Fragrant and soft shortbread lemon cookies is a simple treat for almost any occasion.
They’re a great company for your morning coffee or afternoon tea.
You can even put a couple in a plastic bag and throw them in your purse. It’s always good to have something to munch on 😉
And these cookies become even better the next day! So one time effort will have a long-time payoff.
You’ll love how lemon zest bursts with flavor when you take a first bite and hot it all smooths out with a creamy filling inside.
For even more lemon flavor feel free to add some lemon juice both to the dough and to the cream.
And if you like to add some naughtiness to the lemon taste, add limoncello liqueur.
Full Recipe
Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Cream Filling
Print Pin Rate / CommentIngredients
For the dough:
- 3 ⅓ cup flour
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 4 oz butter (softened)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- ¼ - ⅓ cup milk
- 1 lemon (zested)
For the filling:
- ¾ cup milk
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 2 tbsp limon juice or limoncello liqueur (optional)
Egg wash (optional)
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp water
For the glaze:
- ½ cup confectioneer's sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- In a large bowl quickly beat eggs with sugar.
- Add flour, baking powder, lemon zest and softened butter. Mix well until even crumbly texture.
- Slowly add ¼ cup milk and knead until the crumbly mixture starts to come together.
- It’ll be very sticky first but will smooth out as you knead it for a few minutes.
- Add more milk if the dough is still to hard to knead.
- Cover the dough ball with a plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge at least for 1 hour.
- In the meantime prepare the filling.
- Beat egg yolk with sugar and corn starch. Add milk.
- Transfer the mixture to a small pan and place it over medium heat. Stir continuously until creams thickens.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a cold bowl. Add a tablespoon of lemon juice or limoncello liqueur.
- Once the cookie dough is chilled divide it into 4 parts.
- First, roll out 2 pieces of dough on a floured surface to approx ⅓ inch thick sheet.
- Using a cookie cutter mark cookie shapes on the first piece of the dough.
- Place a dollop of chilled cream in the center of each cookie shape.
Use egg wash to brush the edges of each cookie. It'll help seal the cookies better.Egg wash is not necessary if you don't exaggerate flouring the the rolled dough. - Cover cookie sheet with cream dollops with a second piece of the dough. Using same cookie shapes cut out cookies all the way through. Make sure all cookies are sealed well.
- Repeat the process with the remaining dough and cookie dough leftovers.
- Bake cookies in a preheated to 375F oven for 20 minutes.
- Once cookies are completely cool, drizzle them with a lemon glaze (optional).
If you have any dough left, no problem!
This lemon shortbread cookie dough will taste same delicious even without a cream filling.
Just dust them with confectioner’s sugar once they’re chilled.