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
Pin It:
Kristen
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!!!
Kitchen Belleicious
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
Blond Duck
I can’t wait to see what you cook up for Thanksgiving!
Peggy Clyde
Yummy looking cookies. My son loves lemon things and I know he will like these. Thanks.
Patty H.
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.
Katherine Martinelli
I love love love lemon curd and can’t wait to try this foolproof method! And these cookies are so cute. Great recipe 🙂
Becki's Whole Life
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!
Helen
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
Maria
I love any treat with lemon! These are super cute too!
Katy
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!!
jehanne@thecookingdoctor
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!
Diane {Created by Diane}
These look great! I could use some sunshine today, it’s super cold, brrr….
vianney
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!
teresa
i’m dying. i want one of those so bad!
foodwanderings
What adorable cookies and the curd looks to die for. Love these little treasures with a burst of flavor!
Get Off Your Butt and BAKE!
Oh My! Those looks scrumptious. I will make these for Christmas!
Emily
These sound great. They would make a great presentation too! I cannot cut lemon bars well to save my life.
Paula
You make the best cookies in cups. These lemon curd ones look fantastic!
Deb
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.
Lori @ RecipeGirl
Lemon Curd is just about my favorite thing ever- I could eat it by the spoonful! These look sooooo good!