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Lemon cream cookies featuring a pair of homemade lemon cookies with a piped lemon custard cream filling sandwiched in between. The best lemon creme cookies!
What Inspired These Lemon Cream Cookies?
Biscuits (cookies, for my American readers) like party rings, pink wafers, digestives, ginger nuts, fig rolls, and bourbon biscuits are a staple tea accompaniment in the United Kingdom. In its purest form, the custard cream (one of the all-time classics!) consists of two rectangle-shaped biscuits printed with a swirly fern design, and vanilla custard cream (duh) sandwiched in between.
In recent years supermarkets like Sainsbury’s, M&S, and Tesco have begun putting their own unique spins on this classic British biscuit. I’ve tried sticky toffee custard creams, gingerbread custard creams, chocolate-covered custard creams, and even giant custard creams filled with ice cream. So for this recipe, I drew inspiration from these “nontraditional” custard creams. I created a lemon cookie with a scalloped edge (reminiscent of the Jammie Dodger, another British classic!) and a zingy lemon custard filling in the middle. They’re great with tea or coffee. I also like to pile them high on a tiered cookie tray along with homemade macarons, thumbprint cookies, and slices of lavender shortbread.
Ingredients for Making Lemon Cream Cookies
To make these lemon cream cookies, you’ll need the following ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour – All purpose flour (UK plain flour) forms the base for the dough. In the US I usually test my recipes with Pillsbury or Gold Medal; in the UK I use McDougalls in the red-and-white striped bag.
- Custard Powder – A shelf-stable powdered custard sold in any UK supermarket. In the US, you’ll find custard powder on Amazon; in the international aisle at some larger grocery stores; or at British shops like Myers of Keswick in NYC. You’ll only need a small amount for this recipe, but save the rest to drizzle over vanilla poached peaches or mini Christmas puddings.
- Butter – You’ll need softened butter to make the cookies, and more for the lemon filling. Unsalted butter works best.
- Granulated Sugar – You can make the lemon cookie dough with granulated sugar or caster sugar. For accuracy, I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure by weight rather than volume—too much sugar can cause the cookies to over-brown or over-spread as they bake.
- Egg Yolk – Egg yolk acts as a binder in the cookie dough. You won’t need the whites for this recipe. Save them to make French macarons or meringue kisses instead!
- Fresh Lemon – You’ll need lemon juice and lemon zest for the cookies and the filling. Use a Microplane (rather than a box grater) to finely zest the rind.
- Lemon Oil – I like to add a small amount of pure lemon oil (not extract) to my lemon cookies for additional flavor.
- Confectioner’s Sugar – You’ll need confectioner’s sugar (icing sugar in the UK) to make the filling. I also like to keep some extra sugar on hand to dust the tops of the cookies just prior to serving.
Making and Piping the Lemon Filling
These lemon cookies are loosely inspired by custard creams, a classic British biscuit with a smooth, custardy filling. Most custard cream recipes call for Bird’s Original Custard Powder, a shelf-stable powdered instant custard that, when whisked with liquid, creates a thick vanilla sauce ideal for serving with fruit crumbles, pies, and Christmas puddings.
To make the filling for these lemon cookies, you’ll start by whisking the custard powder with warm lemon juice (the heat is necessary to dissolve and thicken the powder) before combining it with softened butter and confectioner’s sugar.
Don’t be alarmed by the color change when mixing the juice and powder together. After whisking, it’ll look something like this:
But not to worry. After adding the butter and sugar, the color will mellow considerably. The finished lemon cream filling will be a pretty shade of pale orange or peach:
Special Tools and Equipment
You’ll find a few special tools helpful when making and assembling these cookies. To start, you’ll need a hand mixer or stand mixer for mixing the dough, and a rolling pin to roll it to 1/8-inch thickness. I prefer to roll on a silicone rolling mat for easy cleanup, but if you don’t have a silicone mat you can roll on a lightly floured countertop instead.
To cut the cookies you’ll need a fluted round cutter (I used the 1 3/4-inch cutter from a set of fluted cutters). Finally, a stepped palette knife works perfectly for lifting the cut cookies from mat to baking tray.
After baking, you’ll want to have a disposable piping bag and a decorative metal piping tip (such as a closed or open star) available for piping the lemon custard filling. In a pinch, you can scoop the filling into a large plastic food storage bag with the corner clipped, or spread the filling with a small stepped palette knife (or a mini rubber spatula) instead.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or layer between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. You can also freeze the un-filled cookies, then thaw at room temperature before filling.
Other British-inspired biscuit recipes you might enjoy:
Homemade Party Ring Biscuits
Homemade Bourbon Biscuits
Homemade Jammie Dodgers
Earl Grey Shortbread Biscuits
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
Print
Lemon Cream Cookies
- Total TimeAbout 3 hours
- Yield15-18 2-inch sandwich cookies 1x
Lemon cream cookies featuring a pair of homemade lemon cookies with a piped lemon custard cream filling sandwiched in between.
Ingredients
Lemon Cookies:
165 grams all purpose flour (1 1/3 cups)
35 grams Bird’s Original custard powder (1/4 cup)
115 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup/1 stick)
105 grams granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
5 grams lemon zest (2 teaspoons, packed)
15 milliliters lemon juice (1 tablespoon)
Lemon Cream Filling:
235 grams confectioner’s sugar (1 3/4 cups)
30 milliliters fresh lemon juice (2 tablespoons)
20 grams Bird’s Original custard powder (2 tablespoons)
70 grams unsalted butter, softened (5 tablespoons)
5 grams lemon zest (2 teaspoons, packed), zested on a Microplane
1/4 teaspoon pure lemon oil, optional
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Lemon Cookies:
Line 1 large tray, or 2 smaller trays, with parchment or silicone baking mats.
In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour and custard powder. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip butter on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the granulated sugar and mix on medium-high speed until creamy. Add the egg yolk and lemon zest and mix until fully incorporated.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until large clumps form.
Mix in the lemon juice until fully incorporated, then use your hands to finish bringing the mixture together into a smooth, slightly sticky dough.
Shape dough into a disc. Wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, or overnight.
On a silicone rolling mat, use a rolling pin to roll the chilled dough to about 1/8-inch thickness.
With a 1 3/4-inch fluted round cutter, cut dough into circles. Re-roll scraps and cut remaining circles.
Arrange on prepared trays.
Refrigerate trays for 30 minutes, or freeze for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350° F / 176° C.
Bake in preheated oven, one tray at a time, for 11-13 minutes, or until very lightly golden brown around the edges. Do not overbake.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Meanwhile, prepare the lemon cream filling.
Lemon Cream Filling:
Pass confectioner’s sugar through a fine mesh sieve to remove lumps and hard bits of sugar. Set aside.
In a microwave-safe bowl, heat lemon juice until very warm to the touch. Add custard powder and stir until mixture turns a vibrant peach color. Set aside.
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whip softened butter on high speed until soft and fluffy. Add confectioner’s sugar, lemon-custard powder mixture, lemon zest, and lemon oil, if using. Mix until creamy and well-combined. Filling will be pale orange or peach in color.
Scoop lemon cream filling into a piping bag fitted with a star or other decorative piping tip.
Divide cookies into pairs. Pipe cream on the flat side of half of each pair. Top with the second cookie. If desired, dust the tops with confectioner’s sugar just prior to serving.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days, or layer between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 11-13 minutes
- Category: Biscuits and Cookies
- Method: Oven
