Lemon Thumbprint Cookies aka Lemon Drop Cookies
Lemon drop cookies (lemon thumbprint cookies) are a little bite of joy. A buttery lemon cookie filled with fresh lemon curd will brighten anyone’s day!
Lemon desserts are some of my favorite, so I was a little surprised I didn’t already have a recipe for lemon cookies. I do have a lemon white chocolate biscotti, which technically is a cookie but a traditional style cookie was needed. I developed these during the holidays to add something to a cookie box that isn’t one of the standard flavors in December. However, citrus is actually in season in winter time so they really are sort of a winter cookie despite feeling like straight summer.
I wanted lemon cookies that were similar to a shortbread – buttery and flavorful but I wanted them to be a little softer than shortbread. If you made these without lemon curd, they would be little butter lemon cookies and they would still be delicious, but in my opinion -don’t skip the curd. Actually, I’d say to double the curd recipe so you can have some in a jar for later or some to eat straight from the bowl.
Baking Notes & Tips
Lemon curd is a huge component of these lemon thumbprint cookies. Now, while it’s not required, it’s HIGHLY encouraged to make the lemon curd from scratch. I have a simple recipe for it, but it will require some planning as the lemon curd will need to set for at least a few hours. Lemon curd only takes about 20 minutes to make though, so I’d recommend making it the night before and then making the cookies the next day. That being said, store bought lemon curd is available! I would probably recommend maybe one like this one from Bonne Maman.
I tested baking these cookies without chilling, after chilling with the curd the whole time, and baking then adding curd. You can see the differences below.
Bottom photo: left cookie has baked filling, right was filled after baking
My biggest tip is to shape your cookies when the cookie dough is soft. Roll all the balls and then make the divots before chilling. The cookies will crack when you go to imprint them directly after chilling. While the cookies do turn out fine if you skip chilling all together, I’d recommend at least chilling for 30 minutes or so while your oven preheats. If you only chill for this short time you could even put them in the freezer for 15 minutes or so to really firms up the butter. The main purpose of the chilling is to help prevent the cookies from overspreading.
Personally, I recommend putting the lemon curd into the cookies after baking – it has great flavor but it will not be quite as set as lemon curd that is baked in the cookie. The lemon curd won’t be runny but it will be quite soft. If you plan on transporting these cookies anywhere, it will make it slightly more difficult. In that case either bake them filled OR remove the cookies about 2-3 minutes before they are done, fill them, and then finish baking to help set the lemon curd slightly more.
Lemon Thumbprint Cookies Key Ingredients
- Lemon Curd – These thumbprint cookies are filled with sweet, bright creamy lemon curd. To keep the lemon filling strong, the cookies are baked first then filled after baking. Lemon curd is already cooked so no worries about uncooked filling.
- Lemon Zest – Both the cookie and the curd use lemon zest. When citrus is zested (especially when it’s rubbed into the sugar) it releases it’s oils which add both to the fragrance and taste. If you’ve ever used an oil over an extract, you know the flavor is MUCH more powerful, and will not be baked out.
- Lemon Juice – Use freshly squeezed lemon juice for the lemon curd, even if that means buying one or two extra lemons. It will have a much brighter flavor than anything that’s bottled and sold in the store.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Lemon Curd see recipe
- 130 g (â…” cups) Granulated sugar
- 1 large Lemon
- 170 g (¾ cups) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 1 tsp Vanilla
- 250 g (2 cups) AP flour
- ½ tsp Sea salt
Instructions
- Make the lemon curd. You can skip this step if you are using packaged lemon curd. I have a detailed recipe with tips on just the curd here.1 cup Lemon Curd
- Line a baking sheet with parchment, set aside.
- Add your sugar to a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, and zest your lemon into it. Zest lightly to avoid getting the pith of the lemon.1 large Lemon | 130 g Granulated sugar
- Using your fingers, rub the lemon zest into the sugar to release the oils. The sugar will begin to smell fragrant and take on a sandy texture and light yellow color.
- Add your butter to the sugar and mix the butter and sugar together either with a hand mixer or the paddle attachment. Mix until well mixed but it does not need to be well creamed. 2-3 minutes on medium.170 g Unsalted butter
- Add your egg and vanilla and mix until smooth and cohesive.1 large Egg | 1 tsp Vanilla
- Add your salt and flour and mix on low. The dough will get very sandy before it comes together, much like shortbread.250 g AP flour | ½ tsp Sea salt
- Once the dough has come together, portion out scoops of dough and roll them into about 1-1½ inch balls and place onto baking sheet.
- Use a small rounded teaspoon to make wells in each cookie.
- Place your dough in the refrigerator or freezer, then preheat your oven to 350°F
- When your oven is ready, place cookies on a new cookie sheet lined with parchment, spaced out with at least 2 inches on each side of every cookie.
- Bake your cookies for 10 minutes on the center rack of your oven.
- Remove the cookies and add 1-2 teaspoons of lemon curd. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.Optional: Lightly dust cookies with powder sugar before serving.
- Store cookies in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
