If you're a citrus lover, prepare to meet your new obsession: lemon curd cookies. These soft, crinkly cookies are bursting with fresh lemon flavor and filled with homemade lemon curd that melts in your mouth.
Ingredients you will need
Eggs: You'll need egg yolks for the lemon curd and one whole egg for the cookie dough.
Lemons: Two medium-sized lemons will cover both the juice and zest needed for this recipe.
Butter: Use unsalted butter for both the curd and the cookie dough.
Sugar: White granulated sugar is used in both the lemon curd and the cookie dough.
Vanilla Extract: You can also use lemon extract if you want a stronger citrus flavor.
Salt
Flour: All-purpose flour works best for this lemon curd cookie recipe.
Baking Powder
If you love lemon-flavored desserts, be sure to try these moist Lemon poppy seed muffins, festive Lemon curd cake, soft and light Lemon cookies or an easy-to-make Lemon cake.
Cooking tips
Use fresh lemons: Bottled juice doesn’t cut it. Freshly squeezed lemon juice and zest make all the difference in flavor.
Chill the dough: Don’t skip this step — cold dough helps the cookies hold their shape and prevents over spreading during the baking.
Indent carefully: Use the back of a teaspoon to press gently into the dough balls. You want a deep enough well for the curd, but you don’t want to press too hard to flatten the cookies.
How to make lemon curd cookies
Make the lemon curd: Whisk together egg yolks, lemon juice, zest, sugar, and cornstarch in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, stir in the butter, and let it cool completely.
Prepare the cookie dough: Mix the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder) in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until fluffy. Add the egg and lemon juice, then mix in the dry ingredients until a soft dough forms.
Chill the dough: Wrap the dough and chill it in the freezer for about 20–30 minutes, or refrigerate it for longer if you prefer. This makes it easier to shape and helps the cookies bake evenly.
Shape and fill: Preheat your oven and line a baking sheet. Roll the dough into balls, coat them in powdered sugar, and space them out on the sheet. Use a spoon to press a small indent into each ball, then fill each one with a bit of lemon curd.
Bake the cookies: Bake until the cookies have spread and the edges turn golden. Let them cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
Storing and freezing tips
Once cooled, store your lemon curd cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. Because of the curd, these are best kept chilled and brought to room temperature before serving for the best texture and flavor.
You can also freeze the unbaked cookie dough (without the curd) for up to a two months. When ready to bake, let them thaw slightly, fill with curd, and pop them in the oven.
Recipe card
Lemon Curd Cookies
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Saucepan
- Fine mesh strainer
- Whisk
- 2 Mixing bowl
- Hand mixer
- Rubber spatula
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 2 egg yolks
- 40 ml lemon juice
- Zest of one large lemon
- 40 g white granulated sugar
- 4 g cornstarch
- 40 g unsalted butter
The Cookies
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 80 g white granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for coating
Instructions
For the curd
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients except the butter.
- Cook over medium heat, whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon with a thick film.
- Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove the zest. Set aside to cool.
For the cookies
- In a bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer or a whisk), add the sugar, lemon zest, butter, and vanilla extract. Beat for 1–2 minutes or until fluffy. Add the egg and lemon juice, and beat until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix on low just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and freeze for 20–30 minutes, or until firm enough to shape into balls. Alternatively, refrigerate the dough overnight.
- Preheat the oven to 180C (355F) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Form 13 dough balls and roll them in icing sugar.
- Place them on the baking sheet with at least 4 cm (2") of space between each one.
- Using the back of a 1 teaspoon measuring spoon, make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Fill each indentation with lemon curd.
- Bake for about 13 minutes, or until the cookies have spread and the edges are golden and crinkly.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
The dough can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 2 months.
Lemon curd can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 3 months.
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