Lemon Linzer Cookies
Lemon Linzer Cookies - Tender buttery vanilla shortbread cookies lightly dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a tart and tangy homemade lemon curd. Every bite is so refreshing and impossible to resist!
INGREDIENTS
- Homemade Lemon Curd or Store-Bought
- ¾ Cup (170g | 12 Tbsps) Salted Butter room temp
- ⅔ Cup (75g) Powdered Sugar plus more for dusting
- 1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 ¾ Cups (210g) All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Make Lemon Curd - Make a batch of my small-batch lemon curd. You'll need to chill it for at least 2 hours before using. If using store-bought, proceed to step 2.
- Cream Butter & Sugar - In a large bowl, and using an electric mixer, cream together softened butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. (if using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt during this step)¾ Cup (170g | 12 Tbsps) Salted Butter, ⅔ Cup (75g) Powdered Sugar, 1 ½ Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Combine Flour - In 2 additions, sift in the flour and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.1 ¾ Cups (210g) All-Purpose Flour
- Chill Dough - Divide the cookie dough into 2 equal portions, flatten into discs and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes.
- Prep Pans - Line 2 large baking sheets (17x12 inches) with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cut Out Dough - When you're ready to roll out the dough, let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, and working on one piece of dough at a time, roll it out to about ⅛ inch (3.1 mm) thickness. Then dip your cookie cutter into flour and cut out your cookies. With an offset spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to your prepared cookie sheets, placing them at least 1 inch apart. Gather the dough scraps, re-roll and cut out more cookies. Repeat with your other disc of dough. When all your cookies are cut out, punch a small hole in the center of half of the cookies, while leaving the other half whole.
- Freeze - Freeze the cookies for 15 minutes. Freezing will help them hold their shape when they bake.
- Preheat & Bake - Preheat the oven at 350ºF (176ºC), then bake cookies for about 9 to 11 minutes, rotating the tray half way through. They are ready when the edges are just starting to brown.
- Cool Cookies - Allow the shortbread cookies to sit on the baking sheet for about 1 minute, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Assemble Linzer Cookies - Once cooled, lightly dust the top cookies with powdered sugar. Flip the bottom cookies over and spoon about 1 teaspoon of lemon curd in the center of each cookie. Place the cookie with the hole, on top of the curd and press down lightly. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
If using unsalted butter, add ¼ teaspoon of fine sea salt when creaming the butter and powdered sugar together.
After chilling the dough, let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes before rolling.
When stamping out the cookies, if the dough gets too soft at any point, toss it back into the fridge to firm up. Shortbread cookie dough is very forgiving.
I used a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) flower cookie cutter, with a ½-inch (1.7 cm) round cookie cutter for the center. Depending on the thickness of your cookies, you should be able to make between 12 to 15 sandwiches.
I like baking the cookies one tray at a time because they bake more evenly. However, feel free to bake both trays at the same time. Just remember to rotate and shuffle the trays.
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