salted margarita cookies

I'm a fan of margaritas... but only if they're strawberry flavored, blended rather than served on the rocks, and rimmed with sugar instead of salt.  Is that allowed?

But these salted margarita cookies may change my mind.  The shortbread cookies, packed with lime zest and rolled in a sugar-and-sea-salt mixture, are true to the original margarita, and so delicious and addictive. They're definitely on my list for holiday cookies to bake, since they're both unusual and pretty.

Salted Margarita Cookies
recipe published in my story in Seven Days: Liquid Diet
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons tequila
pinch of salt
zest of 2 limes
zest of 1/2 orange
2 cups flour

Coating:
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated or coarse sugar
1 and 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Beat the butter with a mixer until smooth. Add the confectioner's sugar and beat until mixture appears silky. Beat in the egg yolk, followed by the tequila, salt, and lime and orange zest. Add the flour and mix in with a spoon. Gather the dough into a ball and divide it in half. Wrap each half in wax paper and refrigerate 30 minutes

Remove the dough from the fridge and roll each ball into a log about an inch thick. Wrap again in wax paper and chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make the coating: Whisk the egg in a small bowl with the sugar and sea salt. Spread the mixture out evenly on a sheet of wax paper.

Remove the dough logs from the fridge and roll in the coating until evenly covered. Use a thin knife to slice the logs into quarter-inch-thick cookies. Place the cookies on the baking sheet; bake 12 to 14 minutes. The cookies should still be pale, but the coated edges may brown slightly.