A Fruit Formerly Known as ‘Kaffir’ + Makrut-Kissed Cookies

This is my eleventh offering in the 2025 Alphabet Challenge, our second year of working our way through the alphabet with recipes. We post every other week for the entire alphabet and this is year two. Thanks for starting this series, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.

K is for...

• A Fruit Formerly Known as ‘Kaffir’ + Makrut-Kissed Cookies by Culinary Cam (you're here)

• Cheese Tortellini Soup with Kielbasa and Kale by Karen’s Kitchen Stories

• Chipotle Lime Shrimp Kabobs by Blogghetti

• Fresh Kielbasa Sheet Pan Dinner by A Day in the Life on the Farm

• Kachumbari,Kenyan Salad by Mayuri’s Jikoni

• Khoya/Mawa Gujiya With Dry Fruits by Sneha's Recipe

• Kimchi Cucumber Pickles by Palatable Pastime

• Kimchi Gochujang Dip by Magical Ingredients

• Kimchi Udon by A Messy Kitchen

• Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad by Food Lust People Love

• Strawberry Kuchen by Jolene’s Recipe Journal

• Sweet & Spicy Hawaiian Pineapple Ketchup by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice

A Fruit Formerly Known as ‘Kaffir’

First, let's start with this: Makrut Limes. Whenever I see them at the market, I swoop in and have to refrain from buying up the entire bin. They are just too cool not to incorporate into a cookie! Have you ever used a Makrut lime? II used to call them 'Kaffir' limes until I discovered there is some controversy about the name 'kaffir'. Not being an Arabic speaker, I can only accept what I am reading. Apparently 'kaffir' means 'infidel' or 'non-believer'. And it's largely used as a slur. Makrut these are!

"It looks like a brain, Mommy!" That was the first thing my kids said when they saw this fruit for the first time. Makrut limes not only looks distinctive but its aroma is so unique. I would say its a combination of lemon, lemon verbena, and lime. Its flavor, well, Jake called it a 'super citrus.' Oddly, it doesn't really taste like it smells.

Makrut lime and its leaves are a traditional flavoring in Thai, Indian, and Indonesia cuisines. And they are also double leaves. They are so cool! And I decided to share some recipes that use them in sweet treats.

A Pad Thai-inspired Sweet: Makrut-Kissed Cookies

I decided to go waaaayyy off the deep end and find inspiration in one of our family favorite savory dishes: Pad Thai. Pad Thai has all these great flavors - peanuts, ginger, coconut, lime and basil. So, I wrapped all those flavors into a cookie. Sort of. I took some liberties, trading peanut for almonds.

Ingredients

Cookie

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

• 1/2 cup organic granulated sugar

• 1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar

• 1/2 cup nut butter (I used a raw almond butter)

• 1 large egg

• 2 teaspoons Makrut lime leaves, thinly sliced

• 2 teaspoons Makrut lime zest

• 2 teaspoons ground ginger

• 1/3 cup shredded unsweetened dried coconut

• 1-1/4 cup flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Glaze and Garnish

• 1 cup organic powdered sugar

• 2 Tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoons Makrut lime zest

• 5 to 6 basil leaves, chiffonaded

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare your baking sheets, lining them with parchment or a silicone liner.

Beat together the butter and sugars until lightened and creamy. Add in the nut butter and egg. Beat until well-combined. Add in the lime leaves, lime zest, ginger, flour, shredded coconut, and baking powder.

Press mixture together with a spatula until it comes together into a ball. Shape dough into 1" balls and place on prepared baking sheets.

Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork in a criss-cross pattern. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely.

While cookies cool, make the glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and lime juice until smooth. Add more sugar if too thin, more milk if too thick.

To finish, ice each cookie with a dollop of icing and garnish with a few thin strips of basil leaves.

Makrut Macaroons

This gluten-free coconut macaroon recipe has a triple kick of Makrut lime with the zest, the juice, and the leaves.

Ingredients

makes approximately 3 dozen

• 2 1/2 cups finely shredded unsweetened organic coconut

• 3/4 cup organic sugar

• zest from 2 Makrut limes, approximately 2 teaspoons

• 4 egg whites, whipped until frothy

• 1 Tablespoon Makrut lime juice, from 4-5 Makrut limes

• 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar

• 2 to 3 Makrut lime leaves, finely minced

Procedure

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare your baking sheets, either by lining them with a silicone mat liner or with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, combine the coconut and lime zest. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites until frothy. Add the sugar and whip till peaks form. Stir the egg whites into the coconut mixture until the coconut is evenly coated.

Using a half-tablespoon cookie scoop or melon baller, scoop level mounds of the dough on to the cookie sheet. These cookies don't spread, so put them close together.

Bake for 15 minutes at 350 or until they are golden brown around the edges. Let cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet, then remove the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cookies are completely cool, make the glaze by whisking the lime juice and powdered sugar together until completely smooth. Drizzle glaze onto the top of each cookie and add a pinch of Makrut lime leaves.

Allow the glaze to harden before storing in an airtight container at room temperature.

This Time Last Year...

My posts are below with links to everyone else's recipes. I skipped letter 'F' apparently. Enjoy!

• A Reclaimed Æbleskiver Pan + Æbleskiver Bread Pudding

• Börek with a California Twist

• Crab-Stuffed Ravioli

• Dark Chocolate-Juniper Panna Cotta

• Elderflower & Roasted Strawberry Layer Cake

• Aïgo Bouido (Provençal Garlic Soup)

• Halva with Fiori di Sicilia

• I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Saffron-Cardamom Ice Cream

• Bulgogi-Inspired Oven Beef Jerky

• Purple Napa Kimchi

So Far This Year...

Again: my posts are below with links to everyone else's recipes.

• The Polarizing Anchovy + Egg Salad Niçoise

• A Belated Birthday Bûche De Noël (Yule Log)

• Lemon Lavender Blackberry Cake

• Gluten-Free Crystal Dumplings in Noodle Soup

• A Dozen Eggs - Stuffed, Scotch, Curried, and More

• Fig Leaf-Wrapped Cheese

• Garlicky Fregola with Edamame, Mint, and Ricotta

• Huckleberry & Earl Grey Tea Cakes

• Es Teler (Indonesian Drunk Ice)

• Inspired by a One-Word Text: Jjamppong

That's a wrap for my offering for the letter 'k'. We will be back in two weeks with the letter 'l'. Stay tuned!