Recipes

Lemon Easter Cut Out Cookies

Ingredients:

Lemon Curd:

• 4 large egg yolks
• 1/2 cup (100 g) fine sugar (also known as granulated sugar)
• 1/3 cup (79 ml) fresh lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons)
• 1 Tablespoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup (76 g) unsalted butter, cubed

Cookie:

• 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (112 g) ground almonds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup (90 g) icing sugar, sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• icing sugar, for dusting the tops

Directions:

1. Make your lemon curd the day before or 2-3 hours ahead of time.
2. In a heatproof bowl add egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon rind and salt, whisk to combine.
3. Place the bowl over a pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water. Cook, whisking continuously until the mixture thickens, approx. 8 minutes. A good trick to see if your lemon curd is thick enough is to dip a wooden spoon in the curd and see if it coats the spoon.
4. Once the mixture is thick, remove it from the heat and stir the butter in; one or two cubes at a time until smooth and well incorporated.
5. Use a fine sieve to strain the curd to remove any unwanted lemon rind.
6. Pour the lemon curd into a glass jar or airtight container. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate until completely cooled and the lemon curd is thick enough to mound on a spoon (approx. 2-3 hours).
7. Make your cookies. In a large bowl add flour, ground almonds and salt. Mix to combine all ingredients. Set aside.
8. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add butter and sifted icing sugar, beat until smooth and well incorporated. Add vanilla extract and egg, beat to combine.
9. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour mixture, one spoonful at a time. Beat until the mixture comes together.
10. Flatten the dough into two discs, wrap in plastic and let rest in the refrigerator for approx. 30 minutes or until firm.
11. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
12. Lightly flour a work surface. Roll out one disc approx. 1/8?-1/4? thick. If the dough breaks when rolling let it rest for 5 minutes at room temperature.
13. Using a flower cookie cutter, cut out shapes. On half of the flower cookies, cut out small circles in the centre. If you don't have a tiny circle cookie cutter try finding something around the kitchen that will do the job. I used the backside of a piping tip (see images above for reference).
14. Place cut out cookies on one sheet and whole cookies on the other cookie sheet, leaving approx. 1/2?-1? space between each cookie.
15. Repeat with the other disc; roll out the dough, cut into shapes and place on the baking sheets.
16. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until the bottoms and edges of the cookies start to brown. Remove the cookies to a cooling rack and let them cool.
17. When the cookies are cool, dust the cut out cookies with icing sugar. Then add a dollop of lemon curd in the centre of the whole cookies. Gently sandwich cut out cookies on top of the whole cookies. Enjoy.

NOTES:

Cookies will last 5 days stored in an airtight container or freeze for up to two months.

The lemon curd will thicken as it cools.

Homemade lemon curd will last 2 weeks stored in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer.

Prep Time: 1 Hour
Bake Time: 10 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes
Yield: 36 Cookies

Merci à @bakingforfriends_