Lemon Bar Cookies
Easy Lemon Bar Cookies are made with a soft, chewy and buttery cookie base and filled with a homemade tart lemon curd filling! They have all the same delicious flavors as traditional lemon bars, but in a cookie form!
Servings: 23 cookies
Ingredients
Lemon Curd
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
- 3 egg yolks
- 1/4 cup salted butter cut in cubes
Lemon Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 cup salted butter softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar plus more to roll dough balls in
- 1 whole egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract optional
- 1/2 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
To make the curd
- In a small or medium saucepan on medium-low heat, whisk together the sugar, flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, lemon juice, and egg yolks. Cook for about 10 minutes until the curd has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. The color should be bright yellow.
- Remove the curd from the heat and add in the butter. Stir until the butter has melted.
- Transfer the curd to a bowl and let cool for about 5 minutes and then place the bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use.
To make the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until combined.
- Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, almond extract, lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a medium bowl until combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until cookie dough has formed. Be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl and be sure not to over-mix.
- Use a mini ice cream scoop to form cookie dough balls (equivalent to 2 tablespoons). Roll dough balls into powdered sugar (optional). Place on prepared cookie sheet place 2 inches apart.
- Use the back of a tablespoon and gently press an indentation into the top of each cookie. Add about 1 1/2-2 teaspoons of lemon curd to the center of each cookie.
- Bake for 11-12 minutes and let cookies cool for a few minutes, then cool completely on a wire cooling rack. Dust with more powdered sugar and enjoy!