Lemon Sandwich Cookies

This recipe starts with an easy to prepare shortbread cookie that is generously infused with freshly grated lemon zest. Once baked and cooled, the cookies are sandwiched together with lemon curd. Dusted with confectioner’s sugar, these light and airy cookies are super refreshing and make a perfect Easter treat or springtime brunch dessert!

I live in a world where food is comfortable, recognizable, and easy to pronounce. And, in that world, desserts are sweet, rustic, simple, and no-fuss. In the world I am talking about, Lemon Sandwich Cookies fit right in! These cookies are a perfect treat or dessert any time of the year, but for some reason – blame it on society if you will – any dessert that has lemons as a main ingredient, always seems to taste better in spring and summer.  Am I alone in my thinking?

These Lemon Sandwich Cookies are a great sweet treat to start with if you’re new to baking.  They’re easy to make, have very inexpensive ingredients, and the results are pretty much guaranteed to be perfect every time.  Seriously, Dear Reader, it would be extremely difficult to mess up this recipe!

This is a shortbread recipe that works every single time. If you’re looking to use a cookie cutter for your shortbread, then this recipe is for you! This shortbread dough holds its shape very well. It does puff up and rise a little bit. But, the details and fine lines from your cookie cutters remain true and very distinct. Obviously, for this particular cookie, I used a flower-shaped cookie cutter.

BAKING IS A GREAT WAY TO SPEND YOUR ALONE TIME

Even though my mom never made this particular recipe; not that I can recall anyway, this recipe reminds me so much of her.  My mom loved to cook and bake and I credit much of my love for food to her.  Our home was never without a homemade square, bar, cookie, cake, or pie.  And, she learned everything she knew about cooking and baking from her mom.

I wish I could say the same thing!  My mom never let me near the kitchen – except to help with the dishes or something like that.  Much like me, she liked to be alone in the kitchen.  Having someone help or having to show someone what to do, only slowed her down.

In my own life, there are many times when I will complain about having to take care of all of the cooking and baking in our home even though John.e will often offer to help and so will McKenna when she’s visiting. Nonetheless, I always politely decline.  If I have to tell someone how to crack an egg or how to properly measure a cup of flour, I’d prefer just to do it myself.  But, they’re both great with the cleaning up!  Even on the weekends when I bang out two or three recipes back to back for this blog, John.e is right there to wash up the dishes! I appreciate that much more.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare these Lemon Sandwich Cookies. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Salted Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature! If you do not have salted butter, you can use unsalted butter, but add a half teaspoon of salt to the butter and sugar mixture.
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings quite often.  When dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies, it adds just a touch of sweetness, but more importantly, it looks very visually appealing!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Lemon Zest – Don’t skip out on this. The zest of a lemon adds so much brightness and freshness to the cookies.
• Lemon Curd – Homemade is always best, of course, but you can buy lemon curd in most grocery stores. You can find it in the jam and jelly section.

HOW TO MAKE LEMON SANDWICH COOKIES

Use a mixer to beat the butter and sugar until well blended in a large bowl. Then, add the flour and lemon zest. Beat into the butter mixture until just incorporated.  Do not over mix! Separate the dough into two equal portions and wrap them well in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with a silicone mat or parchment paper.  Set aside. Remove the dough from the fridge. Working with one batch at a time, roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to 1/4 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out the desired shapes. Use a small cookie cutter to cut a center hole into half of the cookies. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet using a flat, slotted, metal spatula.  Leave 2 inches between each cookie.

Bake for 12 minutes.  Remove from oven promptly and allow cookies to rest for 2 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Re-roll the leftover dough, and bake the next batch.  Once fully cooled, spread about two teaspoons of the lemon curd onto each of the cookies without a center hole. Top each of those with one of the cookies with the center hole. Dust with confectioner’s sugar if desired. Store cookies in a domed cake stand or a container with a tight-fitting lid. Keep cookies at room temperature; they will keep for 3-5 days.

POINTERS ON ROLLING COOKIE DOUGH

How are your dough rolling skills? Mine are horrible, which is why I cheated! I love using my rolling pins and any excuse I can get to practice my rolling skills, I’m up for it.  A while ago, I used to have a collection of wooden rolling pins, but I got rid of them all just because I was short on space.  We still have the rolling pin that belonged to John.e’s mom.

Cheated; oh, yes!  A few years ago, I purchased a Joseph Joseph Adjustable Rolling Pin.  You must Google it if you don’t know what type of rolling pin I’m referring to.  I always have a problem with rolling dough evenly, no matter how much I love to practice.  This particular rolling pin eliminates my inadequate dough rolling technique. It has interchangeable disks on each end of the wooden pin with specific measurements. You can get perfectly flat dough every single time!

IT NEEDS MORE LEMON!

You might have noticed that I talk about John.e quite often.  Well, that’s because I do!  He’s the whole reason this blog started in the first place.  When we started sharing a home together, I began to explore the world of vegetarian cooking, and he very patiently taught me all about meat alternatives such as tofu, tempeh, textured vegetable protein, etc.  But almost every single time I’d place a meal or a dessert in front of him, he would taste it, smack his lips a few times, and say, “It needs lemon!”

I’m not exaggerating the truth at all! Take my Lemon Coconut Macaroons, for instance. He thought they needed more lemon. To this day, I’m not sure if he was joking or not! They were perfectly lemony for my taste. Then there was that time that I made Lemon and Lime Cookie Crisps. He said, “It needs lemon!” and I lost my cool. “Are you (insert adjectives of your choice here) kidding me? There’s (more adjectives) lemon and lime in this cookie!! There’s no (again, more adjectives – well, actually, just the one adjective) way to please you!” It went something like that. I can’t remember.

Until now, the only recipe that I can remember him not asking for more lemon was my Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake. So, if you’re a lemon lover, like my dear John.e, you’ll love, love, love these Lemon Sandwich Cookies!  They’re perfectly lemony with just the right amount of sweetness to offset that puckering, eye-squinting, cheek-sucking sensation which some of us suffer from due to excess amounts of lemon flavour.  Not John.e though; he loves his lemon!  So these cookies are for him!  And you, Dear Reader, if lemon is your thing!

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!