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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CuteEverything
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!
Dawnell
Can’t wait to make these. What a out using Lemon Juice in place of the extract??
Fou d your recipe on Pinintrest
Barbara
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.
Stephanie
Made these tonight. They were so good. Even my husband who doesn’t care for lemon all that much loved them.
Barbara
Thanks Stephanie! I can’t imagine not loving lemon though.
Kristina
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!
Barbara
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!
Kristina
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!
Barbara
That’s great! Thanks for the update.
Ky
Did you bake them for 4 minutes once you filled with curd the day of?
Laura Dunn
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?
Barbara
Definitely soft and gooey. Hope you love them!
Amber @ The Mommy Earth
These look good! I saw them on Pinterest! I have a daughter who especially loves lemon. Thanks!
Leah
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!
Barbara
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!
Sarah G
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.
Barbara
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!
Cristine
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!!!!
Barbara
Hi Cristine. So glad you love the Peanut Butter Cookie Cups. Thanks for linking your post to mine.
Nicole B.
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!
April
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!
Barbara
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!
April
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?
Barbara
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.
Kristin
How many does this make? Thinking about taking these to a cookie exchange! 🙂
Barbara
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!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Mum, I’ve got a new name for you apart from mum! It’s The Cookie Queen! xxx
Lauren from Lauren's Latest
Must make these! I love lemon more than chocolate!!
mimi
After all the pumpkin and apple desserts, I’m ready for some lemon treats.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Mimi
Marla
It is such a fun diversion to see some lemon this time of year! Love these 🙂
sandie
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
Sandi
Lemon…my favorite flavor done well here…YUM 🙂
Cookin' Canuck
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.