Lemon Curd Cookies

4 from 1 vote

Packed with natural lemon flavor and topped with creamy, homemade lemon curd, these tart and tangy lemon curd cookies are a lemon lover's dream come true!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Waiting Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: cookies

Calories: 278kcal

Author: Katalin Nagy

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Lemon Crinkle cookies

55 g Unsalted butter room temperature
55 g Oil
150 g Granulated sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons Lemon juice freshly squeezed
1 Egg room temperature
½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
250 g All purpose flour
½ Teaspoon Salt
¼ Teaspoon Baking soda

For the coating

100 g Granulated sugar
120 g Powdered sugar

For the lemon curd

80 g Lemon juice Freshly squeezed. Approx 2 lemons.
4 Egg yolks
150 g Granulated sugar
Lemon zest Zest of the previously squeezed 2 lemons.
110 g Unsalted butter Room temperature

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Make the lemon curd

Finely zest the lemons into a small mixing bowl using a microplane grater. Massage the zest together with a small amount of granulated sugar.
Juice zested lemons using a citrus juicer; you’ll probably need about 2 large juicy lemons to give you ⅓ cup of juice.
Place lemon juice, egg yolk and sugar in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water (double boiler) and cook the curd over medium-high heat whisking constantly. After about 8-10 minutes, the mixture starts to thicken like a custard (at this point the curd will reach around 80C /176F).
Remove it from heat, and pour the cooked curd through a sieve.
With a rubber spatula, mix in room temperature butter in small chunks one by one, making sure each chunk is fully incorporated before adding the next. Hand blend, if desired. Fold the zest in at this point.
Pour curd into a jar and place plastic wrap directly on top so it is touching the top of the curd. (This prevents skin forming on top.) The curd will continue to thicken as it cools in the fridge.
Let it chill refrigerated while preparing the cookies.

Make the cookie dough

Zest 1 large organic lemon and massage the zest into the granulated sugar.
With an electric hand mixer, cream room temperature butter with the lemon sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Mix in the oil, egg, lemon juice, and vanilla, just until combined.
Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together, then add the mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold together with the help of a rubber spatula.
Prepare 2 baking pans with parchment paper.
Scoop the cookie dough into the baking sheets - it will be about 16-18 balls using a cookie or ice cream scooper that holds about one tablespoon. Let the dough rest for about an hour refrigerated.

Coat the crinkle cookies

Pre-heat oven to 165 C / 330°F (no fan).
Place the granulated sugar onto a plate and the powdered sugar onto a separate large plate. Roll the dough balls first in the granulated sugar and then in the powdered sugar. Make sure that the powdered sugar part is very generous; you should cover the entire cookie dough ball with a thick layer of powdered sugar. Place the coated cookie balls on the baking sheets, leaving enough space between them to be able to spread

Bake

Bake the cookies for at 165 C / 330°F (no fan) for about 15 minutes.
Immediately use the back of a rounded teaspoon measuring spoon to make a rounded indentation within the center of each cookie.
Then, let the cookies come to room temperature and fill each cookie with about one teaspoon of lemon curd.
Store the lemon curd cookies at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for about a week.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES:

Measure your ingredients with a digital scale for accuracy.
Use room temperature ingredients, eg. egg and butter.

TECHNIQUE NOTES:

Make sure you read my Expert Tips section above to maximize your success. A short recipe alone cannot cover all the necessary details and science behind baking.
When making the curd, don't set the heat too high under the double boiler. Make sure you whisk the mixture continuously to prevent the egg yolks from scrambling.
Do not overmix the dough when adding the dry ingredients. Only fold it until thoroughly combined.
Respect the chilling time in the cookie recipe, this is a super wet dough. Do not skip it, or the cookies might end up very flat.
Try not to overbake your lemon crinkle cookies if you prefer them fudgy and gooey. In my oven, it took about 15 minutes to bake them. However, each oven is different, in your oven, it might take a shorter or longer time.

Nutrition