lime peel, and salt.  Add egg yolks and whisk until smooth.  Return saucepan to stove and increase heat to medium.  Continue whisking curd constantly until it thickens and reaches 170 degrees. Curd should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.  
3. Pour curd into the mixing bowl, through the strainer.  Cover with plastic wrap placed directly on the surface of the curd.  Refrigerate for at least 6 hours, or up to 1 week.  

Notes: If you need to stack these cookies on top of each other to store them, I would recommend using wax paper to separate the layers.  

(click here for printable recipe)

Thanks for reading, friends!  Now have yourself a wonderful weekend!