These Lemon Curd Cookies are totally addictive and will definitely become a family favourite. From the melt in the mouth, buttery shortbread to the zing of that lemon curd centre, these lemon thumbprint cookies are seriously out of this world.
In fact, I urge you to make your own lemon curd from scratch, which takes only 10 minutes and is way easier than it sounds. Lucky for you, I have a wonderful homemade lemon curd recipe you’ll be wanting to eat straight off a spoon.
You’ll love these raspberry thumbprint cookies too.
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What makes these thumbprint cookies special?
Aside from that gorgeous, tangy lemon curd, the actual cookie part is what really makes these cookies super special.
It may sound like a cliché but I promise, they totally melt in your mouth. They’re so delicate and buttery and have a secret ingredient to give them an amazing texture.
If you’ve ever heard of meltaway cookies or melting moments, these are very similar and that secret ingredient I mentioned is corn flour (cornstarch).
How to make lemon curd cookies
So simple, all you need is a couple of bowls and a mixer and you can use either a stand mixer or an electric handheld beater.
- Start by beating together softened butter and icing (powdered) sugar until it’s creamy. Before starting, the butter should be softened so that you can see a dent when you press it but not so soft that it’s greasy.
- Add a little vanilla and mix that through.
- Add the combined flour, corn flour and salt in 3 parts, mixing just enough between each for it to be incorporated.
- Now roll the dough into little balls – I use a cookie scoop but if you don’t have one, you’re looking for roughly 1 tablespoon of dough each – then roll them in granulated sugar and sit them on a baking tray.
- Press your thumb slowly down into each cookie to make a deep dent – some will crack and that’s fine. Fill each hole with lemon curd.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
That’s it. Pretty simple stuff.
I really, really, really urge you to make your own lemon curd. It’s easy and far better than purchasing something from a store with who knows what ingredients in it.
Homemade lemon curd keeps well in the fridge in airtight jars. I use these Weck preserving jars but use any jar that will have an airtight seal and if you use smaller ones, the curd can last up to 3 months in the fridge, unopened.
This cookie dough is a variation on my melting moments cookies and they absolutely deserve their name. You can try my original raspberry version or my traditional lemon melting moments too.
Variations
- Curd: You can swap the lemon curd for others too – try this passionfruit curd or my blood orange curd.
- Jam: Swap the curd completely for your favourite jam – strawberry, blackberry, raspberry – whichever you love.
How to store these cookies
Store the cookies in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Let them come to room temperature before eating.
They can be frozen too. Freeze them in a single layer, then once frozen transfer them to an airtight container. Freezing them first, means they won’t stick together.
Lemon Curd Cookies are perfect for a morning tea or picnic. So easy to make and the aroma that fills your home is divine. Better make two batches as they’ll disappear quickly.
More recipes you’ll love
- Malted Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies
- Traditional Lemon Melting Moments
- Melting Moments with Raspberry Buttercream
- Coconut Jam Drops
- Lemon Tartlets
- Lemon Blueberry Cookies
- Lemon Biscuits (lemon glazed sugar cookies)
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Ingredients
- 200 g unsalted butter, softened (1 ¾ sticks / 7oz)
- 70 g icing (powdered) sugar (½ cup / 2.5oz)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 225 g plain (all purp) flour (1 ¾ cups / 8oz)
- 45 g corn flour (cornstarch) (⅓ cup / 1.6oz)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup lemon curd
- granulated sugar to roll optional
For best results, always weigh ingredients where a weight is provided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / 160C fan forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
- Beat together the butter and sugar (you can use a stand mixer with paddle attachment or an electric handheld beater).
- Add the vanilla and mix through.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cornflour and salt
- Add the flour mix to the butter mix in 3 parts, gently mixing between each until just incorporated.
- Use a cookie scoop (approximately 1 tablespoon) and roll balls of dough.
- Roll them in a little granulated sugar, then place them on the prepared tray.
- Use your thumb to press a deep dent (slowly) into each cookie and fill it with lemon curd.
- Bake for 10 minutes until just starting to brown on the edges, then let them cool for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- You can use this easy lemon curd recipe to make lemon curd at home in 10 minutes.
- I use a standard Australian 20ml tablespoon
- All ovens vary – always test for doneness 1-2 minutes before the recipe suggests
- For best results, you should always weigh ingredients like flour and sugar. Kitchen scales are relatively cheap but if you can’t weigh the ingredients, use the spoon and level method (don’t scoop).
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14 Comments on “Lemon Curd Cookies”
so good and easy to make
So happy you love them, Breanna. Thanks so much for trying my recipe.
I was pretty disappointed, the cookie is kinda bland and flavourless (except for the lemon curd of course). Needs more sugar maybe? I wouldn’t recommend this recipe unfortunately. 🙁
Sorry you didn’t enjoy them B. They’re meant to be eaten with the lemon curd for flavour balance so the cookie is not so sweet on it’s own.
These were delicious. Beautiful shortbread taste and no need to chill in advance. They held their shape well and I used exactly the recommended tablespoon for each one so they were consistent in size. A good size. I found it helped to use lightly floured hands to roll into ball shapes. Loved them. Thanks Marie.
Thank you Helen. So happy you love them 🙂
How many dozen will this make?
Roughly 30 cookies, Susan
These turned out absolutely delicious, I made your lemon curd to go in the middle. Wonderful ❤️
Thank you Joanne, so happy you loved them
Loved trying this recipe! The only thing i had an issue with was that the cookies melted and totally lost the shape in the oven but apart from that they are delicious 🙂
Hello Lucia, if you’ve weighed out all the ingredients to get the correct amounts, this could be caused by the oven being too hot. This would cause the butter in the cookies to melt before the outside of the cookies have time to set up. There are two things you can do.
1. Keep an oven thermometer inside your oven. Oven thermostats are often out of whack and some ovens don’t circulate the hot air so well. A separate thermometer is helpful to keep an eye on it. They’re very cheap.
2. While I don’t do this, chilling the cookies on the tray for 15 minutes will help too.
Look at that! These cookies are so luscious, refreshing, bright, and positive. They scream that spring is around the corner. Love the lightening in these photos, too.
Thank you so much Ben 🙂