A sunny burst of citrus is just the thing to brighten up a gray winter day and add a pop of unexpected flavor to a holiday cookie tray. Among the deep dark flavors of chocolate and spice, like gingerbread cookies, Andes mint chocolate cookies, or chocolate ginger sparkle cookies, these lemon thumbprints shine like twinkly lights in the night. 😉
Loads of Lemon
These lemon thumbprints are flavored with real lemon all the way through, from the cookie dough to the lemon curd filling to the icing on top. Fresh lemon juice and zest are key to all that flavor.
Make the Homemade Lemon Curd First
Have you made lemon curd before? It’s delicious on so many dessert recipes, like atop this lemon cheesecake or pavlova. You can use store-bought lemon curd in these cookies in a pinch, but I encourage you to try making it from scratch—it’s surprisingly easy, takes just 10 minutes on the stove, and tastes so much better! You could also play around with flavors and try filling the lemon thumbprints with fruit jam, like I use in these peanut butter & jam thumbprint cookies.
Tip: I recommend making it ahead of time, so it has plenty of time to cool completely. It keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 10 days, so you can make it well in advance of making these lemon thumbprint cookies.
Here’s What You Need for These Lemon Thumbprint Cookies:
Make the Lemon Cookie Dough & Chill
The dough comes together quickly with an electric mixer, which is required for creaming the butter and sugar together.
Butter: Creamed butter makes up the base of these cookies. Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the tart lemon in the dough, and we’ll Lemon Zest + Juice: Remember to zest the lemon before slicing it and juicing it—it’s a lot harder the other way around! Egg: One egg provides softness and richness. Vanilla Bean Paste: You could use pure vanilla extract instead, but I really love the extra flavor the vanilla bean in the paste gives these lemon thumbprints. Flour: All-purpose flour gives the dough structure. Cornstarch: A little cornstarch makes for extra-soft cookies; it’s an ingredient in these soft chocolate chip cookies, too. Salt: A little salt balances the sweet and amplifies the lemon and vanilla flavors.
This creamy dough needs to chill for at least 3 hours before it’s ready to be rolled and shaped.
How to Shape & Fill Lemon Thumbprints
Once the dough has chilled, you can shape the cookies. Scoop the dough with a Tablespoon and then roll the dough into balls. Roll the cookie dough balls in granulated sugar before placing on a baking sheet. Use your thumb to make an indentation in the center of each cookie dough ball, then spoon about 1/2 teaspoon of lemon curd into each. Bake the cookies for about 12–13 minutes.
Optional Lemon Icing Is the Icing on the… Cookies
While it’s entirely optional, I love these cookies with a drizzle of icing on top. It’s just that little something extra that makes them look like you bought them from a fancy bakery. Plus, it tastes fantastic! You need just 2 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar and fresh lemon juice. Whisk it together until smooth, and drizzle it on the cooled cookies. I used a squeeze bottle to apply this sweet finishing touch, but you can simply use a spoon or fork. The icing sets in about 30 minutes or so, and then you can stack and store the cookies. This recipe is part of my annual cookie countdown called Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the biggest, most delicious event of the year! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza page including:
Mint Chocolate Checkerboard Cookies Iced Oatmeal Cookies Brownie Cookies Cookies in a Jar (with free printable) Lemon Crinkles
and here’s my video tutorial & guide for how to freeze cookie dough.
