These adorable Lemon Cookie Cups are made with soft sugar cookie dough and homemade lemon curd. A bit like bite-sized lemon pies, they are the perfect sweet treat to serve at baby showers, weddings, and summer parties.
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Lemon Cookie Cups
If you love lemon, these Lemon Cookie Cups are going to be your new favorite thing. They’re easier to make and less messy to serve than lemon bars or lemon tarts, but just as delicious.
The sugar cookie cup uses a soft sugar cookie dough as the base. Rather than baking flat on a baking sheet, each ball of dough is pressed into a mini muffin cup so that it has a tiny well. Once cooled, just add the lemon curd and chill before devouring. You can make the simple homemade lemon curd in this recipe, or feel free to take a short cut and use store bought lemon curd.
If you want to make more flavors, just substitute the fresh lemons for limes, oranges. Or, fill with another fruit preserve or chocolate ganache. Any if you're looking for another variation of cookie cups, try our Lemon Cream Cookie Cups. Banana Cream Cookie Cups, and our Coconut Cream Cookie Cups.
Lemon Cups Ingredients
- Butter - make sure your butter is room temperature and soft before making the dough. If you forget to pull it out ahead of time you can gently microwave for about 10 seconds at a time, just until soft.
- Sugar - you will need white granulated sugar to make these cookie cups.
- Lemon Zest - you will also need fresh lemons for the lemon curd filling. I like to combine the zest and sugar together in a small bowl before creaming with the butter.
- Eggs - it’s best to let your eggs come to room temperature before mixing them into the dough so that it doesn’t shock the butter. You can also run them under warm water until they are no longer cold.
- Vanilla Extract - pure vanilla extract has the best flavor.
- Salt - sea salt works great.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda - these help the cookies to rise in the oven and it keeps them nice and soft.
- Flour - you will need all-purpose flour for this dough.
Lemon Curd Filling
- Fresh Lemons - you will need both the juice and the zest for the lemon curd. Feel free to mix things up and use meyer lemons or even limes.
- Egg Yolks - you can either reserve the whites or discard.
- Sugar - this lemon curd calls for white granulated sugar.
- Cornstarch - cornstarch helps thicken the curd.
- Butter - I like to keep the butter cold and cubed so that it helps cool down the curd while you add it.
How to Make Lemon Cups With Lemon Curd Filling
- Make the sugar cookie dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, or about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and scraping between each addition. Then, add the vanilla and salt and mix just until combined. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Press the cookie dough into muffin tins. Using an ice cream scoop, form 1" balls and place in a greased mini muffin tin. Press the other end of the ice cream scoop into the center to flatten the dough ball and create a small cup shape.
- Bake the cookie cups. Bake in a preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and let them cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside.
- Make the lemon curd filling. In a blender, add the lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth. Pour the lemon mixture into a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir constantly while bringing the lemon mixture to a rapid boil, or about 172 degrees F. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Fill the cookie cups with lemon curd. Add about a tablespoon of the lemon curd into the cookie cup. Cool completely and then refrigerate until chilled.
- Serve. Add a sprinkle of powdered sugar before serving if desired. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations for Lemon Cookie Cups
Here are a few easy Lemon Cups recipe variations to keep things interesting.
- Lemon Raspberry Cookie Cups: top with fresh raspberries.
- Lemon Blueberry Cookie Cups: top with fresh blueberries.
- Lemon Coconut Cookie Cups: sprinkle a generous amount of shredded coconut over the cookie cups and press firmly before baking. Top with more toasted coconut as garnish.
- Lemon White Chocolate Cookie Cups: drizzle melted white chocolate over the tops of each finished lemon cup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! They cookie cups freeze very well, even with the lemon curd filling. Just make sure they are completely cooled then freeze in a single layer until completely frozen. Once they are frozen solid you can transfer them to an airtight container in the freezer and store for up to 2 months.
The time it takes to bake sugar cookie cups depends on how big they are, how many you bake at a time, how hot the oven is, etc. In general, when you bake these Lemon Cookie Cups in mini muffin molds in a preheated 350 degree oven it should take between 7-8 minutes for them to begin to get lightly golden brown around the edges.
Yes, because of the lemon curd filling you should only let your cookie cups sit out at room temperature for about 1-2 hours before refrigerating. You can store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Juicing lemon without a juicer is totally possible. Just cut into smaller wedges and squeeze as much out as possible with your fingers, first. Then take a spoon and press and twist to get any additional juice out.
You can also get lemon zest without a zester by peeling the very top layer of lemon rind off, then chopping into a fine zest. It's time consuming but it works!
Storing and Freezing
- Refrigerator: store cookie cups in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
- Freezer: you can freeze completely cooled Lemon Cookie Cups for up to 2 months. I like to freeze them in a single layer on a baking sheet first before transferring to an airtight container or freezer bags.
Lemon Curd Cookies Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Cups
- 1 cup Butter room temperature
- 2 cups Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- 2 large Eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
Lemon Curd Filling
- 1 cup Lemon Juice
- 3 Egg Yolks
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 ½ Tablespoon Corn Starch
- 2 Tablespoons Lemon Zest
- ¼ cup Butter cold and cubed
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Cups
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Cream together using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy, or about 3-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed and scraping between each addition. Then, add the vanilla and salt and mix just until combined.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking powder, baking soda and flour. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Using an ice cream scoop, form 1" balls and place in a greased mini muffin tin. Press the other end of the ice cream scoop into the center to flatten the dough ball and create a small cup shape.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 7-8 minutes, or until lightly golden on the edges.
- Remove from the oven and let them cool 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Set aside.
Lemon Curd Filling
- In a blender, add the lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon zest. Blend until smooth.
- Pour the lemon mixture into a saucepan and heat on medium heat. Stir constantly while bringing the lemon mixture to a rapid boil, or about 172 degrees F.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
- Add about a tablespoon of the lemon curd into the cookie cup. Cool completely and then refrigerate until chilled. Add a sprinkle of powdered sugar before serving if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Easy Lemon Desserts
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
- Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake
- Homemade Lemon Bundt Cake
- Lemon Sugar Cookie Bars
- Lemon Blueberry Cream Scones
- Homemade Lemon Curd
- Best Lemon Bars Recipe
- Lemon Raspberry Parfait
- Homemade Lemon Oreos
- No Bake Lemon Cheesecake
- More Best Dessert Recipes
- More Cookie Recipes
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These Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups are an easy sweet treat to serve at baby showers, birthday parties, and summer events. They are made with a soft sugar cookie dough that has been baked in mini muffin cups and filled with homemade lemon curd.
Becky
Made them and in half used the lemon curd the other half I put in a strawberry filling. Took them to Church and everyone loved them. Lemon ones were the best
Susie
I found the cups puffed up in the middle and were slightly under baked. They were difficult to get out of the tin without damaging the outside, and I had enough dough to make an extra dozen!
The lemon flavor was really good though. Next time I would just make lemon sugar cookies, skip the cup disaster and skip the lemon curd.
Meg
These were a big hit. Burst of lemon tartness was mmm, mmmm good!
Kari
I made these for Easter. I sprayed the handle of an ice cream scoop with pam to make the balls into bowls, and I had to spray it between each ball. I just saw on another recipe that they do it after the cookie balls bake. I feel like that would work better.
My friend really liked these, but I thought they were too tart, so I gave them all to her!
Karen Snider
I don't see where it says if they have to be refrigerated until serving or if they can be stored at room temp??? I love the end result but had a hard time getting my cookies to cook in the middle. They puffed up quite full and I had to press a spoon in them to get a depression for the curd. They were a little frustrating to make but the end result is good
Olivia
Hi! Do I need to chill the dough before baking?
Jill Baird
The recipe is pretty forgiving. You can chill it or make them right away!