These lemon curd cookies are deliciously spiced with ginger and cinnamon. I use my homemade lemon curd in these easy and yummy thumbprint cookies.
Today I am reposting my lemon curd thumbprint cookies with little modification. I am also using cinnamon besides the ginger in the dough which makes these cookies even yummier.
These deliciously spiced thumbprint cookies make a nice combination with my silky soft lemon curd.
I am using simple ingredients for these cookies.
Ingredients for Lemon Curd Cookies
- Flour-All purpose
- Butter-at room temperature
- Sugar-I don’t use too much, these are not overly sweet cookies
- Ginger and Cinnamon-make a nice combination with lemon curd
- Egg-1 large
- Lemon Curd-I use my homemade silky smooth lemon curd.
Why You Should Make These Cookies
- Three different textures come together in these ginger thumbprint cookies;
they are crispy at the edges,
melt-in-mouth in the middle,
and the ultimate softness is in the center.
- Ginger’s and cinnamon’s spicy taste and lemon curd’s tangy flavor complete each other. Crispy edges and creamy lemon curd make a good contrast.
- They are delicious yet so easy to make!
How to Make Lemon Curd Cookies
First, mix the flour, ginger and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
Next beat the butter and sugar with a handheld mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed for almost 2 minutes until creamy. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula during this and other steps when needed to be sure the ingredients are all mixed.
Then add the egg and mix until combined. Stir in the flour mixture in 2-3 batches while the mixer is at low-medium speed.
First, the mixture will look like crumbles and then will form into dough around the paddle attachment. This means your dough is ready. Don’t over mix it.
The dough is easy to work with. You can start to give their shape.
First, roll the dough into 25 gram balls-almost 1 tablespoon. (This recipe makes 22 balls. If you want, you can divide the dough equally into 22 pieces and roll each into a ball.)
Then using a 1 teaspoon-sized measuring spoon, lightly press into the center of the dough and make an indentation. Alternatively, you can use your finger.
Bake for almost 11-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Don’t overbake so the cookies will not lose their softness. When the edges are lightly golden brown but the middle is still soft, remove from the oven. If needed, you can press the middle of the cookie again with a clean measuring spoon.
Then immediately fill the cookies with almost ½ and ¼ teaspoon lemon curd.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheet until the lemon curd sets and sift powdered sugar over the edges of the cookies. As the filling sets, you’ll notice the color of the curd becomes darker.
Enjoy your thumbprint cookies with lemon curd!
Do Lemon Curd Cookies Need to be Refrigerated?
Yes! As I keep my homemade lemon curd in the fridge, I keep these cookies in the fridge as well.
You can store these cookies in an airtight container up to a week.
Tips
- If you use a lemon curd that is already set for a couple of hours in the fridge, the filling will also set fast when you fill the center. If you use a lemon curd that is not totally set, it will take a while.
- Previously I was removing the cookies 2 minutes earlier, filling the center with lemon curd and baking for extra 2 minutes so the lemon curd could set. Now I don’t use this method anymore as the lemon curd sets anyway as I fill the cookies when they are totally baked and keep on the baking sheet.
- I don’t prefer to bake the cookies with lemon curd from the very beginning as they don’t look as appetizing as these cookies and I don’t find the filling as intense as these ones when baked.
- If you want to make balls with perfectly rounded circles and with very little crinkles, I want to show you how I shared this post previously. The color of the dough will look lighter as I was using only ginger. After you roll them into balls, press the balls with a flat-bottomed glass or a measuring cup to flatten them evenly. Then using the back of a 1 teaspoon-sized rounded measuring spoon, press into the center of the dough to make an indentation.
If you like spicy cookies you should also try my Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies.
If you like lemon as much as I do, you should try my other recipes:
- Lemon Curd Mousse
- Lemon Coconut Bars with White Chocolate Ganache
- Lemon Bars
- Lemon Slice-and-Bake Cookies
- Healthy Lemonade with Honey & Mint
I love hearing from you! If you try this recipe or my other recipes please leave a comment and give a star rating!
Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 280 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour (dip and sweep)*
- 150 g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into cubes
- 105 g (½ cup) sugar
- 9 g (1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon) ground ginger**
- 5 g (2 teaspoons) ground cinnamon**
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 144 g (½ cup) homemade lemon curd***
- powdered sugar for sifting over cookies optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F(177°C). Line baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat. Set aside.
- Mix the flour, ginger and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium speed for almost 2 minutes until creamy with a hand-held mixer or with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer. Add the egg and mix well. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula during these steps when needed to be sure they are all mixed.
- Add the flour mixture and mix until the dough comes together. Don't overmix the dough.
- Take 25 gram pieces ( almost 1 tablespoon) of the dough and roll them into balls. Alternatively, you can divide the dough equally into 22 pieces and roll them into balls as this recipe makes 22 cookies. Using the back of a 1 teaspoon-sized rounded measuring spoon or your finger, press into the center of the dough to make an indentation.****
- Bake for almost 11-12 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown. Don’t overbake so the cookies will stay soft. When the edges are golden brown but the middle is still soft, remove from the oven. If needed, you can press the middle of the cookie again with a clean measuring spoon. Then immediately fill the cookies with almost ½ and ¼ teaspoon lemon curd. The filling will set while the cookies are cooling on the baking sheet.
- Lightly sift powdered sugar over the cooled cookies.
Notes
Nutrition
Namrata Cooks
I make these cookies with strawberry jelly as filling but I m going to try this lemon curd too. Looks great !
Londa
I made these cookies exactly as specified, but wondered why there wasn’t any baking powder, soda or salt included as ingredients. They tasted awful!
Meymi
Hi Londa, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t enjoy these cookies. As my aim was not to create airy cookies, I didn’t use baking powder.
Nicole
I love the ginger and lemon combination! the hard part will be waiting for them to bake and then cool!
Katie
I had some lemon curd I had already made that I didn’t know what to do with until I came across this recipe. I will definitely be making again. I was intimidated by the amount of spices but they were a nice light background note to the lemon. Thank you for sharing.
Meymi
Hi Katie, I am so happy that you enjoyed these cookies with spices so much! Thank you for your comment!
Barbara Horton
I added a bit of cardamom and Chinese 5 spice to supplement the ginger and cinnamon, and then used ginger curd in place of lemon curd. FANTASTIC! Definitely will be added to the must-have for Christmas list.
Meymi
Thank you so much for your feedback!
mydeliciousmeals
Love using citrus fruits in baking. These cookies look so delicious, thank you for sharing!!
Salva
Perfect thumbprint cookies, soft, buttery, crisp on the edges, and easy to make, most recommended.
I personally had issues with the curd setting but that’s another story, do try these cookies.
Meymi
Hi Salva, I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies but I wonder what issues you had with the lemon curd setting. Thank you for your comment!
Karen
Hi. These look so lovely. Can I make the cookies and not fill them with the curd until I am ready to serve them. If so does the cookie freeze well? Many thanks, Karen
Meymi
Hi Karen, Thank you! You can make and freeze these cookies. You should thaw them overnight in the fridge. You can add the lemon curd later but it won’t set the way you see in the photos as I fill the cookies with lemon curd while the cookies are still hot. Enjoy!
Karen
Thank you very much for your reply! I am making the cookies tonight. Fingers crossed they look as good as yours!!
Debra
I just made these cookies. I believe the 2 tsp of cinnamon should be corrected. My flour was quite a bit darker then the photo. It did have an overwhelming cinnamon taste. I would cut it back next time to 1 tsp. The addition of the ginger was a nice touch. I did not make my own lemon curd as I didn’t have time but instead used Trader Joe’s and it came out delicious! Tart and slightly sweet and I would make them again with the reduction of the cinnamon. Thank you for the recipe.
Meymi
Hi Debra, I am so glad you enjoyed these cookies. In the recipe card, under the notes, I had already given an option with a lower amount of cinnamon and ginger for lightly spiced cookies. Thank you for your comment!
Alice
I was hesitant to add the spices, as I didn’t know if I would like it. I’m pretty picky and don’t necessarily want any spices in my cookies. So I made half with vanilla/lemon extract, and half with the spices.
The spices are actually very good! I’m glad I did half and half, they made totally different cookies that way! Don’t hesitate to use the ginger/cinnamon combination. 👍
Meymi
Hi Alice, I am so glad you loved the ginger-cinnamon combination. Thank you for your comment!
Nance
The birthday cookies were well received!
Becky
I absolutely love lemon curd. I bought a jar. (Yes, I know I should make my own). It is so good I was eating it out of the jar. I thought I need to do something with this stuff so I don’t eat it all right out of the jar. Did a search and I chose your recipe. Score! Made it as written except my husband doesn’t like lemon so I filled a few with peach jelly.
Your recipe is sooo good. Thank you!
Meymi
Hi Becky, I’m so glad you both enjoyed these thumbprint cookies with lemon curd and peach jelly. Thank you for your feedback!
Willow
These were wonderful, I will double the recipe next time! I made them gluten free with 1 c rice flour 1/2 c almond flour 1/2 c corn starch and kept everything else the same and they were perfect
Meymi
Hi Willow, I’m happy to hear that you loved these cookies so much. Thank you so much for your detailed feedback for gluten free version.
Leonie
Loved the cookies, as a friend gave me lemons and I made curd. It was great to use it in this recipe
Meymi
Hi Leonie, I’m so glad you loved these cookies so much! Thank you for your comment!
Stephanie
I cut back on the spice but it was still too gingery. I don’t feel like the dough tasted good.
Anna V
The lemon curd is delicious and the cookies turned out great. Next time I will try reducing the ginger to 2 tsp (equal to the cinnamon) — just a personal preference.
Meymi
Hi Anna, I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you for your feedback!