Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies are buttery, melt in your mouth with a zesty tang. Quick to make using simple ingredients and store bought lemon curd we save time, energy and a trip to the bakery. These homemade cookies are the perfect sweet treat.
Recipes like the Mini Shortbread Cookies and Macadamia Nut Shortbread give us variety when making shortbread.
The Lemon Polenta Cake and Lemon Pancakes are other recipes that embrace this fantastic citrus.
Jump to:
- 🤍 Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
- 🥗 Ingredients For Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
- 😉 Variations
- 👩🍳 How to Make Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
- 🍳 Instructions
- 🍋 Shortbread Cookies With Lemon Curd
- 🍽 Serving Suggestions
- 👍 How to Guide
- 💡 Tasty Tips
- 🤓 Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies FAQ's
- 😍 More Easy Bake Or No Bake Recipes
- 📖 Recipe
🤍 Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the recipe in the points below:
- Homemade.
- Everyday ingredients.
- Easy method.
- Basic cooking skill level.
- Delightful.
🥗 Ingredients For Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the lemon curd shortbread biscuits recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see the recipe calls for:
- Salt.
- Vanilla.
- Lemon curd: I use store bought to keep things convenient.
- Icing mixture: to dust (optional as decoration/presentation).
- Butter: unsalted butter as we add salt as a separate ingredient.
- Icing sugar.
- Plain flour: all purpose flour.
😉 Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- Lemon curd: you could use your favorite jam in place of the lemon curd. For example strawberry, raspberry or blackberry.
- Other fillings: or try using orange curd or lime curd.
- Cookie size: you can vary the size of the lemon curd cookies by using different size cookie cutters.
👩🍳 How to Make Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
To make the cookies we start by beating the butter in a large mixing bowl. You will need an electric mixer to begin.
🍳 Instructions
- Add the butter to a large bowl (Photo 1)
- Then add vanilla and cream (Photo 2)
- Add the icing sugar (Photo 3)
- Beat, scrape down the bowl (Photo 4)
After you have added the butter and vanilla extract to a large bowl beat it till it is pale and creamy.
Next add the icing sugar and continue to mix in until consistently combined. Then take a rubber spatula and scrape down the sides of the bowl like shown in the photos above.
Next add the flour in 2 batches and allow it to be mixed into the butter and sugar.
- Add the flour in batches (Photo 5)
- Add the salt (Photo 6)
- Scrape down the bowl (Photo 7)
- Tip the cookie dough onto the bench (Photo 8)
🍋 Shortbread Cookies With Lemon Curd
Scrape the bowl down again and then tip the shortbread dough out onto a sheet of baking paper (parchment paper).
Next place another sheet on top and then place your rolling pin on top. This step is shown in the photos below.
- Roll the dough (Photo 9)
- Cut with a cookie cutter (Photo 10)
- Oven bake bases (Photo 11)
- And oven bake tops (Photo 12)
After you have rolled the dough, use your cookie cutter to make the round shapes you see in the dough in the photos above. Then transfer them to a prepared baking sheet.
Cook the shortbread for 12-14 minutes then remove and place on a heatproof surface. Let them cool for a little bit before later moving them to a wire cooling rack.
- Add the lemon curd (Photo 13)
- Dust with icing mixture (Photo 14)
- Place the top on, push down gently (Photo 15)
- Repeat (Photo 16)
Once the shortbread has cooled use a small sieve and dust the tops of the cookies with icing sugar.
Then when ready to add the filling to the cookies, flip them over to expose the underside. Spoon a small amount (about ½ a teaspoon) of the lemon curd into the middle of the shortbread. Repeat for each. Then put the tops on the shortbread and gently push down to close.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, chai latte, whichever your drink of choice there is something so satisfying about sitting for a minute with a homemade cookie.
With their bright lemon flavor these buttery cookies are the perfect treat!
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Store the cookies in a sealed, airtight container. They will need to be in a single layer to keep the dusting from getting smudged. Refrigerate them until ready to serve.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- Working surface: If you place the combined dough in between 2 sheets of parchment paper and using the rolling pin on top of that you won't have to use flour to dust the surface of your bench. This is a good way to ensure the shortbread doesn't end up tasting 'too floury'.
- Chilling: my preference is to not chill the dough. This is because it takes extra time. I prefer to not overwork the mixing process and then cut the shortbread soon after rolling it out.
- Overworking the dough: I find that if you overmix the dough the shortbread can spread when in the oven. So simply beat till to combine.
- Too soft dough: If when you are cutting the cookies you find that the dough has become too soft to cut and transfer to a baking sheet then pop it in the fridge for a bit. Even 15 minutes is enough time to firm it up a bit so that it holds it shape more when cutting the cookies.
🤓 Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies FAQ's
Lemon curd is a tangy condiment used in sweets and desserts. It is made from eggs, butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest.
Unsalted butter is recommended when making shortbread. Especially when adding salt as a separate ingredient.
It is not necessary to use cornflour in shortbread. As this is a less commonly found pantry staple a recipe for shortbread which does not contain cornflour is likely to be more convenient.
😍 More Easy Bake Or No Bake Recipes
If you love getting your bake or no bake on then I have some more ideas for you to try. Here are a variety of recipes with different cook times and methods so that you can choose something to suit.
- Blondies recipes: Oreo Blondies, Butter Pecan Blondies, Apple Cinnamon Blondies, Birthday Cake Blondies, Raspberry And White Chocolate Blondies.
- Brownies and slices: Tim Tam Slice, Caramel Cheesecake Brownies, Tim Tam Cheesecake Balls, Baileys Cheesecake Brownies.
- Dessert recipes: Baileys Pudding, Microwave Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding, No Bake Caramel Cheesecake.
- Savory delights: Slow Cooker Cheese And Bacon Bread, Brie Cranberry Tarts, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Bites, Caramelised Onion Tarts.
It is time to get our shortbread cookies with lemon curd on my friend! You can also find all of my baking recipes or cookie recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 grams/ 2 sticks and 2 tablespoons butter unsalted, Note 1
- 1 teaspoon vanilla Note 2
- 1 cup/150 grams icing sugar Note 3
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups/300 grams plain flour
- ½ cup lemon curd Note 4
To serve (optional)
- icing mixture to dust, Note 5
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: preheat the oven to 160°C / 350-375°F / Gas Mark 4-5.
- Butter and vanilla: add the butter to a large mixing bowl, pour over the vanilla and then use electric beaters to beat until pale and creamy.
- Icing sugar: next add the icing sugar and mix till consistently combined.
- Flour: add half of the flour and mix it in then add the remaining half.
- Roll and cut: place a long sheet of baking paper on the bench. Then transfer the raw shortbread from the bowl to the middle of the baking paper. Place another long sheet of baking paper on top of the dough and then use a rolling pin to roll it out flat. Once rolled, remove the top sheet of baking paper and use a cookie cutter to cut circle shapes for the cookies. Then use the larger end of a piping nozzle to cut a whole in the centre of half of the cookies.
- Oven bake: place the cut cookies onto a silicon mat on a baking sheet. Then place them into the preheated oven (middle and bottom shelf). Bake the cookies for 12-14 minutes or just when they are starting to look more gold than white. Use oven mitts to remove the baking sheets and place them onto a heatproof surface. Let them cool for a couple of minutes before moving them to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Dust and fill: use a small sieve to dust the top of the cookies with icing mixture. Then flip the bases over and use a teaspoon to spoon the lemon curd into the middle of each base (approx ½ teaspoon of lemon curd per cookie). Put a dusted top on each of the bases and gently push down to close.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Butter: I always chop the butter into small cubes before beating. I find that this helps the beaters get in to it with more ease. I like to use unsalted butter and then add salt as a separate measured ingredient. If you only have salted butter and want to use that you can but then omit the additional salt.
- Note 2 - Vanilla: I find that pouring the vanilla over the butter makes it easier/faster to soften and cream. This is especially helpful if the butter is still very firm and cold.
- Note 3 - Icing sugar: this is different to icing mixture. Icing sugar is firmer and less easy to sift. The recipe uses icing sugar for the shortbread and icing mixture which is easier to sift for dusting.
- Note 4 - Lemon curd: whilst I have made my own lemon curd from time to time I find for this recipe using store bought curd keeps things easy and convenient. We need about ½ jar.
- Note 5 - Icing mixture: super easy to sift and dust onto the cookies for serving. You can omit dusting them if you want to keep them plain.
- Note 6 - Dough and cookie size: I use a rolling pin with disks and use the 6mm disks. I use a 7cm (approx 2.8 inch) cookie cutter. I use a piping nozzle to cut the top hole and I use a skewer to push the dough out of the nozzle once it is cut.
- Note 7 - Cook time: is only 12-14 minutes per baking sheet. You can fit all of the cookies onto 2 baking sheets to keep it as one cook time ie not have to use 3 baking sheets. The prep is simple and quick, however, there is a bit of work involved in rolling, cutting and transferring the cookies to the baking sheet. Hence the prep time is longer than the cook time.
- Note 8: Leftover dough: once you have cut the initial cookies from the rolled dough, roll the leftover dough back together and use the rolling pin again to flatten this. Place it in the fridge for a bit if too soft and then cut more cookies from this. You can keep going to use up all of the dough with very little if any leftover at the end. If there is a small amount, I make one final irregular shaped cookie.
Kimberley says
Yum! These look so tasty.
Adrianne Jamieson says
Thanks Kimberley for your feedback 😊.