A sweet, slightly crumbly cookie filled with tart, silky smooth lemon curd, dressed up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar. If you’re a lemon bar lover, you’ll love this cookie cup version. It’s easy to make, and easier to serve than lemon bars.
While searching for fun new recipes to try for 12 weeks of Christmas cookies, I saw several lemon thumbprint cookie recipes, and I couldn’t resist turning them in to cookie cups. Cookie cups are fun to make, easy, and the possibilities are almost endless. After I tasted one of my lemon cookie cups, I realized it tasted like a lemon bar.
I based this cookie on the Fudge-Filled Toffee Pecan Sandies recipe and filled it with homemade lemon curd. Of course, you could also use store bought lemon curd, but this lemon curd is so fabulous you really need to give it a try.
This luscious, best-I’ve-ever-tasted Lemon Curd recipe is from FineCooking.Com and their foolproof method is really unique. You cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl, slowly beat in whole eggs, then add the lemon juice, and finally, thicken it in a pan on the stove. It’s satiny smooth and you don’t need to worry about accidentally having bits of cooked egg white in your curd that need to be strained out.
The Lemon Curd recipe makes more than you’ll need for the cookies, but it will keep in the refrigerator for a week, and it freezes well and will keep in the freezer for 2 months. I made a double batch of the lemon curd and plan to make mini lemon pies next week for Thanksgiving.
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour*
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda*
- 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup sugar*
- 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup lemon curd (recipe below)
- powdered sugar for decorating, optional
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Combine the flours, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the oil, egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture and stir until combined.
- Drop one tablespoon dough (I used a #50 scoop) into each cup of a greased mini muffin tin. Bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove from oven and using the end of a wooden spoon handle, make an indentation in the center of each cookie. Fill with a teaspoon of lemon curd. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 4 minutes, or until cookies are firm and lightly browned on the sides. Remove to wire racks to cool.
- Sprinkle the edges to the cookies with powdered sugar.
- *I made the following high altitude adjustments: added 2 tablespoons flour, reduced baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon, and subtracted 1 tablespoon sugar.
from Fine Cooking
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.
- In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes. (Once it was completely melted, mine thickened and reached 170º in just a few minutes, so watch it closely.) It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.
- Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.
This post is week 8 of my 12 Weeks of Christmas Cookies posts. I hope you get some great ideas checking out all of the fabulous cookies the other 12 weeks of Christmas Cookies (and sweets) bakers baked up for this week.
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I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies. I’ll post my adventures in the kitchen, my favorite new recipes, as well as our family favorites.
Barbara, Barbara, Barbara, I am swooning. Citrus of any kind is the ultimate! These look heavenly. I can’t resist. I’ll be making these for certain!!
I love any treat with lemon! These are super cute too!
these in the stores are good but to be able to make them homemade & fresh would be awsome! definatly a keeper for the recipe box!
Helen
I love lemon cookies when it gets cold out. I’m not sure what it is, but the light/tart flavor of the lemon always tastes so good when we have been eating some of the heavier treats that come with fall. I think I am going to make this curd, it sounds simple and great to have on hand for treats like this. This is a great recipe, Barbara!
I love love love lemon curd and can’t wait to try this foolproof method! And these cookies are so cute. Great recipe
Barbara – These look so awesome, they are making my mouth water! I love lemon bars, but these look much easier to make, so I’ll have to check them out.
Yummy looking cookies. My son loves lemon things and I know he will like these. Thanks.
I can’t wait to see what you cook up for Thanksgiving!
I am drooling, yes drooling. They look not only adorable but sinfully delicious. The lemon goodness is just too much for me to handle. I love lemon bars and haven’t seen a recipe I like as much as this one other than my grandmothers! Awesome job
I think I could eat a million of those. I adore lemon fillings and combined with the buttery goodness of those cookies…well, I don’t think I could exercise any restraint!!!
Lemon curd is one of my favorites – on scones, in cookies, from a spoon. I have to try that recipe from Fine Cooking and then make a batch of these pretty cookies.
Lemon…my favorite flavor done well here…YUM
Love that you are doing 12 weeks of cookies. Cookies are my all time favorite thing to bake! These look great and I don’t think I ever tried freezing lemon curd. I will add these to my Christmas baking list while I am at my moms
Best,Sandie
It is such a fun diversion to see some lemon this time of year! Love these
After all the pumpkin and apple desserts, I’m ready for some lemon treats.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Mimi
Must make these! I love lemon more than chocolate!!
Mum, I’ve got a new name for you apart from mum! It’s The Cookie Queen! xxx
How many does this make? Thinking about taking these to a cookie exchange!
Hi Kristin – this would be a great cookie for a cookie exchange. It makes about 36 cookies. Please let me know if you love them as much as we did. Thanks!
I’ve been wanting to make lemon curd for a while, thanks for giving me the motivation! Have you tried canning lemon curd before freezing it? Do you think it would work or should I just put it in a jar and freeze?
Hi April – I haven’t done much canning, so I don’t if it’s safe or not. I did an internet search and they said it was questionable. So I’d stick with the freezer.
I haven’t made the cookies yet but I just made the lemon curd and WOW, is it good! The challenge will be not eating it all before I have time to make the cookies. Delicious, thank you!
The curd is fabulous! Luckily you don’t use it all in the cookies so there’s plenty leftover. Thanks for taking the time to let me know you made it!
Found your site through Pinterest! I would love to make this recipe, however I have a question… Do you think it would turn out alright if I bought lemon curd from the store? I found one at my grocery store that I was thinking I could use for this. Please email me and let me know, I’d greatly appreciate it!
Oh wow! These do look amazing! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I hadn’t realized the PB cups were originally your recipe (found it on a friends blog) but I wanted to let you know I added a link back to your blog.
Thanks so much for a fantastic recipe!!!!
Hi Cristine. So glad you love the Peanut Butter Cookie Cups. Thanks for linking your post to mine.
These look so delicious! I’m in the process of making them now but the timing isn’t working out for some reason. They were nowhere near cooked when it was time to take them out so they’re back in the oven for a few more minutes.
Hi Sarah. Every oven cooks differently and it’s always best to trust your instincts. I hope you a few extra minutes made them perfect for you. Thanks!
These look fabulous! I’m going to make them for my mom’s birthday party Saturday!
I was wondering about the whole wheat flour though, is it needed, or can I just substitute it for all purpose? Thanks for this great recipe!
Hi Leah – so sweet of you to make them for your mom. I think you would be fine to use only all purpose flour in place of the all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. Enjoy!
These look good! I saw them on Pinterest! I have a daughter who especially loves lemon. Thanks!
I saw these on Pinterest and can’t wait to try them! I was wondering if the lemon curd is soft and gooey or harder and more sticky?
Definitely soft and gooey. Hope you love them!
I plan on making these for Easter dessert. Do you think they’d be alright made a few days ahead? I’d probably wait to add the lemon curd though. Do you think I should add it right before or would a few hours before be OK? Thanks much! Look delish!
Hi Kristina – I’ve been on vacation and I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you quickly. I’m sure it would be alright to make the cookie a few days ahead and adding the lemon curd a few hours before is a great idea so it doesn’t soften the cookie too much. I hope that’s just what you did! Thanks!
They turned out perfect! I made the cookies and lemon curd on Friday but didn’t fill the cookies until Sunday for Easter dessert. They were fantastic and loved by everyone! Thanks again for the recipe!
That’s great! Thanks for the update.
Made these tonight. They were so good. Even my husband who doesn’t care for lemon all that much loved them.
Thanks Stephanie! I can’t imagine not loving lemon though.
Can’t wait to make these. What a out using Lemon Juice in place of the extract??
Fou d your recipe on Pinintrest
Hi Dawnell. Thanks for stopping by. I don’t think you’d be able to taste 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice in the dough, extract is more concentrated. But the lemon curd brings most the lemon flavor, so you could just use 1 teaspoon of vanilla instead. Thanks for the great question.
Hi Barbara, these just look ridiculously good!! I was happy to feature them. I added the round up to both of my sites, and if you do “featured buttons”, I have one here: http://printabelle.com/?page_id=724 Thanks!
Hi Barbara,
I just made these cookies, but instead of the mini muffin tin, I used a Wilton silicone brownie mold for bite-size brownies and unfortunately they were way too crumbly. I’m sure I followed the recipe correctly. Do you think it could be the mold? I added some time to the recipe, but it just didn’t turn out. Guess this means I need to go buy a mini muffin tin!
Hi Joanna,
I’m sorry your cookies were too crumbly. It is a crumbly cookie and maybe not be suited to baking in silicone molds, but I don’t have much experience with those. It could also be that we used different flours and some flours absorb more moisture than others. If you make them again, you could try reducing the flour a bit. Of course, I always love getting a new baking pan, so buying a mini muffin tin is a great idea too. Thanks for the feedback!
I love the lemon curd just by itself!! The little cup is good too! But the lemon curd I can eat just as is! My mom made this same recipe for the curd and i lost it so Thank you Thank you! Excellent!
Hi Aimee – you’re right! The lemon curd is fantastic on almost any dessert or by the spoonful. Thanks for taking the time too let me know your made it.
These look like the perfect accompaniment to my afternoon cup of tea! I recently made some lemon curd and should really give something like this a go rather than eating the curd with a spoon out the jar! Thanks Barbara!
Hi Hayley – they would be a perfect way to use your lemon curd and enjoy with your tea. Although lemon curd on a spoon sounds good to me too.
These are so cute ! They remind me so much of thumb print cookies, only with filling. Yum !
ratedkb.wordpress.com
I make Lemon Bars every Christmas. But am going to try yours instead. The last few years I wasn’t always happy on how mine turned out ( they seemed dry). These look delicious and I love the idea of the muffin tins.
Great recipe!
Thanks for the great recipe…just made them and the are delicious!! Putting them in Christmas goodie bags for my friends! But they will have a permanent place in my recipe collection. Thanks!
Hi these are yummy! I’m a huge citrus fan! One question, is whole wheat flour necessary? It’s not that I’m not a fan but I never have it at home sooooo…. Just wanted to know if I can make these without .
Thanks! No you don’t need to use whole wheat flour. I would just add an additional 1/2 cup all purpose flour.
It’s a keeper! Yum!
Thanks for sharing.
(Used all white flour.)
Thanks Cheryl! So glad you enjoyed them.
Hi! I was planning on making these a little over 24 hours in advance for a baby shower. Do they stay fresh that long? If so, how would I do it? I read the comment that said wait to put the lemon curd on until before the party, but does that mean you have to put them back in the oven then? Or is it fine to just dollop it on and it will still taste the same? Also, how long would the cups need to be baked then if I didn’t do the curd during the baking time? Sorry so man questions. Thanks in advance!
Hi Britt – if you’re making them just a little over 24 hours in advance, I wouldn’t change the recipe except, just sprinkle them with powdered sugar right before serving them so they look prettier. They’ll taste great. Please let me know how the guest like them. Thanks for the question.
Sounds perfect! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe.
I’ll let you know.
Made these last night gluten free and they were Amazing!! My family devoured them! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Is the homemade lemon curd..sweet or tart? I like lemon on the tart side! I am not a huge fan of overly sweet lemon curd. I love the idea of it being homemade though!
I think it’s the perfect balance. Not overly sweet, and not too tart. Of course a lot depends on the lemons you use.