Lemon thumbprint cookies made with buttery soft cookies & filled with creamy lemon curd! Perfectly sweet & tart thumbprint cookies with bright lemon flavor.

Lemon curd thumbprint cookies are a fun treat to serve up at parties or just because. With the easy-to-follow recipe, you can whip up a batch in no time or make them 100% from scratch by following along with a homemade lemon curd recipe. Whether you choose to put in the added effort or simply speed up the process with store bought curd, the end results are still pretty magical. Little pools of lemony goodness in a soft sweet cookie shell. Yum!

What are lemon thumbprint cookies?

Lemon thumbprints are a fun twist to the traditional jam filled thumbprint cookies I’m sure you’ve seen or tried at some point. These cookies are a simple shortbread-like crust with an indent in the center then filled with lemon curd and baked. Top your cookies with a simple powdered sugar glaze or simply eat them as-is, just make sure to let them cool as that curd can get hot when baked.

Lemon thumbprint cookie ingredients

-Butter: We need 1 cup (2 sticks) of room temperature butter for a rich and flavorful cookie.

-Sugar: We want to use 2/3s cups of granulated sugar to help us get a sweeter cookie with caramelized edges.

-Eggs: With 2 egg yolks we can get a binder for the cookie dough and have two egg whites to scramble for a snack while we wait.

-Vanilla: 1 teaspoon of vanilla will help to enhance the cookie dough flavors. I recommend using higher quality vanilla, but you can use whatever you have on hand.

-Salt: This is a flavor enhancer and 1/2 teaspoons of salt will help enhance the flavors in this recipe wonderfully.

-Lemon curd: You can follow the recipe ingredients and steps on the card below or simply use store bought curd if you want. For more recipe tips, you can also view this lemon curd recipe.

How to make lemon thumbprint cookies

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. set aside.

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. This should take about 2-3 minutes.

Beat in the egg yolks, and the vanilla extract.

Add in the flour and the salt and mix thoroughly until incorporated and the dough comes together in a ball.

If desired, chill the dough for 30 minutes.

Form the dough into 1 inch sized balls. Make sure that they are perfectly round as this will help a lot in the process steps.

Arrange the cookies on your prepared cookie sheet.

Use the backside of a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon to create small dimpled craters in the center of each cookie.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes, remove them from the oven. If the indents look shallow, press them down again.

Fill each indent with some lemon curd.

Bake in the oven for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the curd melts slightly and the edges of the cookies are lightly golden in color. Cool, then dust lightly with powdered sugar, if desired. Enjoy!

Print

SOFT LEMON THUMBPRINT COOKIES

Lemon thumbprint cookies made with buttery soft cookies & filled with creamy lemon curd! Perfectly sweet & tart thumbprint cookies with bright lemon flavor.

Course Cookies, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Lemon Thumbprint Cookies

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes minutes

Total Time 32 minutes minutes

Servings 36

Calories 156kcal

Author Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter 2 sticks, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 egg yolks
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Homemade Lemon Curd

• 4 lemons
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup lemon zest
• 1 cup lemon juice

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
• Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Beat in egg yolks and vanilla extract. Add flour and salt and mix until incorporated and dough comes together in a ball. If desired, chill for 30 minutes.
• Form dough into 1-inch balls (make sure they’re perfectly round), and arrange on prepared cookie sheet. Use a ½ tsp. measuring spoon to create perfectly circular craters in the center.
• Bake cookies for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove cookie sheet from oven. If indentations look shallow, further define them again and fill each with about 1/2 tsp of lemon curd.
• Bake for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, or until curd melts slightly and edges of cookies are lightly golden. Cool. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Lemon Curd Instructions

• Melt butter in medium glass bowl in the microwave. Add sugar and stir. Microwave 1 minute.
• Add lemon juice and lemon zest. Microwave 2 minutes.
• Beat eggs and yolks until smooth. Pour out about 1/3 cup of hot lemon butter mixture into a 1 cup measuring cup.
• Add in about 1/4 of the egg mixture. Stir constantly, then pour into the bowl with the rest of the lemon mixture. Stir, then microwave for 1 minute.
• Repeat process, tempering eggs with a small amount of lemon mixture so that the eggs don’t cook. Stir after each 1 minute interval in the microwave. Continue until all of the eggs are mixed in.
• Microwave 2 minutes, stopping at 1 minute to stir again. Add in vanilla extract.
• Run mixture through strainer, if desired. I like to do this when the lemon curd is hot because it’s quick & easy. Straining yields a lovely smooth lemon curd, so I highly recommend it.
• Transfer lemon curd to jars and refrigerate. Curd will thicken upon cooling.

Nutrition

Calories: 156kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 101mg | Potassium: 44mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 1mg

How long are lemon curd cookies good for?

These cookies should last about 5-7 days if properly stored covered or in an airtight container in the fridge. I recommend storing them in the fridge instead of at room temperature for food safety reasons as a result of the curd.

Can I freeze lemon curd thumbprints?

You can store the cookie dough in the freezer for up to 2 months in advance or store baked cookies in an airtight container for up to 4. Simply thaw and enjoy once closer to room temperature as they’ll be chewy or hard when still frozen.

More Cookie Recipes You’ll Enjoy!

• WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADAMIA NUT COOKIES
• SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE BARS
• LEMON MELTAWAY COOKIES
• BUTTER PECAN COOKIES
• RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE COOKIES
• EGGLESS OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
• HOMEMADE OREO COOKIES
• VANILLA MELTAWAY COOKIES
• BIG CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
• CHOCOLATE SUGAR COOKIES
• CREAM CHEESE RED VELVET COOKIES
• RANGER COOKIES
• CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES
• PINK SANDWICH COOKIES
• STRAWBERRY COOL WHIP COOKIES

Teenagers can be SO difficult! And then 5 minutes later they’re funny, kind & just wonderful. HA!

Such is my life right now. This cute girl is amazing…and sometimes unpredictable! I wouldn’t have her any other way!

Lemon thumbprint cookies made with buttery soft cookies & filled with creamy lemon curd! Perfectly sweet & tart thumbprint cookies with bright lemon flavor.

The post LEMON THUMBPRINT COOKIES appeared first on Family Cookie Recipes.