Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
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Satisfy your sweet tooth with these soft, chewy Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies. Easy to make and bursting with vibrant lemon flavor, they’re the perfect treat for any lemon lover this spring and summer!
This recipe was originally shared in 2023.
Today, we’re excited to share our newest recipe…lemon curd thumbprint cookies! This recipe combines two of our most popular posts — lemon crinkle cookies and lemon bars. Lemon is a reader favorite on our blog, from classic lemon pound cake to a twist on the Italian classic – lemon tiramisu!
So, these lemon cookies just seemed like the perfect treat to share to bring some much-needed sunshine. ☀️ 🍋
Fresh Lemon In Every Bite
So many lemon recipes call for the use of lemon extract and while that works in a pinch, there is nothing like the fresh, bright flavor of a real lemon. From the cookie to the curd, every bite is bursting with fresh lemon.
Why You Will Love These Lemon Curd Cookies:
- Each cookie is like an individual lemon bar!
- There’s NO chill time and no stand mixer needed.
- Comes together in just under 40 minutes.
- Soft, chewy, and melts in your mouth.
- Full of lemon flavor!
See what some of our readers had to say:
There Are 3 Elements To The Perfect Lemon Curd Cookie
During development of this recipe, we tried many different variations of these cookies. We swapped the classic butter-based cookie to oil-based. We also found other small details that make ALL the difference in crafting the perfect lemon curd cookie. Let’s get into it, shall we?
- Cookie: Like I mentioned above, we spent many hours in the kitchen testing different ways to craft the perfect cookie. When we were first developing the cookie, we used a butter-based cookie similar to our Funfetti Cookies. The butter created a greasy cookie that had an unpleasant flavor and burned on the bottom. Since we often swap fats in our citrus cakes, like our Iced Lemon Loaf and our Key Lime Pound Cake, we thought…how about we do that for this cookie? With a few tweaks and adjustments to the recipe, we finally achieved a cookie that was tender, FULL of lemon flavor, and melt-in-the-mouth delicious.
- Lemon Curd: On top of an extra lemony cookie, we filled these cookies with a fresh, bright lemon curd! If you’ve ever made our Pavlova or our Lemon Coconut Cake, this will be very familiar for you. It’s an easy recipe that really provides a delicious flavor. We found that the curd works best if you add it to the cookies AFTER (yes, after!) baking.
- Sugar: While it might not seem important, we found that unlike our lemon crinkle cookies, these lemon curd cookies needed to only be rolled in powdered sugar! With the addition of lemon curd, rolling the cookies in granulated sugar and powdered sugar caused too much spread; and they were more like pancakes than a cookies. So, we opted to just use the powdered sugar to give it that stunning “crinkle” look without causing too much spread!
First, Make The Homemade Lemon Curd
Instead of diving head first into cookie baking, we gotta make our curd! While you can use store-bought lemon curd to fill these cookies, we really recommend making your own as the flavor is MUCH more delicious and it only takes about 10 minutes! So, go ahead and gather the ingredients listed below:
We have made lemon curd hundreds of times since starting our blog. It’s kind of our “secret weapon” for extra lemony flavor! Luckily, it’s SO easy to make and truly minimal effort. All you need to do is whisk the egg yolks, sugar, and lemon juice together in a glass bowl. Place over a bain-marie (or, pot of simmering water!) and stir continually, being sure to scrape the sides of the bowl, until thickened.
As a quick precaution, to ensure there are no lumps of cooked egg yolk in your curd, we recommend straining the curd through a fine meshed sieve. Once you’ve done this, just mix in your butter and lemon zest and set aside!
⊹ Tip For Success! ⊹
Do NOT use a metal mixing bowl to make the curd. This will leave a metallic flavor in the curd due to the acidity. You must use a glass bowl.
You’ll Need These Ingredients For The Cookies:
- All-Purpose Flour
- Granulated Sugar
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda
- Lemon Zest & Juice
- Eggs
- Vegetable Oil
- Vanilla Extract
Make The Cookie Dough
To make the dough, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Set aside. Then, in a separate bowl, combine eggs, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk well. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until combined.
How To Shape These Cookies
To shape the cookies, we used a medium sized cookie scoop (1½ Tablespoons) and rolled the dough in our palms to create a smooth, round ball. From there, roll the cookie dough balls in powdered sugar and place on prepared pans (15 cookies per pan).
Bake And Then Fill
Place the cookies in a 350°F oven and bake for 12 minutes. You may have noticed that unlike most thumbprint cookie recipes, we will fill these cookies AFTER they are baked. So, once they come out of the oven, immediately use the back of a rounded teaspoon to make an indentation in each cookie. Fill each cookie with about 1½ teaspoons curd.
✳ Recipe FAQ’s
When you make these Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies, leave a comment down below! We love hearing from you and answering any questions you might have! Also, be sure to tag us on social media and hashtag it #BakersTable.
Happy baking!
x, Caylie
Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter, sliced, room temperature
Cookies
- 1⅝ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅓ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2½ Tablespoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Coating
- ½ cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Lemon Curd
- Combine sugar, egg yolks, and lemon juice in a small, heatproof glass bowl.
- Whisk until smooth.
- Place bowl over a pot of simmering water.
- Cook, stirring continually with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, until thickened, about 10 minutes. (If you have a thermometer, cook the curd to 170℉/77℃.)
- Remove from heat.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl.
- Stir in butter and lemon zest.
- Set aside to cool.
Cookies
- Heat oven to 350℉/177℃.
- Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and lemon zest in a large bowl.
- Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, lemon juice, and vanilla.
- Whisk well.
- Pour over dry ingredients.
- Stir until combined.
- Use a medium (1½ Tablespoon) cookie scoop to portion dough.
- Roll dough into balls.
- Roll each ball in powdered sugar.
- Place 2-inches apart on prepared pans.
- Bake for 12 minutes, until cooked but still slightly soft on top.
- Remove from oven.
- Immediately use the back of a rounded 1½ teaspoon measuring spoon to make a rounded indentation within the center of each cookie.
- Fill each cookie with about 1½ teaspoons curd.
Notes + Tips!
- Room temperature is about 70℉/21℃.
- Use an oven thermometer to ensure accurate cooking temperatures.
- You can use store-bought lemon curd.
- Store-bought lemon juice may be used for this recipe, but the flavor will not be as strong and may have a metallic flavor.
- When making the curd, the texture should be about pudding consistency. (It should coat the back of a spoon.) It takes anywhere from 10-25 minutes to thicken. Just be sure to use a heatproof GLASS bowl and place over a simmering (not boiling) pot of water.
- Don’t waste the egg whites from the curd! Use them to make our meringue cookies or save the rest for breakfast!
- Don’t skip lining your pan!
- Fresh juice is always better. While using store-bought is convenient, the flavor of fresh squeezed lemons is unmatched.
- You can use a rubber spatula to fold the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients to ensure you don’t overwork the dough. Mix until just blended together and you don’t see any flour. The dough is very stiff and may seem a bit dry, but once all the flour is incorporated, it will be fine!
- The cookie dough is a little sticky. Be sure to clean your hands often when rolling.
- Even when fully baked, these cookies should be pale. You do not need to brown them!
- Don’t skip coating them with powdered sugar.
- For the best results, sift the powdered sugar before you roll the cookies!
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– Still Hungry? –
Here are a few recipes may like!
Delicious flavor but mine came out crumbly 😩 and the curd got all grainy once refrigerated
Hi Julia! If the cookies came out crumbly, you could have over-measured the flour or over-baked the cookies. As for the curd, it sounds like you may have over-cooked it or not strained it. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Would it taste good by substituting almond extract instead of vanilla in these thumbprint cookies with lemon curd?
Hi Rose! We’ve not personally tried this ourselves, but it does sound like it would be yummy! If you do try it, I would start with maybe 1/8 tsp of almond extract, since it can be a bit of a dominating flavor. You can also go half and half almond and vanilla! Let us know how it turns out! x, Caylie
Hey there. Can I make the cookie dough ahead of time and refrigerate?
Hi Taylor! Yes, you can definitely make this recipe ahead of time. I recommend wrapping the dough tightly in plastic wrap, then placing it in a zip-top bag to prevent it from drying out. When you’re ready to bake, just scoop, roll, and bake the cookies on the day you plan to serve them. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions. x, Caylie
Do I fill with the curd while still warm or after cooled a little?
Hi Alexander! Fill them while they are still warm. Let me know if you have any more questions.
can these be turned into crinkle cookies so I can make 2 cookies with 1 batch?
Hi JJ! That should work without a problem but we do have a lemon crinkle cookie recipe on our website, if you’d like to check it out! You can find it by clicking here. Hope this helps 😊 Let us know if you have any other questions! x, Caylie
Just wanted 1 recipe that I can transform into 2 lemon fun cookies. So you think this recipe can work both ways?
Hi JJ! Theoretically, it should work but I cannot make any guarantees since we have not personally tested it. If you decide to give it a try, be sure to let us know! x, Caylie
I made these for a memorial service and had to make multiple batches cause the first few batches didn’t even make it to the Tupperware.
These are amazing. I added extra lemon zest to the cookie and candied lemon peel on top.
Will be making this a staple in my house.
Hi! Oh gosh, I’m so happy to hear that! I love the idea of added candied lemon peel on top. Thank you so much for making our recipe 😊 x, Caylie
If I make these a day before an event, do I need to refrigerate them?
Hi Holly! I would definitely refrigerate them, preferably in an airtight container or wrapped tightly with plastic wrap. Just make sure you don’t stack them; they will need to be in a single layer to keep them from sticking to each other.
Hey Traci, Caylie,
Do you think I can go ahead with oranges instread of lemon ?
Thanks,
Aniko
Hi Aniko! Yes, this recipe should work just fine with oranges. Just be sure you’re using fresh oranges and not orange juice or orange concentrate! Let us know if you have any other questions. Happy holiday’s! x, Caylie
My first batch was great. Curd in the second batch isn’t very thick. I heated it for 15 minutes until it thickened but it didn’t thicken any more. Is there something I can do to help it thicken before it put it on the cookies?
Hi Amy! It sounds like the curd wasn’t cooked long enough. You can try cooking it longer, and it should thicken up. The next batch you make, cook the curd to 170 degrees fahrenheit, if you have a thermometer, because cooking time can vary from batch to batch. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Can these cookies be frozen?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, these cookies can be frozen. Let me know if you have any more questions! x, Caylie
Can I replace equal parts oil for butter instead?
Hi Laura! No, you cannot use melted butter for these cookies. Please let me know if you have any other questions! x, Caylie
Cookies are easy to make and instructions are easy to follow, but this recipe did not work for me!
I doubled the recipe, so maybe the error was there. But I simply doubled all the ingredients as I would any other recipe. Made my first batch, roughly 1/2 the dough, 14 cookies as this recipe states. I was a bit nervous at their size, but pushed forward. They ended up spreading significantly and were huge almost like sugar cookies. Thankfully I have the second half of the batch in the fridge and plan to let it cool overnight so hopefully that helps with the spreading.
Can say they have a decent flavor and a nice crumb, so it’s definitely a solid recipe once you have it down. But I really had a rough time with the first batch and didn’t even bother putting the curd in them. (Also I did not make the curd from this recipe, I had some leftover from a tart I made over the weekend.)
Hi Luna! I’m sorry to hear the first batch didn’t work. Some recipes don’t double very well due to the difference in weights of the ingredients. I hope you give this recipe another try! x, Caylie
I used a 1 1/2 TBSP scoop to make the cookie ball’s and the recipe made only 21 balls. I pressed with a scoop after the baking process and some of the cookie sides split. Should I press the center down in the middle of baking process to prevent the split?
Hi Stephanie! I’m sorry to hear you had some issues with this recipe. Are you sure you used a 1 1/2 Tablespoon cookie scoop for this recipe? Our recipe makes 14 cookies. If the cookies were smaller, they would be overbaked in the time stated and that would explain the cracks. Please let me know! I’d love to help you troubleshoot. x, Caylie
Can I use gluten free flour for lemon crinkle cookies and lemon thumbprint cookies. I have a family member who is gluten free and she is always left out of desserts? Rita
Hi Rita! I haven’t done it with gluten free flour, but there’s no reason you couldn’t. The cookies will not be exactly the same because the recipe wasn’t written for gluten free flour. If you want both a lemon thumbprint and lemon crinkle cookie that are formulated to be gluten free, I highly recommend https://theloopywhisk.com/. She has both a lemon curd thumbprint recipe and a lemon crinkle cookie recipe.
Best lemon cookie recipe ever. Cookies turned out perfect, what more can I say?
Hi Rosalynd! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these cookies. Thank you for making them!! 😊 x, Caylie
I love all things lemon! I could eat these every day.