Would you like a refreshing Lemon flavored cookie? You have just found the recipe! These mini buttery lemon cookies have a tangy fresh squeezed lemon flavor that is filled with lemon buttercream. The cookies are about 1 inch in size and feature a piped swirl using piping tip # 8 B. Serve these mini bite size lemon cookies for any occasion but summertime really makes these cookies everyone will want.
How to Make Lemon Cookies with Creamy Lemon Filling
Line baking sheet with parchment paper, and preheat oven to 350° F. Trace 1-1/2″ circles on parchment paper 1″ apart to use a piping template for the perfect cookie. Cookies will not spread during baking! Thats really great news!
Tip: Reason cookie dough will not spread is because there is not baking powder or soda in the recipe. The cookie is tender due to cream cheese and butter but overall the cookie is firm enough for sandwiching. Its really a perfect little bite-sized cookie.
Note: Be sure to turn your pattern over on the baking sheet as not to have contact with tracing marks onto your dough. Repeat process with second baking sheet. This recipe makes 42 single cookies or 21 sandwich cookies.
Tip: Use a 1-1/2″ round cookie cutter to use as a pattern to trace around for template. Also you can make one parchment paper template and place under second parchment paper on baking sheet. It will be a bit difficult to see the traced rounds but you won’t be baking with the pencil markings. Carefully slide the template from under the piped cookies.
Prepare Cookie Dough
In a bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade process sugar and lemon zest just until sugar is light yellow in color and zest is barely seen.
Next, add cream cheese, butter, lemon sugar and remainder of sugar, egg yolk, fresh lemon juice, salt and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Beat with paddle attachment until mixture is fluffy in texture. Add the King Author all purpose flour in three additions, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Be careful not to over mix the batter.
How to Pipe The Cookies
Prepare your piping bag. I used a disposable 16″ bag fitted with large swirl tip # 8 B. This makes the perfect 1-1/2″ size swirled cuteness on this cookie. Your dough must be soft enough to pipe with ease to pipe shape correctly.
Tip: To soften dough for piping, rinse your hands with warm water or wrap bag with warm wet towel for a one to two minutes. Then pipe away!
Pipe all the dough onto your baking sheet templates. Place cookies in warm preheated oven and bake 7 minutes. If cookies are not lightly browned bake another 2-3 minutes. Depends on how thick and size round of cookies you make. But just be aware that the cookies bake fast and brown instantly. I like using convection bake for baking evenly as the air circulates around the cookies causing them to bake evenly. Standard oven is ok too but might have to rotate baking sheet at 5 minute mark.
How to Prepare the Lemon Buttercream Filling
In a medium mixing bowl, beat together butter, confectioner’s sugar, vanilla or lemon extract, grated lemon zest and lemon juice, Mixture will be smooth and creamy with a zesty lemon flavor. I also like to add a pinch of salt to the buttercream.
Fill a disposable piping bag with tip # 5 a small round tip with filling. Pipe the lemon filling into a mound or swirl covering the whole bottom half of 21 cookies. Add remaining 21 cookies to form a sandwich. Recipe should make 42 cookies give or take depending on how many you eat. Ha Ha.
Tip: After baking and cooling the cookies, pair them up so they are equally matched for sandwiching together with Lemon filling.
Cookies can be chilled in refrigerator or frozen after piping with filling. Just wrap or store cookies in ziplock freezer bag. Might double bag to prevent freezer burn if you plan to keep them in the freezer for over a month.
Tip: Remove chilled or frozen cookies 30 minutes before serving for best flavor and texture. Cookies will be a little softer but very firm and good for dipping in coffee or hot tea.
Lemon Cookies with Lemon Cream Filling
Deliciously tender lemon flavored bite-size 1-1/2″ swirled sandwich cookies filled with Lemon Filling. Perfect for any occasion for teas, or summer entertaining. #lemon # cookies #recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 7-10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 21 sandwich cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 lemons finely zested, without white pit
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar-divided- 1/2 cup with lemon zest
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
16 tablespoons butter, (2 sticks or 8 ounces) room temperature
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon or vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup all purpose flour
Lemon Filling
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon lemon extract or vanilla
1 lemon, finely grated for zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Trace 1-1/2″ round circles on parchment paper placing circles 1″ apart making a template for piping cookies. Turn traced circles over on baking sheet to pipe cookies or make the template and place on baking sheet with another piece of parchment over the top of template to pipe cookies. You will need two baking sheets with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Prepare disposable 14″ piping bag with swirl tip # 8 B. Prepare second 12″piping bag with Tip # 5 for piping filling after cookies are baked.
- In bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade add sugar. I used a food scale to measure the sugar, this is optional. Place zest of 2 lemons in with the 1/2 cup sugar. Process until zest is no longer visible and sugar looks light yellow in color.
- In large mixing bowl combine cream cheese, butter, lemon sugar and remaining 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolk, lemon juice, salt and lemon or vanilla extract. I used lemon. Beat on medium high speed with stand mixer using paddle attachment or hand mixer with beaters. Beat until mixture is fluffy about 3 minutes.
- Add flour in three additions to batter, scraping down sides and bottom of mixing bowl as needed to make sure flour is well mixed into dough.
- Piping Cookies: Spoon half of dough into 16″ piping bag with # 8 B tip. Holding bag vertical and straight, squeeze bag gently to pipe 1-1/2″ cookies onto your baking sheets with parchment and template. Allow the tip of the bag to barely touch the dough as you squeeze the bag, then lift up the tip to see your perfectly piped cookie. Tip: Dough is very forgiving, if it is not the way you want cookie to look, put dough back in piping bag and re-pipe it.
- Gently press center of cookie with wet finger to remove any peaks on cookie. Repeat filling bag with remaining dough and pipe second or third tray.
- Bake cookies on middle rack in preheated 350 °F oven about 7 minutes or until evenly light brown. If cookies are too light, let them bake another 2-3 minutes but watch carefully as they can burn quick.
- Remove from oven, transfer to cooling rack and let cool before filling with lemon filling.
- Once cool, match cookies with one another to make a sandwich cookie, then make lemon filling.
Lemon Filling
1.Combine all lemon filling ingredients in medium mixing bowl with beater attachments. Beat on medium high speed until smooth and creamy.
2. Fill second piping bag fitted with round tip # 5- with lemon filling. Pipe small rounds of filling onto center of one cookie filling to the edge, gently add top cookie but not squeezing too hard. You want the filling to stay inside the cookie.
3. Serve or chill/freeze. Cookies can be chilled or frozen with filling. If freezing more than 30 days, double wrap in ziplock freezer bags. Bring to room temperature about 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
This dough is best piped when made as the dough needs to be soft enough to pipe. If dough is too hard to pipe through tip, warm your hands with warm water or a small towel and wrap piping bag with dough inside to help warm it up.
Easy Recipe and very lemony. I used lemon extract through out the recipe for a vibrant lemon flavor.
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