salted margarita cookies

Remember these from last year? I don't know what it is about Thanksgiving week, but I apparently just crave margaritas in cookie form. Luckily, there's a Smitten Kitchen for that.

 Haven't tried these yet? They make awesome Christmas cookies. They're basically shortbread cookies, but both salty and sweet. They're packed with orange and lime zest, which flecks them with pretty colors. And the edges? Sparkly! It doesn't get much more festive than that, especially when tequila is involved.

Here's the recipe one more time, with some updates.

Salted Margarita Cookies
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 egg yolk, at room temperature
3 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 yolk in a small bowl. Mix the sugar and sea salt well in a separate bowl and spread the mixture out on a piece of wax paper. Remove the dough logs from the fridge and use a pastry brush to lightly coat each with the egg, like a glaze.  Roll each log in the sugar and salt 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 about 10 minutes. The cookies should still be pale, but the coated edges may brown slightly.