Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies

Learm how to make the best lemon curd shortbread cookies with this easy recipe. These lemon coconut cookies are made with coconut shortbread cookies and filled with homemade lemon curd, just like linzer cookies.

The lemon curd-filled shortbread cookies are made from coconut shortbread cookies, made with a cookie recipe very similar to linzer cookies and pâte sucrée. Traditionally linzer cookies are made with ground almond, so we replaced it with ground coconut and filled the cookies with lemon curd before sandwiching them together.

For this recipe, you will need lemon curd. I highly suggest learning how to make homemade lemon curd and using that for these cookies. The flavour is unmatched! These cookies have a similar vibe to the classic jam-filled shortbread cookies that everybody loves.

What You Need to Make These Lemon Coconut Cookies

These lemon linzer cookies are made from simple ingredients, but here are a few things to note about them:

• butter—I used unsalted butter. If using salted butter, you may want to adjust the amount of salt you add later or the cookies may be too salty
• sugar—I used granulated sugar to give these cookies the sandy texture that I love in shortbread cookies
• eggs, for the egg yolk—I used a large egg for the yolk. The yolk usually weighs 16–18 grams
• ground coconut—use finely ground coconut (also called coconut for macaroons) or grind shredded coconut using the pulse function on a food processor or a spice grinder to get a finer texture (similar to ground almond if you can). Do not over-process the coconut because it may turn to "coconut butter"
• salt—I use Diamond Crystal Fine Kosher Salt. If using table salt, add half the amount because the cookies might be too salty otherwise.
• flour—I always bake with bleached all-purpose flour, but unbleached will likely work fine in this recipe
• lemon curd—I prefer to use homemade lemon curd but store-bought will also work in a pinch. Use the best you can afford!

Please see the recipe card for the exact ingredients and quantities.

Variations and Other Fillings to Try

In the shortbread cookie, the most obvious variation you can try is replacing the ground coconut with your favourite ground nut. Ground pistachio would be excellent, for example!

This recipe will also work well with a variety of fillings:

• Other fruit curds—passion fruit curd to make passion fruit coconut cookies or grapefruit curd grapefruit coconut cookies (this is a surprisingly excellent combination)
• Jams, like this classic strawberry jam
• Marmalades, like this three fruit marmalade or a classic orange marmalade. Even lime marmalade would be really interesting with the coconut!
• Chocolate—milk chocolate ganache or dark chocolate ganache (make sure the ganache is set and thick so you can pipe between two cookies using a piping bag) to make chocolate coconut cookies
• Caramel—this dulce de leche, which I've used to fill alfajores will also work great here

How to Make Lemon Curd-Filled Cookies

If you are using homemade lemon curd to make these lemon coconut cookies, make the curd at least 1 day ahead to ensure it has fully set and thickened.

Step 1: Combine the butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl (image 1) and mix until light and creamy before adding the egg yolk and salt (image 2). Add the coconut (image 3).

Step 2—Add the flour (image 4) and stir until the coconut dough comes together (image 5). Then divide the dough into two equal pieces, pat into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap (image 6) to chill until firm.

Step 3—Roll out the cookie dough, one disk at a time, between sheets of parchment paper or on a floured surface. It's forgiving. Reroll the scraps as you go, chilling when the dough is too soft. Cut out cookies using round or fluted cookie cutters and a set of stars or hearts to cut the windows (image 7). You will need 24 bottoms and 24 tops with a window. Chill the cutouts thoroughly before baking to minimize the cookies spreading. Use a pastry brush to brush off any excess flour before baking.

Tip: This dough is very rich so it will be hard to work with when very cold, but also very delicate as it warms up. The good news is that you can press it together if it cracks or tears. You can chill the dough after rolling it out before cutting it, to make it easier to work with. Use a mini offset spatula to unstick any cookies that get stuck.

Step 4—Transfer the chilled cookies to a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them out and staggering them (image 8). You should be able to fit 8, if not 12 cookies per half sheet pan. I find the bake is more even if you bake all the bottom cookies separately from all the top window cookies (which can take a minute less to bake without browning too much). As you can see in image 9, when baking the top and bottom cookies on the same pan, the baking can be a little uneven.

Step 5—Once the cookies have cooled, flip over the bottom cookies to reveal the underside and top each with a dollop of lemon curd. Top each with a window cookie, twisting to spread the filling to the edges. Refrigerate to set so the filling firms up sufficiently before serving.

Other Sandwich Cookies

Sandwich cookies take a little more time, but they are definitely worth it! Here are a few other sandwich cookie recipes to try:

If you tried this recipe for the best lemon coconut cookies (or any other recipe on my website), please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you!

📖 Recipe

Lemon Coconut Cookies

AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi

Learn how to make the most delicious lemon coconut cookies with this recipe. These coconut shortbread cookies are sandwiched together with homemade lemon curd.

5 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 11 minutes mins

Chill time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 41 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine Austrian

Servings 24 sandwich cookies

Calories 147 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  OXO balloon whisk
• ▢
  Heart cutters
• ▢
  Rolling pin
• ▢
  Sheet pan

Need measurements in CUPSUse the button options below to switch from Metric to US measurements! It's that easy!

Ingredients

 

MetricUS

 

0.5x1x2x3x

• ▢ 173 grams unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 100 grams granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt
• ▢ 1 large egg yolk(s)
• ▢ 55 grams ground coconut store-bought or made in a spice grinder from shredded unsweetened coconut
• ▢ 188 grams bleached all-purpose flour
• ▢ 250 mL lemon curd

Instructions

 

• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, cream together the butter and sugar until it is creamy and soft.
• Add the salt and the egg yolk, and beat it until it is very well mixed, scraping down the sides as needed with a spatula.
• Beat in the ground coconut, mix well, then add the flour. Mix on low until the dough forms. Divide the dough in two, pat into disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 °F (175 °C). Line a couple of baking sheets with parchment.
• Roll out one disk of dough to a thickness of about ¼"-⅛" (not too thick, but not too thin). Cut out 2¼ inch (5.7 cm) circles with the dough, re-rolling the scraps to cut out more circles. You will end up with about 24 cutouts. Chill them on parchment-lined sheets for at least 15 minutes (30 minutes is better), then bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges begin to brown a little. Let cool 1 minute before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
• Repeat the rolling and cutting with the 2nd disk of dough to make 24 more circles, but this time, cut out a window with a small heart cutter or another small circle cookie cutter. Chill and bake as before. You should now how 24 top cookies with windows and 24 bottom cookies to make sandwiches.
• When the cookies are cool, dollop a scant teaspoon of curd on the centre of each bottom cookie and top with a window cookie, twisting gently to glue them together.

Notes

• You can replace the coconut with any finely ground nuts. Ground pistachio would be wonderful in this recipe with the lemon curd filling!
• You can use many fillings to sandwich between these cookies, not just lemon curd:
  • other fruit curds, like passion fruit or grapefruit curd
  • jams, like classic strawberry jam
  • marmalades, like three fruit marmalade, orange marmalade, or even lime marmalade
  • chocolate ganache, like milk chocolate ganache or dark chocolate ganache (after setting)
• Please note that I bake with uncoated aluminum sheet pans that are light in colour. If you are baking this recipe with darker bakeware, you may have to drop the oven temperature to 325 °F (165 °C) to prevent your baked goods from browning too quickly.

Nutrition

Calories: 147kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 57mgPotassium: 23mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 191IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.5mg

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