These Lemon Bar Cookie Cups are easy to make, and easier to serve than lemon bars. If you’re a lemon bar lover, you’ll love this cookie cup version.
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While searching for fun new cookie recipes to try, I saw several lemon thumbprint cookie recipes, and I couldn’t resist turning them into 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.
These Lemon Bar Cookie Cups are a sweet, slightly crumbly cookie filled with tart, silky smooth lemon curd, dressed up with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.
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 is 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 filling the cookies in this recipe. But it will keep in the refrigerator for a week, or it freezes well and will keep in the freezer for 2 months. I made a double batch of lemon curd and plan to make mini lemon pies next week with the extra.
Update: This has become one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest, so I updated it with some new pictures, a new collage for Pinterest, and a video to show you how easy they are to make.
If you haven’t tried this one yet, you really should. It’s one of my all time favorites too.
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Lemon Bar Cookie Cups
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour*
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda*
- ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup butter softened
- ½ cup sugar*
- ½ cup confectioners’ sugar powdered sugar
- ½ cup canola oil
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup lemon curd recipe below
- powdered sugar for decorating optional
Lemon Curd
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- ⅔ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
Instructions
- Prepare lemon curd.
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- 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 or lined with mini cupcake liners. 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 of the cookies with powdered sugar.
Lemon Curd
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until well combined. Add the eggs and yolks and beat for 1 min. Add the lemon juice and mix until blended – the mixture will look lumpy.
- In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it melts. Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. 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. (Once it was completely melted, mine thickened and reached 170º in just a few minutes, so watch it closely.)
- 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.
Video
Notes
- I made the following high altitude adjustments for the cookies: added 2 tablespoons flour, reduced baking soda to ¼ teaspoon, and subtracted 1 tablespoon sugar.
- Lemon Curd recipe slightly adapted from from Fine Cooking
Nutrition
More lemon dessert recipes you might like:
Lemon Doodle Cookies, Barbara Bakes
Lemon Bliss Bundt Cake, Barbara Bakes
Lemon Blackberry Chess Pie, Barbara Bakes
Lemon Lovers Trifle, Melissa’s Southern Style Kitchen
Lemon Jello Cake, Sweet Basil
Lemon Whippersnaps, Mom On Timeout
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Lisa @ Sweet as Sugar Cookies
Those look so sunny. They’re just right for brightening up the cloudy winter days.
natalie (the sweets life)
these are just darling! my grandma is a huge lemon bar fan…I need to make these for her!
Valérie ( France )
De délicieuses petites douceurs
Je te souhaite un agréable vendredi
Valérie
Trisha
I’m a big lemon bar fan. I think this cookie cup would be a hit in our house!
Anna
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!
Barbara
I’m sure friends would love receiving a pretty box of these all tied up with a yellow ribbon. Great idea. Thanks.
Jean
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!
Barbara
If you’ve never tried lemon bars and love lemon, you really need to make these cookies!
Amilia @justeverydayme
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!
Twin Tables
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!
Claire @ Claire K Creations
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.
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl
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!).
My Inner Chick
–Just added to my faves again…
I. LOVE. Lemon.
ooooo, My, I have lots of baking to do, B. X
Delishhh
Oh i am so craving lemon right now – these look amazing.
Bonnie
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.
Kathia
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.
kita
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.
ButterYum
Oh my – these make me long for summer, and winter hasn’t even begun!!
🙂
ButterYum
Jersey Girl Cooks
These look so good. I love the lemon filling.
Amy
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. 🙂
Becky at VintageMixer
you have me craving lemon curd at my computer today 🙂
ASHLEA
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.