Heaven, these cookies are absolutely lemony goodness heaven! I found Meyer Lemons at the grocery store about a week ago, i’ve not only never used them, heck i’ve never tried them! I was thrilled with my find but then the big question, what to do with these beauties? Cookies, because well I was in the mood to bake something. I came up with these incredible Lemon Almond Shortbread Cookies and seriously, winner!
Have you ever tried a meyer lemon? They are pretty amazing! A cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange, they are less bitter then a lemon and a little bit sweet. Their mildness makes them perfect for baking!
Shortbread cookies are really easy to make, with the dough wiped together super quickly in a food processor. I’ve made the basic shortbread recipe many times and its one of my favs so I figured why not use it as the base and jazz it up with the lemons and some almonds! I mixed lemon zest and almonds right into the dough and as if that wasn’t enough to make you drool I top these cookies with a homemade meyer lemon curd and some more toasted almonds. I’m not going to lie, I ate a LOT of these, I just couldn’t resist. I hope you give them a try and enjoy them as much as I did.
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
- a pinch of salt
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1/3 cup finely chopped almonds, lightly toasted {plus more for topping}
- zest of 3 meyer lemons
- For the Curd:
- 1 stick unsalted butter, room temp
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- pinch salt
- 1/2 cup meyer lemon juice
- Start by making the lemon curd so that it has time to cool.
- Using a hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until combined.
- Add in 1 egg at a time, each time mix until just combined.
- Mix in the pinch of salt and the lemon juice.
- Add the mixture to a small pot over low heat. Continuously gently stir for about 10-15 minutes until thickened, enough to coat the spoon.
- Allow to cool completely. It will thicken a little further as it cools.
- Now for the cookie. Add the flour, powdered sugar, butter, salt and egg to a food processor fit with the dough blade. Pulse until mostly combined.
- Add in the almonds and lemon zest and pulse a couple times to mix in.
- Pour the dough out onto a floured surface and work any loose pieces into the dough.
- Roll into a log about 1 1//2 inches round. Cover with plastic wrap and again roll gently just to form a smooth log.
- Pop into the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Slice the dough about a 1/4 inch thick rounds and place onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for about 12-14 minutes until just lightly golden on the edges. Cool completely.
- Top each cookie with a little bit of lemon curd and a sprinkle of chopped toasted almonds.
Leslie
I bet these taste amazing! I love short bread cookies, they are my favorite. Thanks for sharing!
Angela LeMoine
Thanks so much Leslie! They are so so addicting!!! I am obsessed with lemon!