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.
Wow..these lemon bar cookie cups are cute as buttons, and no doubt a treat to eat. Another cookie I need to add to my bookmarks!
What a great idea! I am sucker for lemon curd.
Cheers,
Rosa
Love this! They are adorable!
I wish I had made these instead of lemon bars for the wedding dessert table. They sound amazing. Stumbled, pinned, and all that!
That looks awesome, i tried lemon curd earlier this year, but the method I used did not work so great. I will have to try this out.
I love that you made little cup cookies–so did I–chocolate/pb cup! Great minds!
I actually made this very same lemon curd over the summer (have never made lemon curd before that). Great recipe. I started a post for it and a lemon coffee cake I made with it, but never have finished the post.
Yum! That would be fun for the holidays–to only make mini cup type cookies!
I would have a hard time staying in control if there was a plate of these in front of me. I love lemon; my favorite desserts are all lemon or lime!
Ooh these are just gorgeous. what a great idea to turn them into cups.
Yummy! I LOVE lemon desserts! These little cookies look perfect, I think they would be lovely for Thanksgiving.
So pretty! I’d love to try this yummy cookies
Barbara these look so good. I am thrilled to see this recipe, my lemon tree is full and will be ready to pick in December.
These sound fantastic, Barbara!
Be still my heart! Nothing like some good lemon curd. I keep a regular supply going during the summer. Never thought of a cookie treat though!
I love lemon bars! My mom and I do a big cookies baking day every holiday season and we love to try new ones. Can’t wait to make these. Thanks for sharing!!
Oh my, these look fabulous! I’m a complete and utter lemon curd fan, going to try these cookies for sure!
I have never made lemon curd, and I love lemons! I like the idea of mini lemon pies for Thanksgiving. Looks like I need to make this lemon curd. The cookies look so yummy!
I love lemon bars. My mom would make them every year at Christmas and I would love to make these for her! I love that they are bite-sized. Great for parties.
I will HAVE to try these sometime. They look AWESOME!
I like, maybe not love, lemon bars, but these look much better than lemon bars to me. I love the idea of using homemade lemon curd. I’d never dream of buying it, cause I’ve wanted to try making my own forever. Super idea to put it into mini cups!!
This cookie looks amazing! I love the tart lemon curd. It would be tasty with lime curd too…yum!
Woah, these look fantastic! Tart lemon curd is a favorite of mine. I like to hide a little dollop in the middle of cupcakes. These little thumbprints seem like a perfect treat for a holiday cocktail party.
you have me craving lemon curd at my computer today
These are gorgeous. I love lemon anything and I can imagine how delicious and refreshing these cookies are. Yes, definitely easier and less messy than serving lemon bars. What a great idea for holiday gathering.
These look so good. I love the lemon filling.
Oh my – these make me long for summer, and winter hasn’t even begun!!
ButterYum
My step mom would freak over these cookies! She loves lemon and I try to keep her stocked at all times. I am going to have to make these for her.
I love lemon curd in anything, I bet the combination with these cookies are just amazing. So good to see a post with nothing pumpkin related.
Oh my Gosh!!!!! Lemon curd is my all time favorite. I usually just eat it with a spoon, but I wouldn’t say NO to a few of these. They are beautiful.
Oh i am so craving lemon right now – these look amazing.
–Just added to my faves again…
I. LOVE. Lemon.
ooooo, My, I have lots of baking to do, B. X
I love the idea of lemon bars in cookie form! All the same great taste, with less mess (important when you have a 4-year old!).
These are going straight on the ‘must bake’ list. That’s a very interesting lemon curd recipe. I’m definitely willing to give it a go if it doesn’t get lumps. I have that problem regularly sadly.
Our family always make lemon bars for Christmas. Sometimes they turn out great and others…well lets just say you need a spoon to eat them. This sounds like a foolproof cookie perfect for our holiday tradition. Thanks!
These look great! I love things that are bite-size so you don’t have to worry about cutting them up and having things get messy when you serve them. I haven’t had lemon bars in a very long time so maybe I’ll make these!
Is it bad that I’ve never had a lemon bar, or tasted lemon curd before?
But now, I’m so tempted to make it…I do love lemons, and these look not only adorable, but oh so delectable!
If you’ve never tried lemon bars and love lemon, you really need to make these cookies!
Great! This is a good break from all the pumpkin, apples and choco treats that flood the tables this holiday season…How about going citrus in theme? Not bad! I love lemon bars and the color is so bright and cheerful! Wanna put them in small boxes with cute yellow ribbons and give the Christmas season a different kind of lemony twist! Thanks for posting!
I’m sure friends would love receiving a pretty box of these all tied up with a yellow ribbon. Great idea. Thanks.
I’m a big lemon bar fan. I think this cookie cup would be a hit in our house!
De délicieuses petites douceurs
Je te souhaite un agréable vendredi
Valérie
these are just darling! my grandma is a huge lemon bar fan…I need to make these for her!
Those look so sunny. They’re just right for brightening up the cloudy winter days.
Lemon Curd is just about my favorite thing ever- I could eat it by the spoonful! These look sooooo good!
Doesn’t really matter what dessert I make at my house the two favorites are chocolate chip cookies and lemon bars (with extra lemon zest). Ice cream would be third. It is very difficult to surpass these standards of sweetness, but this recipe is enticing! I’ll let you know what the lemon lovers think! As for the chocolate chip lovers, they will just have to wait until the next batch.
You make the best cookies in cups. These lemon curd ones look fantastic!
These sound great. They would make a great presentation too! I cannot cut lemon bars well to save my life.
Oh My! Those looks scrumptious. I will make these for Christmas!
What adorable cookies and the curd looks to die for. Love these little treasures with a burst of flavor!
i’m dying. i want one of those so bad!
I love these lemony filled cookies!! My mom loves lemon curd, thanks for sharing. I need to make a double batch for when I see her over the holidays!
These look great! I could use some sunshine today, it’s super cold, brrr….
I’ve been on the hunt for good ol’ lemon curd recipe that never fails, and I think this one deserves to be in the kitty;-) those lemony wonders in the jars look fabulous, so I shall declare my hunt is complete!