These delicious little Lemon Curd Cookies combine two layers of buttery Shortbread Cookies and a homemade tangy Lemon Curd filling. They are perfect for afternoon tea, a special occasion or to make for the Holidays.
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Why we love this recipe
These Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Curd Filling is one of my favourite recipe to use lemon curd. They are so deliciously light, buttery and fresh thanks to the tangy lemon filling. Simply perfect for anyone who loves lemon flavours!
The lemon cookies look so impressive yet are super easy to prepare. They make the perfect little treat for a special occasion, afternoon tea party or your Holiday Cookie Exchange.
More Recipes using Lemon Curd:
Ingredients
The biscuits are simply made out of 5 basic ingredients, plus the lemon curd for the filling. To make these Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies, you will need:
(Scroll down to recipe card below for all quantities)
- Butter: Unsalted and very soft. Make sure it is at room temperature or it won't incorporate properly.
- Icing Sugar: or Confectioner's Sugar / Powdered Sugar. It is important to sift the icing sugar as it tends to create lumps otherwise.
- Egg: we are only using the Egg Yolk here; so keep the egg white for another recipe. It needs to be at room temperature.
- Lemon Zest: we are using quite a lot of zest here, but that's what really gives all the flavours to the cookies. Keep the juice of the fresh lemons to make the curd.
- Flour: Plain / All-Purpose Flour. You can add a pinch of salt to it as well. I have not tried this recipe with a gluten-free flour.
- Lemon Curd: I personally prefer to prepare my own tangy lemon curd for the best flavours. It is made out of Egg Yolks, Sugar, fresh Lemon Juice (+ zest if you want) and butter. For this recipe, I also added a little bit of Cornstarch to thicken the curd but that is optional.
With the leftover Egg Whites from both the cookies and the curd, you could make a small batch of Financiers Cakes for example.
Optional Addition & Variation
Want to try something a bit different? Replace the Lemon Curd with my homemade Orange Curd or Passion Fruit Curd. You can also use my Lemon Poppy Seed Shortbread Cookies instead of these butter cookies.
For even more flavours, add a few drops of Lemon Extracts or half a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract to the cookie dough.
How to make Lemon Curd Cookies step-by-step
Homemade Lemon Curd
If you choose to make your own lemon curd (instead of using a store-bought one), I recommend starting with that. It will need to chill for a couple of hours at least before being used as a filling for the lemon curd cookies.
- Photo 1: In a small saucepan, combine the Lemon Juice, Egg Yolks, Sugar and optionally the Cornstarch. Whisk to combine then turn on very low heat. Keep on whisking for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid starts to slightly thicken.
Avoid using an aluminium saucepan to cook the curd as it could react with the lemon juice and give it a metallic taste.
- Photo 2: Slowly add the cubed Butter, a little bit at the time. Wait until it has melted and is incorporated before adding more. Optionally, add some extra Lemon Zest after the butter.
- Continue to cook on very low heat for about 10 minutes or until the curd has thickened. Make sure to continuously whisk so that the curd does not burn on the bottom of the saucepan.
- Photo 3: To know the lemon curd has cooked, dip the back of a spoon in the curd and draw a line into the curd with your finger. Tip the spoon down and see if any of the curd is dripping down over the line. If the line stays clear, the curd is cooked.
You can also check with a thermometer: it is ready when the curd reaches around 82'C/180'F.
- Photo 4: Optionally, pour the cooked lemon curd through a thin mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked egg or lumps.
Transfer into a clean jar, airtight container or small bowl covered with plastic wrap touching the surface of the curd. Place in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Making the Butter Cookies
The cookies are made with a hand mixer in a large mixing bowl, but you can also make then in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- Photo 1: Place the soft Butter, Icing Sugar and Lemon Zest in a large bowl.
- Photo 2: Cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes or until creamy and smooth. Stop to scrape the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula if needed.
Make sure there are no more lumps of unmixed butter, which can sometimes happen when the butter is too cold. No need to cream the butter and sugar for a long time here, we are not trying to incorporate air bubbles into the mixture.
- Photo 3: Add the Egg Yolk and slowly mix it in until fully incorporated. Don't worry if the mixture seems to split or curdle a little bit, it will come together once you add the flour.
- Photo 4: Add the Flour (preferably sifted) and optionally a pinch of Salt.
- Photo 5: Slowly mix it in until a rough cookie dough comes together.
- Photo 6: It will become hard to mix once the dough comes together. To know it is mixed enough, press some of the dough between your hands. If the crumbs stick together, the dough is ready.
- Photo 7: Transfer the dough over a large sheet of baking paper / parchment paper. Bring it together into a flat disk and cover with a second baking sheet.
- Photo 8: Roll the cookie dough using a rolling pin. It should be about 4mm thick (about 1/8 inch). I recommend using a rolling pin with thickness rings to get an even thickness all throughout the dough.
- Place the rolled dough on a flat baking tray and put it in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Assembling the Lemon Sandwich Cookies
- Prepare a large baking tray with baking paper or a baking mat. I used a perforated tray with perforated baking mat for an even baking.
- Photo 9: Take the chilled dough out of the fridge and remove the top sheet of parchment paper. Use a round or fluted Cookie Cutter to cut out the cookies.
- Photo 10: Using a similar cookie cutter that is slightly smaller, cut out the centre of half of the cookies. This will be used to create the top part of the cookie sandwiches.
I used the same fluted cookie cutter than for these Strawberry Cheesecake Cookies. I used a 60mm wide (about 2,5 inch) cookie cutter for the larger cookie and a 45mm wide one (about 1,5 inch) to cut out the centre part.
- Photo 11: Gently lift the cut out cookies (I used a small offset spatula) and place them on the prepared tray. Place the tray in the fridge for another 30 minutes.
If the dough seems too soft to move, place it back in the fridge for 10 minutes to harden. The leftover dough can be re-rolled, chilled and used to cut out more cookies.
- While the cookies are chilling, preheat your oven on 160 degree Celsius or 325 degree Fahrenheit. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
- Place the tray over a wire rack to chill for about 15 minutes or until the cookies have started to harden. Transfer the cookies over separate cooling racks to finish cooling down.
Once the cookies have cooled down completely, it is time to assemble them with the lemon curd filling.
- Photo 12: Pour a little bit of Lemon Curd over the full cookies (the ones without the cutout part) with a spoon. I used about half a tablespoon of curd for each cookie. Spread it around slightly.
- Place the top cookie (with the cutout centre) over the curd and gently press until it sticks and the curd filling reaches the edges of the cookies.
- Serve straight away or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Recipe FAQs
Absolutely, although I personally always recommend to make it from scratch for the best flavours. Using homemade lemon curd also lets you control how much sugar you put in (I love mine to be extra tangy!).
Yes, lemon curd and lemon butter are the same thing - just different names.
This particular lemon curd is relatively low in sugar so it is not meant to be preserved for long. I recommend using it within a week - and keep it stored in the fridge int he meantime.
That means that if you wanted to make these lemon curd cookies ahead, you could make the curd filling a few days in advance and use it when ready!
This recipe has not been tested to be made into lemon curd thumbprint cookies. There are many recipes around for these types of cookies if that's what you are after.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- How can I thicken a lemon curd that is too runny: This lemon curd uses a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it so it shouldn't be runny at all. It will also continue to thicken and set while it chills, so wait until it is well chilled first. If still too runny, it probably means it wasn't cooked for long enough.
- The Lemon Curd is grainy: this can sometimes happen if the curd was cooked on a temperature too high, which cooked the eggs slightly. Try pouring the curd through a thin mesh sieve to remove any lumps. In last resort, use an immersion blender to smooth it out.
- The cookie dough is too dry or cracks when I roll it: this could happen if the egg yolk you used is small or with certain brands of flour. Add a few drops of very cold water to the dough and mix it again until it reaches the right consistency.
- The cookie dough is too soft to cut out and move the cookies: the dough simply needs to chill for a little bit longer.
Storing & Freezing
Making the lemon curd cookies in advance: both the curd and cookies can be prepared in advance. The curd can be stored in the fridge for up to a week. The cookies can be kept unbaked in the fridge (rolled between two sheets of baking paper) for up to 24 hours. Once baked, fill them within 24 hours.
Storing the Cookies: Once assembled with the lemon curd, they should be kept in the fridge and will last for up to three days.
Can you freeze these cookies: I don't recommend freezing the cookies with the lemon filling, but the cookies themselves can be frozen either unbaked or baked.
More Cookies Recipes
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Recipe
Lemon Curd Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 2 Egg Yolk - at room temperature, medium to large size
- 80 gr (1/3 cup) Caster Sugar
- 80 ml (1/3 cup) Lemon Juice
- 10 gr (1 tablespoon) Cornstarch - optional
- 45 gr (3 tablespoons) Unsalted Butter - cubed
Butter Cookies
- 180 gr (3/4 cup) Unsalted Butter - very soft, at room temperature
- 75 gr (3/4 cup) Icing Sugar - sifted
- 1 Lemon, Zested - about 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
- 1 Egg Yolk - at room temperature, medium to large size
- 225 gr (1 1/2 cup) Plain / All-Purpose Flour
Disclaimer
I highly recommend using the measurements in grams & ml (instead of cups & spoons) for more accuracy and better results.
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- In a small saucepan, combine the Lemon Juice, Egg Yolks, Sugar and optionally the Cornstarch. Whisk to combine then turn on very low heat. Keep on whisking for about 5 minutes, or until the liquid starts to slightly thicken (See note 1).
- Slowly add the cubed Butter a little bit at the time, waiting until they have melted and are fully incorporated before adding more.
- Continue to cook on very low heat for about 10 minutes or until the curd has thickened, while continuously stirring (see note 2).
- Optionally, pour the cooked lemon curd through a thin mesh sieve to remove any bits of cooked egg or lumps.
- Transfer into a clean jar and pace in the fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.
Butter Cookies
- Place the soft Butter, Icing Sugar and Lemon Zest in a large bowl (if using a hand mixer) or in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes or until creamy and smooth (see note 3).
- Add the Egg Yolk and slowly mix it in until fully incorporated.
- Add the Flour and slowly mix it in until a rough cookie dough comes together (see note 4). Bring the dough together and place it between two sheets of baking paper.
- With a rolling pin, roll the dough to be about 4mm thick (about 1/8 inch). Place in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour. Take out of the fridge and remove the top piece of baking paper.
- With a 6mm (2,5 inch) wide round or fluted cookie cutter, cut out the cookies. With a slightly smaller cookie cutter (I used a 45mm / 1,5 inch wide one), cut out the centre of half of the cookies.
- Gently lift the cut out cookies (I used a small offset spatula) and place them on a large baking tray prepared with baking paper or a baking mat (see note 5). Any leftover dough can be re-rolled, chilled and used to make more cookies.
- Place the tray in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes and preheat your oven on 160 degree Celsius or 325 degree Fahrenheit.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Take out of the oven and leave to chill over a wire rack until completely cool.
Assembling the Cookies
- Pour a little bit of Lemon Curd over the full cookies (the ones without the cutout part) (see note 6). Spread it around the cookie slightly.
- Place the top cookie (with the cutout centre) over the curd and gently press until it sticks and the curd has reached the edges of the cookies.
- Serve straight away or store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Tried this recipe? Make sure to leave a comment and star rating below!
Notes
- Avoid using an aluminium saucepan to cook the curd as it could react with the lemon juice and give it a metallic taste.
- To know the lemon curd has cooked, dip the back of a spoon in the curd and draw a line into the curd with your finger. Tip the spoon down and see if any of the curd is dripping down over the line. If the line stays clear, the curd is cooked. You can also check with a thermometer: it is ready when the curd reaches around 82'C/180'F.
- No need to cream the butter and sugar for a long time here, we are not trying to incorporate air bubbles into the mixture. Simply make sure there are no more lumps of unmixed butter, which can sometimes happen when the butter is too cold.
- To know it is mixed enough, press some of the dough between your hands. If the crumbs stick together, the dough is ready.
- I used a perforated tray with perforated baking mat for an even baking.
- I used about half a tablespoon of curd for each cookie
