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Vegan Lemon Curd Shortbread Cookies

Tangy lemon and buttery shortbread, these vegan lemon curd cookies are bursting with flavor and melting in your mouth with every bite! There's no better way to celebrate Spring and the warm Summer months than with these bright and adorable lemon cookies.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
cool time20 minutes
Total Time52 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Easter, lemon curd, shortbread
Servings: 12 cookies
Calories: 250kcal
Author: Ciarra Siller

Equipment

  • sauce pan
  • cookie cutters
  • mixing bowl
  • baking sheet

Ingredients

Lemon Curd

  • cup canned coconut milk I used reduced fat but full fat will also work
  • cup organic cane sugar
  • ¼ cup lemon juice about 1 lemon
  • zest from 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp vegan butter
  • pinch turmeric for color can omit

Shortbread

  • 1 cup vegan butter softened
  • cup organic powdered sugar + more for dusting
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cup gluten free all purpose baking flour + more for dusting measure for measure
  • ¼ tsp finely ground salt

Instructions

Lemon Curd

  • Place all the lemon curd ingredients into a pot over medium-high heat. Whisk until thick, about 4-5 minutes. Watch carefully that the mixture doesn't boil. If it feels too hot, reduce the heat to medium-low. Remove from heat and let cool while you prepare your cookies.

Shortbread Cookies

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F° and prepare two baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy using a handheld mixer. Add in the powdered sugar and mix until smooth and creamy and then mix in the vanilla. Finally add in the flour and salt and continue to mix until a dough forms. Alternatively, you could mix by hand in a mixing bowl.
  • Roll the dough on a clean surface dusted with flour until it's roughly ⅛ inch in thickness. Use a 2" flower shape cookie cutter to make 24 evenly sized cookies (gather the scraps and roll out the dough as many times as needed). Use ½ inch piping tip or round cookie cutter to cut out the center of 12 of the cut out cookies.
  • Transfer the cookies to the baking sheets and bake for 10-12 minutes and golden brown. Let the cookies cool completely and then dust with powdered sugar.
  • Fill a piping bag or plastic zip bag with the curd and pipe roughly 1 heaping tablespoon into the center of the cookies without the circular cutouts. Top with the remaining cookies and serve.

Notes

You can store left over lemon curd in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week to use in other recipes or spread on toast or biscuits.
These cookies are best if served within 24 hours or stored in the refrigerator and served within 1 week.