Stuffed Lemon Cookies
These Stuffed Lemon Cookies are pure sunshine in every bite! The slightly crispy lemon cookie shell hides a luscious, creamy homemade lemon curd center that melts in your mouth. Made with only fresh lemons – no artificial flavors, no food coloring – this recipe delivers a naturally bright and buttery flavor that feels both indulgent and refreshing.
Perfect for spring gatherings, afternoon tea, or as a thoughtful homemade gift, these cookies combine soft, buttery texture with the zesty punch of citrus.
You can prepare the lemon curd filling in advance, making the baking day smooth and quick. Whether served slightly warm or fully cooled, they’re a burst of sunshine on your dessert table.
If you can’t eat eggs, let’s try my EGGLESS LEMON CURD STUFFED COOKIES
Why You’ll Love These Stuffed Lemon Cookies
- Bright, fresh flavor: All-natural lemon zest and juice bring out a pure citrus aroma without artificial flavorings.
- Irresistible texture: A delicate crispy edge gives way to a creamy, tangy center for a wow effect!
- Make-ahead friendly: Prepare the lemon curd filling ahead so baking is quick and easy.
How to Make Stuffed Lemon Cookies
- Step 1: Make the lemon curd filling by cooking sugar, cornstarch, egg, lemon juice, and peel over a bain marie until thick. Stir in butter, chill, then freeze into small scoops.
- Step 2: Prepare the lemon cookie dough by creaming butter, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix in egg, then fold in flour, salt, and baking soda. Chill briefly.
- Step 3: Flatten dough portions, place a frozen lemon curd scoop in the center, wrap dough around it, and roll into balls. Coat with sugar.
- Step 4: Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 8–9 minutes until edges are lightly golden. Cool before serving.
STUFFED LEMON COOKIES
Ingredients
Lemon Curd Filling
- 55 g (1/4 cup) caster sugar
- 4 g (1 tsp) cornstarch
- 1 (53 g) egg
- 45 g (3 tbsp) fresh lemon juice
- the lemon peel from about 1/4 lemon only the yellow peel, not the white pith!
- 22 g (1+1/2 tbsp) unsalted butter
Lemon Cookie Dough
- 110 g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter room temperature
- 110 g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
- the zest from 3/4 lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla paste or vanilla extract
- 1 (52 g )) egg
- 200 g (1+2/3 cup) all purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- granulated white sugar for coating cookies
Instructions
Lemon Curd Filling
- In a heatproof medium size bowl, mix sugar and cornstarch.
- Mix in the egg then the lemon juice and add the lemon peel.
- Cook over bain marie, mixing often, for about 8 minutes or until starts thickening: then cook, mixing constantly, for another 2 minutes until thick.
- Remove from heat, incorporate butter and mix to cool down quickly.
- Cover with plastic wrap on the curd and put in refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes.
- Spoon lemon curd onto a lined small tray diving equally into 10 spoons.
- Put in freezer for at least 1 hour or until completely hard and frozen. You can prepare Lemon Curd Filling the day before.
Lemon Cookie Dough
- In a large bowl mix butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla until smooth, creamy and well combined.
- Mix in the egg using a whisk.
- Sift in flour, salt, baking soda and gently mix with a spatula until well combined. You'll get a soft but not sticky dough.
- Place the dough in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes or until easily handle, mostly if you live in a hot climate.
- Scoop the dough using a large 5cm-2inch ice cream scooper, flatten and place one frozen Lemon Curd Filling scoop at the center. Then fold the cookie dough sides around the Lemon Curd Filling and roll to get a cookie ball.
- Coat the cookie ball into granulated white sugar and place onto a lined baking tray at least at 5cm-2inch apart.
- Repeat until finish all the cookie dough. You'll get 9-10 cookies. Work fast to avoid melting the Lemon Curd Filling.
- Bake in preheated fan oven at 180°C-350°F for 8-9 minutes. Do not overbake, the center has to be very soft adn the sides just slightly golden.
- Remove from the oven and cool down onto the baking tray.
Video
Notes
Tips For Perfect Stuffed Lemon Cookies:
If you live in a hot climate, I suggest to put Lemon Curd Filling in freezer for more than 1 hour, better at least 2 hours, and work pretty fast when you roll the cookie balls to avoid the frozen filling from melting.
You can also prepare the Lemon Curd Filling the day before.
In this recipe there is only pure fresh Lemon natural flavor that comes from the lemon peel: pay attention to use only the yellow part of the peel and not the withe pith that is bitter!
The cookie dough consistency could vary depending on the egg size or the flour type you’re using. For this reason you may need to use a bit more/less flour.
You should get a soft but not sticky dough (or very very little sticky, becuae you should easily handle it after the refrigerating time to form your cookie balls). So stop adding flour if your dough is a bit dry, and add a bit more if your dough is too sticky.
Can I use store-bought lemon curd?
Absolutely! While homemade lemon curd delivers the freshest flavor, store-bought curd works perfectly for this recipe. Just make sure it’s thick enough to freeze into firm scoops so it holds its shape inside the cookies during baking.
Why did my cookie dough become sticky?
If your dough feels sticky, it’s usually because the butter became too warm during mixing or the kitchen temperature is high. Simply place the dough in the refrigerator for 20–30 minutes before shaping the cookies. Chilling will make it easier to handle and will prevent the lemon curd from melting too soon.
Can I make Stuffed Lemon Cookies ahead of time?
Yes! You can prepare the lemon curd filling a day or two in advance and store it in the fridge, or even freeze it for longer storage. You can also freeze the raw stuffed cookie dough balls for up to 3 months, just bake them from frozen, adding a couple of extra minutes to the baking time.
If You Love Lemon Desserts
