Margarita Cookies with Tequila Lime Glaze

Looking for a super fun new way to enjoy your favorite cocktail? Why not in cookie form with these out-of-this-world Margarita Cookies with Tequila Lime Glaze.

Think a buttery and soft shortbread cookie infused with lime, dripping with a sweet and citrusy tequila lime glaze. They’re easy, they’re quick, they’re delicious, and let’s face it—they’re so much fun!

I absolutely love baking, and margaritas are up there with one of my favorite cocktails (and Marley’s Menu community members agree—this Frozen Pineapple Coconut Margarita has long been popular on the site!). So, this mashup felt kismet!

Margarita Cookies Ingredient Highlights

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It’s best if your butter is unsalted and softened. If you only have salted butter on hand, you can use that, just omit the added salt.

You’ll know your butter is softened when your finger leaves an imprint when you poke it. For more info, check out my article on how to quickly and easily soften butter.

These cookies call for just the yolk of an egg, but don’t waste the egg whites! Check out this Egg White French Toast. Using just the yolk yield a more buttery cookie while using the whole egg makes for a crumblier cookie.

Powdered sugar, or confectioners’ sugar, is aerated. It’s already so light and fluffy and is the perfect hack to achieve a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookie every time.

While you can substitute granulated sugar for the cookies in this recipe, you will need powdered sugar for the glaze, so I highly recommend using it for both!

Tequila Blanco is preferred just because it tends to be a tad more citrus-y, which plays well with the fresh lime. I also like the bright white color the Blanco yields, as opposed to a slightly yellow glaze from a darker tequila. Any works, really. I used Don Julio.

This recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of tequila. It’s enough to give you that tequila flavor (I can’t call these Margarita cookies without bringing that tequila now, can I?), but not too much to be overpowering or give you a buzz.

How I Make Margarita Cookies

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How I Make the Cookie Dough in One Bowl

Use a hand mixer to combine your powdered sugar and softened butter together first to form a base for your cookie dough. Then, add your flour and salt and mix again.

Separating the egg white from the yolk is easily achieved by cracking your eggshell in half over a bowl and transferring the egg yolk back and forth between either half of the shell, allowing the egg white to fall into the bowl.

You are now left with the egg whites in the bowl and the egg yolks in the shell. And voila! Just like that, your eggs are separated. Add the yolk to the dough.

In order to get enough lime flavor to stand out in the cookies, we will add lime in the form of both zest and juice.

Make sure to rinse the outside of your lime to make sure the zest is clean and safe for consumption.

Inside the cookies, you will add 1 tablespoon of lime juice and 1 tablespoon of lime zest.

You’ll also add 1 teaspoon of lime juice to your glaze and garnish the top of the cookies with more zest.

Still, 1 lime should produce enough juice and zest for these cookies. If you want to play it safe, grab an extra lime.

Mix the lime juice and egg yolk into your cookie dough before folding in the lime zest.

How I Make Tequila Lime Glaze for Cookies

Making a successful tequila lime glaze is all about patience and following your instincts. Fill a large mixing bowl with your tequila and 1 teaspoon of lime juice, get your hand mixer going, and start adding the powdered sugar.

Usually, 1/2 cup powdered sugar is just right, but it’s better to start with 1/4 cup and continue to add your powdered sugar, with the hand mixer on low, and checking the consistency as you go.

You’re aiming for a fragrant glaze that is sticky, smooth, and just thick enough to slowly run off your spoon. A proper glaze for these margarita cookies will almost resemble glue.

Make sure your cookies are nice and cool before adding the glaze, so the hot cookies don’t melt the glaze right off.

Storing Your Margarita Cookies

If you store these delicious cookies in an airtight container, they will last about a week at room temperature, 10 days in the refrigerator, and up to 3 months in the freezer.

Allow them to thaw naturally before enjoying out of the freezer.

You can also opt to freeze the dough for up to one month and bake them as you want to enjoy them. In this case, roll the dough into balls and store them in an airtight container in the freezer.

When you’re ready to bake them, just pop them on your baking mat as usual. The tequila lime glaze will last in the freezer in its own container for about a month as well.