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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Melissa
Barbara, are all your baked goods adjusted for high altitude? That is so helpful for me in NM…5600+ feet.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Melissa – you are high. I’m sure you’ve got lots of challenges. I’m at about 3,800 feet so sometimes I need to make changes to recipes, but often I don’t. Here’s a guide I like to use that should help you http://cityhomecountryhome.blogspot.com/2010/08/high-altitude-baking-and-candy-making.html. Also, Mountain Mama Cooks http://www.mountainmamacooks.com/ cooks at high altitude and The Rocky Mountain Woman cook at altitude http://therockymountainwoman.com/
Laura H.
Could I use just all purpose flour and no whole flour?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Laura – yes, you can use just all purpose flour.
Donna
Am looking forward to making the lemon curd. About how many lemons would be needed for the 2/3 cup of juice?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Donna – of course it depends on the size and how juicy the lemon is, but you can expect about 1/4 cup per large lemon. So about 3 large lemons.
Barbara Schieving
Hi Donna – of course it depends on the size and how juicy the lemon is, but you can expect about 1/4 cup per large lemon. So about 3 large lemons.
Donna
I would love to try these! They are beautiful! I couldn’t find how many cookies it makes – could you tell me, please? Thanks!
Barbara Schieving
Thanks! Makes about four dozen cookie cups. Rnjoy!
danielle
Can I freeze these and bake later?
Barbara Schieving
Hi Danielle – I haven’t tried freezing them, but I think you could bake them and then freeze them, or freeze the dough in balls and add a couple minutes to the cook time.
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
These beauties really make me smile. All sunny and delicious.
maureen muir
Barbara,
This recipe looks great, but I can’t do nuts in any form. Any suggestions for an alternate to canola oil? Thanks!
Maureen
Barbara Schieving
Hi Maureen – I didn’t really think of canola oil as coming from a nut. Thanks for the info. Substitute any mild flavored oil you usually use. Enjoy!
Jay
Hi Barbara. Canola oil comes from a seed that the farmers plant in their fields. The canola fields bloom bright yellow in the summer and are harvested in the fall. Not sure you could classify this as a nut. We would classify it as a seed that you can produce oil from. Hope this helps. Jay
Tamie
Made these today (well, made the lemon curd a couple days ago and the cookies today!). Sooooo delicious. I used all-purpose flour for all of it and didn’t have lemon extract, so I just put in a little extra vanilla. We think they are perfect. Thank you so much for the recipe! My husband will be taking these to work tomorrow for his Christmas potluck. I am wondering if you’ve ever tried freezing the completed cookies?
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Tamie – they are one of my favorites. I haven’t frozen the completed cookie, but I think it would work just fine. I would thaw them in the fridge overnight. Just sprinkle them with powdered sugar shortly be serving. Let me know if you give it a try.
Mirra
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!
Barbara Schieving
I think it’s the perfect balance. Not overly sweet, and not too tart. Of course a lot depends on the lemons you use.
Catherine
Made these last night gluten free and they were Amazing!! My family devoured them! Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Britt
Sounds perfect! Thank you so much for this awesome recipe. 🙂 I’ll let you know.
Britt
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!
Barbara Schieving
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.
Karen
Hi! I am getting ready for a busy week of baking for a dessert reception and would like to make these a couple of days in advance. In that case, what would the answers be to Britt’s questions? Those are the exact questions I have! Thanks in advance…
Barbara Schieving
Hi Karen – Kristina (above) wanted to make hers a couple of days in advance and I recommended she make the cookies a few days ahead but add the lemon curd a few hours before instead so it doesn’t soften the cookie too much and she replied that it worked out great. A dessert reception sounds like my kind of event. Have fun!
Cheryl
It’s a keeper! Yum!
Thanks for sharing.
(Used all white flour.)
Barbara Schieving
Thanks Cheryl! So glad you enjoyed them.
Gia
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 .
Barbara Schieving
Thanks! No you don’t need to use whole wheat flour. I would just add an additional 1/2 cup all purpose flour.
Holly
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!
Claire D
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!
K&B
These are so cute ! They remind me so much of thumb print cookies, only with filling. Yum !
ratedkb.wordpress.com
Hayley
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!
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.
Aimee
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!
Barbara
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.
Joanna
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! 🙂
Barbara
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! 🙂