Easter Egg Shortbread Cookies With Lemon Curd Yolks
Let’s make easy Easter egg shortbread cookies with lemon curd yolks that taste delicious and are absolutely adorable! They are actually shortbread sandwich cookies with a lemon curd filling, making them the easiest homemade Easter treat!
I used a recipe similar to this one, and I used lemon curd as a filler between two cookies, resembling an egg yolk.
What exactly is shortbread and where does it get the name?
The original Scottish shortbread or biscuit dates back to the 12th century. Later it can be accredited to Mary, Queen of Scots. It was baked, cut into wedges that resembled petticoats, and flavored with caraway seeds.
Shortbread is made from one part white sugar to two parts butter and three to four parts flour. It does not have any leavening like baking powder or baking soda.
What are the main ingredients?
- All-purpose flour
- Unsalted European butter
- Light brown sugar
- Flaky sea salt
- Lemon curd
- Lemon zest for extra flavor
- Vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
What’s the best butter to use for shortbread?
I try to find European butter when making shortbread cookies. Since shortbread has very few ingredients, you want the best quality. I buy Plugra unless I’m near a Trader Joe’s. Even Bon Appetit agrees that Trader Joe’s butter is as good as the French Stuff!
Special Equipment You Might Need:
- A stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a hand mixer (I prefer an electric mixer because you must cream the butter for 3 to 5 minutes until it is fluffy).
- Prepared baking sheets
- Cooling rack
- Plastic wrap
- Medium bowl
- Parchment paper
- Silicone spatula
Instructions for making Easter egg shortbread cookies with lemon curd egg yolks
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, flaky sea salt, and vanilla extract, and mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the flour and mix until a rough dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and mold it into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the cookie dough mixture and cut an even amount of egg-shaped cookies using an egg-shaped cookie cutter. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut a hole in half of the cookies. You may have to work the dough into a ball again and chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes before making all the cookies.
- Place the cut-out cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate again for about 30 minutes before baking. This helps prevent spreading in the oven. You want them to hold their egg shape.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.
- Dust the cookies with the holes in them with powdered sugar.
- Spread a layer of lemon curd on half of the cookies (the ones without the holes in them) and place the cookies with the holes in them on top of the other cookie with the spread of lemon curd. With a small spoon, fill the hole with the lemon curd to resemble an egg yolk.
We made them into sandwich cookies with lemon curd as the filling
Easter Cookies With Lemon Curd Yolks
Let’s make Easter egg shortbread cookies with lemon curd yolks that are actually sandwich cookies with a lemon curd filling.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Cookies
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- A pinch or two of flaky sea salt
- Lemon zest from one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Powdered sugar for dusting
- 1 jar lemon curd
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (you can also use a hand mixer), cream the butter, sugar, lemon zest, flaky sea salt, and vanilla extract, and mix on medium speed for 3-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Slowly add the flour and mix until a rough dough forms. Turn out the dough onto a clean work surface and mold it into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the cookie dough mixture and cut an even amount of egg-shaped cookies using an egg-shaped cookie cutter. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut a hole in half of the cookies. You may have to work the dough into a ball again and chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes before making all the cookies.
- Place the cut-out cookies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate again for about 30 minutes before baking. This helps prevent spreading in the oven. You want them to hold their egg shape.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for a few minutes on a wire rack.
- Dust the cookies with the holes in them with powdered sugar.
- Spread a layer of lemon curd on half of the cookies (the ones without the holes in them) and place the cookies with the holes in them on top of the other cookie with the spread of lemon curd. With a small spoon, fill the hole with the lemon curd to resemble an egg yolk.
Notes
The original recipe is from Bon Appétit and it worked so well for twice-baked that I decided to use it to make this shortbread. I did try the shortbread before it was baked again and it seemed perfect for a traditional shortbread cookie. Sometimes shortbread recipes can be dry and too crumbly, this one is not at all too dry!
Annie, I love a good shortbread recipe! Thanks for sharing. I don’t have an egg shaped cookie cutter (hard to believe as I have all other shapes). Where did you get yours? I guess I can google it but since I make my own lemon curd from our lemons, these cookies would be perfect.
Hi Mary! I had a hard time finding one. I didn’t have one either! I found it 50% off at Michael’s. I was close to making a pattern out of cardboard! How wonderful to make your own lemon curd with your Arizona lemons! Send me a photo to share if you can! xx
So so pretty and clever Annie! I love the way these turned out!
These are too cute! I will be adding them to my Easter dessert menu. Essential oils are baking friendly? Or are there some that are just for baking? Have never heard of that. Could lemon extract be used? Also, about how big was your egg cookie cutter? I don’t think I have one either and was thinking of cutting one out of cardboard as well.
Hi Colleen,
Yes, you can use essential oils to boost flavor or even as a substitute for lemon juice with a bit of water. Just make sure the essential oils are pure-grade oils with no filler!
My cookie cutter must be a 4″ because I used a small circle cutter inside for the yolk. You could use a cardboard cutout for sure! I do that a lot!
annie