Come Saturday morning my body immediately wanders to…homemade scones, americano with cream & fresh fruit. Yet, this Saturday morning, the scones were out & the cream. And I was okay with that. Honestly! What wasn’t out was the fruit, and with fresh fruit creeping up on the horizon, one cannot help but to enjoyContinue reading “Raw “Cheesecake” with Lime Zested Strawberries & Mangoes”
Tag Archives: limes
Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes
We just returned from a family getaway. Ben had planned a surprise adventure for our family for the earlier part of January. Unfortunately for us, we needed to reschedule to do a bit of a tornado hitting his work staff all at once, leaving Ben to tend to work. We stayed on Discovery Bay between Sequim & Port Townsend. The place we stayed had a kitchen, so it made meals so much easier and healthy. There was also an indoor pool, which Tayers thought was the “big adventure,” and whenever we drove somewhere she would cry out, “I want to go on the big adventure!”
Our family time was relaxed, filled with laughter, reflection, and many joyful moments. It was the probably the best family vacation we’ve ever been on (and I hope many follow suit). We also experienced some breathtaking sunrises (the kind you wake up just to make sure you don’t miss it). 
I played my guitar, read, and wrote a personal mission statement, as well. This little break helped clear my head, refocus and evaluate who I am and what I, Kamille, am called to do in this life. It was good, so very good and yet so simple too. It’s kind of like these Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes. They aren’t fussy, pretty straightforward and simplistic. Yet, sure to dance on your palate in such a way, which leaves you looking forward to the next time you get to eat them. I have some great things in store for Evangitality this year and I hope you will continue to join me or better yet, add to the discussion:)
A Year Ago: Banana Macadamia Praline Scones
Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes (printable recipe)
Ingredients:
2-3 lbs sweet potatoes, scrubbed & peeled, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp coconut oil
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup cilantro, fresh and finely chopped
Zest of one lime
Juice of one lime
Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment and put the sweet potatoes in an even layer on top. Add the coconut oil and thoroughly coat, using your hands, the sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of salt. Roast for 20-25 minutes.
While the potatoes are roasting, combine lime juice, lime zest, additional 1/2 tsp salt & cilantro. Once sweet potatoes are done, transfer to a serving bowl and pour the lime/cilantro mixture over them while hot. Gently mix to combine and serve.
Coconut Lime Macaroons
So I mentioned to save those six egg whites from the Sour Cherry Grand Marnier Creme Brulee, but it’s taken a while to post a recipe. But that seems to be life. I’ve been in a post New Year’s state making lists of what I value, writing up a personal mission statement and embracing how life is so good. In July I was dredging through the seas of anxiety & fear, while September came and it was more like wading. Fear has plagued me in the past(I’m probably not the only one), and it crept up its little head again.
What I have been embracing is the present.
Looking at the little things that bring joy into my life. Those little things when you add them all up they are exponentially greater than any fear trying to budge its way into your heart & mind.
Little things…infectious laughter of my two year old, the smile on my four year old when I pick her up from the bus, the warmth of Ben’s hand on my back, special snapshot moments with friends that remind me of heaven and sharing these little macaroons with friends while watching Anne of Green Gables. What little things remind you of joy in this present?
A Year Ago: Grapefruit Yogurt Loaf Cake & Palace Temple & Hospitality
Coconut Lime Macaroons (printable recipe)
These little gems are perfect after you finished making the sour cherry creme brûlée, due to the leftover egg whites. I love limes and I love coconut, so they are pretty much a great combination. Plus, they’re a non-fuss sort of treat.
Ingredients:
6 egg whites, room temperature
1/2 cup agave nectar, or raw honey
2 cups almond flour
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
zest of one lime
1/4 tsp lime oil
Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
zest of 1/2 lime
juice of 1/2 lime
Directions: Preheat the oven to 350. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on high speed until the egg whites are medium peaks. Add the agave nectar or honey and salt and whip again until stiff peaks.
In a separate bowl, combine the almond flour, unsweetened coconut, lime zest & lime oil. Combine. Pour 1/3 of dry ingredients into whipped egg whites and fold it into the egg whites. Continue with remaining 2/3 (in 1/3 portions) until the wet & dry ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Using a cookie scoop (about 2 Tb), scoop dough and place on the lined baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes (look for slightly browned parts on the top, but overall white). Cool on the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
Make the frosting: Sift the powdered sugar. Add in the butter and blend it all together using a fork. Add the lime juice & zest. Mix until it’s creamed together. Taste. If you need a bit more lime taste, then add a bit more zest.
Frost the tops of cooled macaroons. Serve and eat!
If you want to opt out with the frosting, then up the agave or honey to 3/4 cup in the macaroons.Whole 30: Day 30 & Key Lime Pie Kamillebars
Well friends, today is day 30 of my 30 day challenge. It is officially over at 12:01 am, but I will avoid any temptation of getting out of bed for a glass of wine. These 30 days have been quite remarkable, in the physical yes, but even more in the emotional, mental & spiritual realm. It’s interesting when I tell people about this challenge, because there have been typical responses.
- Eyes pop out of their head
- They realize their eyes popped out and try to compose their facial expression to a more subdued look.
- Nodding of the head (as in I cannot believe you are doing this to yourself).
- The response, “Wow, you must have a lot of willpower,”
- Or my other favorite response, “That’s amazing (but I wonder if they really think I’m nuts), but I couldn’t live without…FILL IN THE BLANK!”
As for willpower. I guess if you asked my mom about me being a girl, if I had a strong will, she’d say yes. If you asked Ben the same, he’d probably agree. However, I think willpower is more about seeing the potential for something good and setting on the course to achieve it. It’s making choices everyday because you see the end goal. I make choices now as a mother to discipline my girls, in order for them to know of life’s consequences and how to have enough “willpower” to say no when faced with life’s bigger dilemmas (you know the ones that have catastrophic effects).
When I looked at myself in the mirror even three years ago, I didn’t see someone who was healthy or someone I wanted to be. But when you hit a place in health decline, whether that’s being overweight, chronic health issues, lethargic, etc, you can easily get so trapped and wonder, “How did I get here? And how do I get out?” This goes for any challenge in life, it just happens to be nutrition & exercise for me. And specifically, this 30 day challenge was a challenge; considering I love to bake and my shelves are overflowing with cookbooks. Yet, when I see myself now compared to the girl who walked into Jogo August 4th for a basecamp fitness introduction (ached for days), I remind myself of her. I see that girl and think, “that’s willpower, to get up at 5:30am to come workout, completely out of shape and all because she wanted better in life.”
Who would’ve thunk it? Certainly not me, but I’m SO VERY THANKFUL for it. In fact, it’s amazing how alive your taste buds are when you take away sugar for 30 days. Dates are simply ethereal (and a bit dangerous) and figuring out how to make my own Larabars were even more so. I first had a Key Lime Pie Larabar during the challenge, and I could have sworn there was cream cheese in it. The ingredients simply said: dates, cashews, almonds, key lime concentrate. I set out to do what any rational person would do…figure out how to make my own. And they’re good, really good! But, I’m warning you right now to only save a couple and share the rest, because 1. you’ll be sure to make friends that way and 2. you’re body will thank you later.
Key Lime Pie Kamillebars (printable recipe)
I have made these twice. The first time they turned out better than the second time, merely because the nuts didn’t get finely chopped in the food processor. I realized that the first round I used dates from Trader Joes, which were more dry. I think more dried dates work better in this recipe. While the second time I had these wonderful, soft dates from Costco. Due to the dates being quite soft, they pureed before allowing all the nuts to puree. So the pureed dates caused everything to stick without chopping.
Ingredients:
16 ounces dates (weight is based on dates with pits still in)
2 cups/225 grams raw cashews
1 1/8 cup/165 grams raw almonds
1 cup/80 grams unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 tsp pure lime oil
3-4 key limes, juice OR juice of 2 limes (the kind you find at the grocery store)
Directions: Place cashews, almonds, coconut, & pitted dates into the bowl of a food processor. Process until the nuts are almost pureed, just not into a nut butter. You may want to pulse a couple times. Once the the nuts & dates are chopped well, add the lime juice & oil and pulse to combine. You will want the mixture to be a bit sticky. Taste to see if you need to add more lime juice.
Put in a 9×9 square pan, patting down evenly. You can slice fairly soon after. I cut mine into small squares; rather, than the traditional bar. If left out they will dry a bit. So cover them if you want to retain some moisture.
Healthy Fish Tacos (but good)
Have you ever gone without sugar (refined sugar) for a while to see what hold it has over your life? Yes, but only during Lent? Or to lose weight? Well, I was beginning to see a trend in my life of treating myself daily, sometimes little things like a mocha I made at the 1:00 hour (sound familiar to anyone else?). And other times a bit bigger like making these to eat a couple, hopefully give the majority away and then, post them here. Monday morning came and I felt old. Maybe it’s the bed (it is a bit), but I think it had stronger correlations with sugar.
So that evening I said to God, “Okay God–I’m making this covenant, or vow or whatever we call it, to abstain from sugar until Ben and I go on our weekend trip. I think this is the only way I’ll stick to this no sugar thing. I’m starting tomorrow morning.” Tuesday morning came and it was fine, but I’ve abstained from sugar before and it isn’t until day 3 that you really lose it. It’s more mental than physical at that point. You think thoughts, “how can I celebrate if I can’t have a cookie…or…man, this whole love of baking really isn’t working for me right now…or…could I bake something, post it on my blog even if I never tasted it, but had someone I trust tell me their thoughts?” The good news is I didn’t surrender fruit or all breads..simply limiting my bread/starch intake.
The other good news is I’ve taken on cooking as my creative outlet this week, which makes my family happy come dinner time. I took a couple pictures of my guacamole & tacos tonight before the feast fest began. Unfortunately, our beloved camera that I was actually feeling wasn’t great has departed. Now, I mourn it and realize how good I had it. When I ventured on the blogging scene+food blogging scene in particular, I soon was amazed at the velocity of food photos foodie bloggers create. Most have cameras that are a bit more expensive than what I can shell out. Yet, their cameras were whispering discontented words on my little Canon that served me well. Wouldn’t you know that our little Canon was misplaced in La Jolla back in April. We know it was left in the rental car (to which I called multiple times and no camera to no avail) and the rest is history. Someone in San Diego has some pictures of the beach, probably my food and definitely our kids.
**What to do now? Well, I have an old digital camera. It’s ancient in digital years, but still a digital camera. I feel like I can’t complain with so many bigger things in life and at least we have a camera–right?! But can I say this to get it off my chest. It’s video capacity is only 20 seconds long with no sound (can’t capture my kids). The macro setting captures like far zoom with complete blur (which makes for horrible food pictures). We got it the year we were married (we’re celebrating 8 years on the 14th), so you do understand that digital life ages like dog years–right!
So please forgive me of the one picture I have of these fish tacos. It was the only good one I had to post. It doesn’t do it justice. They were really great and you knew they were healthy, but I didn’t care, because it had that fresh, satisfying–fish taco not fried to death feeling at the end of the meal.
Healthy & Nummy Fish Tacos (printable recipe)
Make sure you only marinate for 20 minutes. Fish is so delicate that the acid from the lime will start to eat it. Have fresh limes on hand to bring out the real lime flavor. You can top with chopped cabbage. Use a comal or cast iron skillet to warm up your corn tortillas for a better flavor all around.Taco Ingredients: 2 limes, squeezed of juice
kosher salt & fresh ground pepper 1 pound halibut Garnish with fresh cilantro, chopped
Guacamole Ingredients: 4 radishes, diced 1/4 cup diced red onions 1 lime, squeezed
kosher salt 2 ripe avocados 1 jalapeno, chopped or Tapatio Sauce (however much until it hits your heat intensity) 1 Tb fresh cilantro, chopped Mango Topping: 2 mangoes, cubed 1-2 Tb red onions 1/2 tsp fresh cilantro, chopped pinch of salt
Corn tortillas, warmed extra lime wedges chopped cabbage would be nice too
Directions: Marinade the halibut with the juice of two limes, kosher salt & pepper for ONLY 20 minutes. Grill on medium heat until halibut is no longer clear (about 6-7 minutes on both sides). Flake or cut apart with your hands to the desired size. Garnish with cilantro and a touch more of salt if desired.
While the halibut is marinading, make guacamole & mango topping. Add avocado to a medium bowl, along with onions & radishes. Mash up the avocado, while leaving a bit of chunks intact. Add lime juice from 1/2 a lime and taste. Add more lime juice if need be. Add kosher salt (about 1 – 1 1/2 tsp), cilantro & jalapeno or Tapatio sauce. Cut mangoes and put in a bowl. Add the onion, cilantro & pinch of salt. Combine the ingredients. Take your warmed tortilla, put about 1/4 cup of halibut on top, 1-2 Tb guacamole & just a bit of mango. When it’s all together it’s a dance party in your mouth.
Rhubarb-Strawberry filled Lime Cupcakes
Have you noticed how many cupcake shops have popped up in the past five years? I have loved baking ever since I was little. My true love for the art came in my first Home Economic class in sixth grade. True to any first year Home Ec. class, you learn a plethora of introductory level crafts. I still remember learning plastic canvas, where I made a tissue box cover of penguins designed for my mom, due to her love of the cute little creatures. But seriously, although my mom heaped words of praise upon my creation–do we really need tissue box covers lining the aisles of Goodwill (a lost craft that should remain lost)?
I made a pillow cover, did at home projects of our choice, created various items in the kitchen & decided that I would undertake the largest size duffle bag (think body bag) while all my peers were a bit more sensible & chose the smallest one. Little did I know that the duffle bag scenario would be a metaphor for my life.
Biting off more than I can chew. My vision of what I can accomplish and what I will actually tackle are two different notions. But in some ways, I like how this transfers to my baking. I’m all for simple desserts & baked goods; however, I plain ole’ love creating something a bit more time consuming to have a wonderful end product. Sometimes this is hard with some of my perfectionist sensitivities, because I would rather not attempt something & fail than attempt it at all.
It reminds me of the pie crust portion of Home Econonics. Mrs. Haile, my teacher, showed us how to cut the butter into the flour, add just a little ice cold water, lightly combine it, chill, roll & transfer to the pie plate. This terrified me. The idea of transferring to have it split, crack, tear or crumble did not look appealing in the slightest. And although I had Kitchenaid mixer on my wish list since 11 years old, it wasn’t until I was 20 years old that I began to overcome my fear of the pie crust and make pie after pie.
I’ve realized that baking is like that (as well as cooking). We all have flops. In fact, as I was making this recipe, I was trying to make Neoclassic Buttercream (cook the sugar, add said sugar mixture to egg yolks, mix & mix, cool, add butter). What was the end result–pieces of chewy sugar/caramel dispersed throughout a 1/2 pound of butter. Sad yes–defeated no. I will go back and tackle it again, same as the pie crust. Do I make a perfect pie crust with no flaws? No. Julia Child approached the culinary arts with embracing the flaws & going with it. That’s how I began to see the pie crust and so many other baking adventures.
But, when we do have monumental food successes–they make up for the 1/2 pound of butter that got ruined (actually–I’m going to use it for some frosting still), flavorless muffins, or burnt dinner. So, as with the advent of the cupcake shops, culinary triumphs & 2+hours of baking with a 5 second eating party–meet the cupcake who will convert even the die hard chocolate lover.
I am utterly, head over heals, infatuated-crazy about these cupcakes. The melding of the lime cupcake with the tang of the rhubarb sauce, sweetness of the strawberry puree and creamy, richness of the cream cheese frosting (laced with strawberry puree) makes for a complete flavor profile in a dessert. I’m not fond of using the word “best” when talking about food on a blog. However, I’m about to break that vow right now as these cupcakes are absolutely superb. Dare I say it, “the best.” They’re knock your socks off good. If you have time to spare–you need to make these. But, I’m warning you if you do, you might not ever be able to eat a “so-so” cupcake again. Just saying:)
Rhubarb-Strawberry Filled Lime Cupcake & Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting (printable recipe)
The cupcake has been changed from a cupcake base found in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes Cookbook, which is a white cupcake & I have changed it to a lime cupcake. If you don’t have a scale, then I would highly recommend investing in one; as it will make your baked items a step up. I used cake flour, as it has a lower protein content versus all-purpose. This being said, you can use all-purpose with the amount in parenthesis below. You can make the cupcake the day before and assemble them the next day. More information on rhubarb is found here.
Lime Cupcakes
The total capacity of the liquid should measure 2/3 cup. Measure the milk to 1/2 cup and the rest should be lime juice.- 3 large egg whites (90 grams), room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) whole milk
- a little less than 1/4 cup (40 grams) lime juice, 2 limes
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (1 3/4 cup if using unbleached all-purpose flour) sifted into the cup & leveled off (200 grams) cake flour
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 to 1 1/2 Tb lime zest, zest of 2 limes
- 2 1/4 plus 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter (65 to 75 degrees)
Preheat the oven: Line 14 to 16 cupcake liners in a muffin tin and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.
Mix the liquids: In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites, 3 tablespoons of the milk and vanilla until lightly combined.
Make the batter: In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, lime zest, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining milk & lime juice on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients & strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Scoop batter into the lined muffin tin (it should weigh about 1.7 ounces/50 grams) filling about 3/4 full. Smooth the surface evenly with a small metal spatula.
Bake the cupcakes: Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cupcakes spring back when pressed lightly in the centers.
Cool the cupcakes: Let the cupcakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove them from the pans and set them on a wire rack. Cool completely.
Rhubarb Sauce
- 2 cups rhubarb, 1/4 inch slices
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
Directions: Throw the chopped rhubarb, water & sugar in a small pot over medium heat. Stir every now & again. Allow it to cook down until it resembles chunky applesauce (except rhubarb). Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Strawberry Puree
- 2/3 cup hulled strawberries, cleaned
Put the hulled strawberries into a food processor and puree until no more chunks appear. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 Tb unsalted butter
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tb strawberry puree
Put the butter & cream cheese in an electric mixer medium speed for 1 minute. Add strawberry puree and mix on medium until blended. Add one cup powdered sugar & mix for 30 seconds. Add an additional 3/4 cup to 1 cup of powdered sugar. The frosting shouldn’t be too thick, but not ultra runny.
Assemble the Cupcakes:
- Take the cupcake and cut out a cone from the center of each. Go here for instructions on this method.
- Remove the cone & cut off the bottom half (the pointed end) and save the top half (eat the bottom half).
- Put 1 teaspoon of rhubarb sauce in the cut out portion of the cupcake. Put 1/8-1/4 tsp of strawberry puree on top of rhubarb sauce.
- Place the top part of the cone back on top of the sauce & puree. Press down gently, just enough to avoid the filling coming out.
- Either pipe the frosting on top to cover the cut out area or spoon it on top.
- Eat!!!
Bursting with Delight Cookies
Not only are these cookies bursting with delight, but I have been reflecting upon this notion as I await what the Christian world calls “Holy Week” or “Passion Week.” As my girls took their nap today, I was folding laundry listening to the song, ‘O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus.’ One of the lines says, “How he loveth, ever loveth, changeth never, nevermore…how for them he intercedeth.” I was struck by how great his love is for me. When I was a little girl I would stand up on mall benches and sing “Jesus Loves Me.” When people would ask me why I believed in Jesus, I would respond with, “why wouldn’t I (this at a very young age).”
I think it’s because I was drawn to Jesus’ incredible love. I knew he was good, but not just good as in the superhero fighting the villain, it was much deeper than that. And as my oldest is three understanding more concepts, listening to all the stories we tell her, taking initiative in conversations & thoughtfulness, I’m seeing how at such a young age–Jesus makes sense. I was reading to her some Bible stories, very simplistic in nature, and it came to the part where Jesus was being crucified (like I said, it was simplistic, not the Passion in full swing) where she had a sadness in her eye. I could identify with that sadness and conjure it up from when I was her age, because I like her, could see why it was so sad. It was sad & lonely, because this person who was so incredibly good & just was being robbed of life.
But the part in which I burst forth, as did she, was when we soon realized that wasn’t the end of the story, but Jesus overcame death, bursting forth from the tomb–leaving it empty. I could see the shadow of sadness quickly being replaced with joy & hope in my three year old’s eyes. And as I saw in this child illustrated Bible, feet on a cross, my eyes got misty connecting with the same mourning my daughter was feeling. But, unlike watching a fake romance movie Hollywood has portrayed giving us hope deferred & hope renewed–this is such a better love story. This is a love story even a three year old understands to be true & wholeheartedly genuine.
And even though we rarely think about feasting upon cookies during this season of Lent (most people giving them up), I do offer you a burst of delight upon your senses (not that I think these compare to the Easter story at all). I made these cookies for my mom getaway a couple weeks back and I find they have a wonderful marriage with sour, freshness of the lime, the creamy depth of the cream cheese, the buttery, saltiness of the caramel and the crunch & melding of it all with the macadamia nuts. I like how the flavors blend, some pack more of a punch, while others leave a nice undertone on in your mouth.
I think that’s why I find these cookies applicable with this post–it’s about awakening the senses. So as you might read the Passion story for the first time or the 70th time, notice how much of the story deals with smell, touch, taste, sight, & sound. How Jesus reached us with our senses. How the Lenten season is typically about denying the senses, yet as Jesus burst forth from the tomb on Easter morning–we burst forth in celebration with him to feast in a hope no longer deferred.
Burst Delights (printable recipe)
I used my Orange Cardamom Cookies as the base for these Lime-Cream Cheese-Macadamia Nut-Caramel Cookies.
Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime zest
- 1/4 cup macadamia nuts, measure out 1/4 cup and finely chop it up
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 lime for juice
Cream Cheese-Caramel Icing
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
- 1/4 cup homemade caramel sauce (or store bought)
- splash of lime oil essence (or extract)
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
Make dough:
Whisk together flour, zest, 3 Tb. finely ground macadamia nuts, and salt.
Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, then beat in yolk and cream. At low speed, mix in flour mixture in 3 batches just until a dough forms. Put the dough on parchment paper.
Mound the dough together and roll into a log. Once you get a basic log shape, position the dough in the middle of the parchment. Then, take the parchment that’s north of the dough and cover it over the dough. Take a bench scraper and push the edge of it at the base of the parchment covered dough, trying to make a concentric log. Roll the log so the parchment covers the whole thing and twist the edges. Refrigerate for 3 hours to overnight (if you want to speed the process, then place in freezer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour).
Cut and bake cookies:
Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.
Remove firm dough. Unroll the parchment so the dough is still sitting on top of the paper. Place on a cutting board. Cut the dough into 1/8 inch. Transfer cookies to a parchment-lined large baking sheet, arranging them 1 inch apart.
Bake until edges are golden-brown, 12-15 minutes. While the cookies are still warm, slice the zested lime in half and squeeze the juice over the cookies. The cookies will absorb the juice and give the cookies that great lime kick. Cool on baking sheet and arrange with below directions.
Make Icing:
Put the whipped cream cheese in a small bowl and add 1 Tb of caramel sauce at a time. Mixing to get a balance of caramel & cream cheese. Then add some lime essence, just a splash. You want to have a balance of the flavors. Not too much of the lime, but enough to have it stand out.
Putting them together:
With a spoon, put about 1/2 teaspoon icing on each cookie & swirl around. Drizzle caramel over the cookies with a fork or spoon. Sprinkle with remaining chopped macadamia nut & lime zest.
Backdoor Hospitality 
