Description
A festive spring cookie! Fresh lemon curd and lemon poppyseed buttercream inside crisp sugar cookies.
Ingredients
Scale
For the dough:
- 3 cups (380 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¾ cup vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the curd:
- ½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 3 lemons)
- 2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into cubes
For the buttercream:
- 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1–2 tablespoons milk, warm
- 3/4 teaspoon poppy seeds
Instructions
- To make the cookies, in a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together shortening and butter until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the sugar and beat on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, milk, and vanilla extract and beat until combined. Stop the mixer. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until a dough forms. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure no dry pockets are hidden at the bottom of the bowl. Wrap and refrigerate dough for 30 minutes.
- Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Roll half of the dough between two lightly floured pieces of parchment paper or on a lightly floured counter to a thick ¼-inch thickness of just under 1/2-inch thickness. Cut with a 3 to 4-inch egg cookie cutter and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Use a 1-inch round or egg-shaped cookie cutter to cut yolk holes out of half of the egg cookies. This will be our top cookie. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until just golden around the edges. Allow to cool completely before filling.
- To make the lemon curd, whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of a whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.
- Strain lemon curd through a fine mesh strainer and transfer lemon curd to a bowl and chill, its surface covered with plastic wrap, until cold, at least 1 hour. The curd will thicken as it cools.
- To make the buttercream, in a medium bowl with an electric hand mixer, beat butter until well softened around the bowl. Add powdered sugar, salt, and lemon zest and beat on low speed. Add 1 tablespoon warm milk and whip to combine. Beat in poppy seeds. Transfer frosting to a freezer ziplock bag with the corner tip cut off or a piping bag with a medium round tip. Leave buttercream at room temperature until ready to pipe.
- To assemble the cookies, flip each whole egg cookie so the bottom is facing up. Pipe buttercream frosting around the edge. Spoon 2-3 teaspoons of lemon curd into the center of the cookie. Top with a cookie with a hole, press gently to sandwich and spoon a teaspoon of lemon curd into the cookie hole. Store in the refrigerator and dust with powdered sugar before serving. Cookies will last up to 3 days in the refrigerator.