Lime and Maria Cookie Icebox Cake

If you know me, you know I love limes.

My most common complaint whenever I eat guacamole is that it needs more lime (my mom usually disagrees!)

But I've usually thought of lime as an addition to a savory dishes...until I had some lime pudding. I think my life has been divided into two sections now - before I wanted lime in all my desserts and after.

I ended up being obsessed and wanted to make something delicious with lime, something creamy and perfect for the summer, while also putting in a little bit of my Mexican culture.  I created two dishes and this is the first of them - a yummy lime and Maria cookie icebox cake!

If you're asking "What the heck is a Maria cookie?!", worry not. You've probably had something similar to it. It's a round biscuit/cookie and is typically vanilla favored. It's great with coffee or milk, and, in this case, as a icebox layer!

What I love about this recipe is that it combines both the lemon juice and lemon zest so you're not only getting flavor but also texture. I'm not usually a fan of zest, but in this it was perfect with the Maria cookie. I think that without the zest you would've been incredibly bored with the texture of the cake itself.

My dad loved this cake!

I ended up not having a zester and had to figure out how to make some lime zest without it. I've never had any culinary training, so making the zest for this was incredibly difficult. It was a lot of me just rocking the knife over some lime peels until they were tiny. If you love baking with zest, definitely invest in a zester.

Lime and Maria Cookie Icebox Cake

by Ileana Lopez-Martinez, Day of the Bread July-15-2017

A creamy and tangy dessert that's perfect for a hot summer day.

Ingredients

• 4 Limes (juiced)
• 2 tablespoons Lime zest
• 14 ounces Sweetened condensed milk
• 12 ounces Evaporated milk
• 4 ounces Cream cheese (room temperature)
• approx. 1 roll Maria cookies

Instructions

1. Combine the cream cheese and lime zest until completed mixed.2. Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk until fully combined (there should be no cream cheese chunks).3. Slowly add in the condensed milk and wisk until combined. Then whisk in the lime juice until mixture is combined and thick.4. Pour 1/2 cup of mixture into the bottom of a 8x9'' pan. Then, add a layer of Maria cookies (about 8 cookies).5. Add 1 cup of mixture on top of the Maria cookies. Once again, add a layer of 8 cookie above the mixture. Continue layering until mixture is finished. End with a layer of the mixture.6. Cover pan with plastic wrap. Place in freezer for 8 hours or overnight.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 8 hour 30 mins Total time: 8 hour 45 mins Yield: 1 8x9'' pan