A melt in your mouth lemon thumbprint cookie with tangy lemon curd center. Make the lemon curd in your microwave and they come together in a cinch!
I don’t know about you but when the school year kicks up I always need a little extra boost. As a teacher I need like three extra cups of coffee, a long nap, and a plate of these lemon thumbprint cookies.I seriously ate way too many of these cookies last week, but I’m attributing them to how “I survived the first week of school”.
Thank you Lemon Thumbprint cookies. I couldn’t have done it without you.
So let’s talk about these cookies shall we? These are LEMON cookies in every sense of the word. There is lemon juice and fresh lemon zest in the dough, and then a generous dollop of homemade lemon curd in the center. Pucker up ladies and gentlemen. These cookies pack a lemony punch.
What ingredients do I need to make these lemon thumbprint cookies?
These cookies use all the classic ingredients you probably have in your pantry already with the addition of the sprinkles (I mean hello, they re funfetti so we gotta add the fun) and the white chocolate chips.
- Unsalted butter – You want to use softened unsalted butter. Salted butter can varying amounts of salt so I always recommend using unsalted. And be sure it’s properly softened. Here are 3 ways to soften your butter quickly.
- Granulated sugar – These cookies are sweetened with granulated white sugar.
- Egg – You want just one room temperature egg to help bind the cookie dough together. Before you crack the egg, place it in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using it. It’s one of my go to baking hacks every baker needs to know.
- Vanilla – I used both vanilla and almond flavor in this cookie. The little bit of almond flavoring pairs beautifully with raspberry jam.
- Dry Ingredients – This lemon thumbprint recipe uses all purpose flour, baking powder and a little bit of salt. Be sure to measure your flour correctly so you get a soft texture
- Lemon Curd – You don’t need much lemon curd to fill these cookies with. The key is filling them before baking, otherwise the cookie can puff making it hard to fill after.
Tips For Making These Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
- Dough May Curdle. When you add the lemon juice and zest to the dough your dough may start to look a little funky and curdled. Keep mixing. It will come back together and be all creamy again I promise.
- Measure your flours correctly. Too much flour can result in a dense cookie. Don’t just scoop the flour directly into your measuring cup. This can result in a major over measurement! After you have spooned the flour in, then use a knife to level off the flour. Don’t tap the sides of the measuring cup, or pack your flour down. Both can also result in too much flour. You can read a full tutorial on how to measure flour here.
- Butter softened to room temperature. Does the temperature of the butter matter? It matter so much this quote was added to end of the recipe in the cookbook.”Butter is like the concrete you use to pour the foundation of a building. So it’s very important to get it right: the temperature, the texture, and aeration” So in other words…yea it matters. It matters so much I did an entire post on how butter temperature affects cookies. The butter needs to be softened to room temperature, which mean you can slightly indent your thumb in the butter but shouldn’t easily smoosh all the way through. If you forget to take your butter out in time, cut the butter into small chunks and leave out at room temperature. It will soften much faster this way. When you cream the butter and sugars together it’s also important to let this happen for a whole 5 minutes to allow enough air into the batter and helps leavens the cookies. For 3 quick ways to soften your butter, you can read this post.
- Use a small cookie scoop for best results – A cookie scoop will give you all perfectly even sized cookies which means they will all bake evenly.
- Fill with curd before baking – Trying to fill them after can be tricky. So fill before you bake and keep it easy peasy.
- If your cookies spread too much.. – Try chilling the cookie dough. Any unused dough can be kept covered in the fridge. Or after they come out of the oven, take a spoon and press the edges back in toward the middle.
- Sticky dough? If while shaping the cookies, the dough is sticking to your hands, lightly dust your hands with flour. And when indenting the center of the cookies, lightly flour your thumb, or a teaspoon, and press down into the center.
How to make these lemon thumbprint cookies
Step One: Make Your Cookie Dough
You want to start by creaming your butter and sugar together in your mixer. You want to cream for about 2 minutes on medium high until light and fluffy.
Then add your egg and vanilla together. Be sure to scrape down the bowl. Sometimes some unincorporated mixture gets stuck at the bottom of your mixing bowl.
Then stir in your dry ingredients until just combined. Be sure to not keep mixing once the flour has been incorporated.
Step Two: Shape Your Cookies
Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop you want to scoop the cookies into 1 inch balls. Roll each cookie into a ball using your hands and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart.
With your thumb or the back of a ¼ teaspoon, dent each cookie in the center.
Then place a 1/4 teaspoon curd into each indent.
You want to fill these cookies before baking. The cookies will puff up and be very difficult to fill after. You can make the indent with your thumb, or (what I prefer) the back of a 1/4 teaspoon.
Now for the best part…put a dollop of lemon curd right in the center. You could simply by a jar, but why buy when you can make it yourself in the microwave with this microwave lemon curd.
Be still my heart. Lemon curd made in the microwave.
Be Sure To Let Them Cool!
My last helpful tip for you: try to be patient when they come out of the oven. Let. Them. Cool. Seriously. Hot lemon curd dribbling down your chin make not a fun evening.
So once they have cooled just try not to eat them all at once.
Pro Tip: Bake these on parchment. Then just slide the entire sheet of parchment, cookies and all, off onto your cooling rack.
Lemon Thumbprint Cookie FAQ’s
How Do I Store These Cookies?
You can store these covered at room temperature for 3 days. Or store in the refrigerator for 6 days.
Can I freeze these cookies?
Yes and I love freezing my cookies so I always have cookies ready when I need them!
Scoop the cookies onto a cookie sheet, and freeze solid for up to 2 months. Then place into a sealable plastic bag. You can bake frozen, without thawing, but add on a few extra minutes of baking time.
Can I Use Jam Instead Of Curd?
Absolutely! Any jam flavor would work great in these cookies.
Do I need to chill the dough?
You don’t have to. One reason why I love this recipe. But if you find your cookies are spreading too much, then you might want to chill for an hour to help firm up the dough.
My curd overflowed! What do I do?!
If you find you overfilled and then baked your cookies to find that it all overflowed out of your cookies. I just add more lemon curd on top of each cookie after it’s baked and fill up those cavities again.
Why did my cookies get hard?
This could happen for a number of reasons. Here are a few:
- Overbaked: This could be because you overbaked the cookies. So watch the time on these!
- Butter too warm. If the butter is too warm, then the cookies spread in the oven. It could cause them too spread too much resulting in a cookie that gets too thin and gets too crispy and hard. Read –> What Does Butter Do In Cookies?
- Too much flour. You measured your flour incorrectly resulting in a cakey, dry hard cookie. Read –> Which Flour Is Best For Cookies?
- Oven Temperature Too High. Your oven temperature may also be too high. I recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is running at the correct temperature.
Check out these other lemon recipes!
- Lemon Raspberry Bread
- Lemon cupcakes with mixed berry buttercream
- Lemon Meringue Cupcakes
- One bowl Lemon Squares
- Old Fashioned Lemon Pound Cake
- Toasted Coconut Lemon Bars
- Blueberry Lemon Scones
To Make These Lemon Thumbprint Cookies you will need:
- Quality Cookies Sheets Like These Ones That Won’t Warp or Burn Your Cookies
- Oven Thermometer
- Kitchen-Aid Mixer (you can make them by hand, but this stand mixer makes fast work of your dough!)
- Silicone baking mat
- cooling rack
- cookie spatula
Need More Cookie Help?
I get it. Cookies can be challenging. So I created this fun free email series – Bake Your Best Cookies Ever. It’s 5 days of awesome cookie tips, secrets, and recipes delivered right to your inbox. No gimmicks. Pinky swear. Just pure cookie fun.
Lemon Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
For the cookies
- 1/2 cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter softened
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated white sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup + 2 Tbs. (135 g) all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup lemon curd
For the lemon glaze
- 1/2 cup (60 g) confectioners sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Prepare pans and preheat oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Cream butter and sugar. Beat butter and granulated sugar on medium high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add egg yolk and vanilla. Add the egg yolk, mixing until combined. Add extract and mix just until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the dry ingredients. Add the flour and salt and mix just until combined.
- Shape cookies. Using a tablespoon scoop the cookies into 1 inch balls. Roll each cookie into a ball using your hands and place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2 inches apart. With your thumb or the back of a ¼ teaspoon, dent each cookie in the center, and put ¼ teaspoon jam into each indent.
- Bake and cool the cookies. Bake for 15-17 minutes until light golden brown on the bottoms. Allow to cool on the cookie sheets for 5 minutes, before moving to a cooling rack to completely cool.
- For the glaze. Mix all ingredients for glaze in a small bowl. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk. If it's too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. Drizzle over cookies once they are cooled.
Notes
- Dough May Curdle. When you add the lemon juice and zest to the dough your dough may start to look a little funky and curdled. Keep mixing. It will come back together and be all creamy again I promise.
- Measure your flours correctly. Too much flour can result in a dense cookie. Don’t just scoop the flour directly into your measuring cup. This can result in a major over measurement! After you have spooned the flour in, then use a knife to level off the flour. Don’t tap the sides of the measuring cup, or pack your flour down. Both can also result in too much flour. You can read a full tutorial on how to measure flour here.
- Butter softened to room temperature. Does the temperature of the butter matter? It matter so much this quote was added to end of the recipe in the cookbook.”Butter is like the concrete you use to pour the foundation of a building. So it’s very important to get it right: the temperature, the texture, and aeration” So in other words…yea it matters. It matters so much I did an entire post on how butter temperature affects cookies. The butter needs to be softened to room temperature, which mean you can slightly indent your thumb in the butter but shouldn’t easily smoosh all the way through. If you forget to take your butter out in time, cut the butter into small chunks and leave out at room temperature. It will soften much faster this way. When you cream the butter and sugars together it’s also important to let this happen for a whole 5 minutes to allow enough air into the batter and helps leavens the cookies. For 3 quick ways to soften your butter, you can read this post.
- Use a small cookie scoop for best results - A cookie scoop will give you all perfectly even sized cookies which means they will all bake evenly.
- Fill with curd before baking - Trying to fill them after can be tricky. So fill before you bake and keep it easy peasy.
- If your cookies spread too much.. - Try chilling the cookie dough. Any unused dough can be kept covered in the fridge. Or after they come out of the oven, take a spoon and press the edges back in toward the middle.
- Sticky dough? If while shaping the cookies, the dough is sticking to your hands, lightly dust your hands with flour. And when indenting the center of the cookies, lightly flour your thumb, or a teaspoon, and press down into the center.
Nutrition
Anna says
Such a lovely post, Heather! These cookies look wonderful, and thank you so much for your very kind words! I would LOVE to be able to send you farm-fresh eggs!! 😉
Heather @BostonGirlBakes says
Thank you! It was so much fun to write and be a part of it all! If only the eggs would make it safely….tears.