Vegan Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies

Oh my lemon-y, buttery goodness! These lemon drop thumbprint cookies are the stuff of dreams. They came about after some reminiscing about the beautiful jam thumbprint cookies my mum always makes. While she is far away in Australia and I am here in Belfast, I thought I’d go and take a shot at them myself. But with a bit of a twist!

You see, I’m a bit of a fiend for lemon baked goods if I’m honest. Lemon poppyseed cake will forever be my favorite (note to self – bake lemon poppyseed cake for blog VERY SOON!), and anything with lemon drizzle and a sugar crust is a must-have for me.

So switching out lemon curd for the traditional jam was a no-brainer, I guess.

Well oh boy, did these deliver on all fronts. First of all, the biscuit is insanely buttery and short while the lemon curd itself is velvety and so zingy. Everything a curd should be. Oh, did I mention it’s SO simple to make as well? Could it be any more perfect?

Anyway, I’ve made them twice again since I first baked a couple of weeks ago. Maybe that’s because I have an excess amount of lemon curd. Maybe it’s just because I’m an animal who cannot control themselves. You’ll never know.

Vegan Lemon Curd Thumbprint Cookies

Yield: 16 cookies

Ingredients

For the Lemon Curd:
(Adapted from Domestic Gothess) 

Grated zest of 1 lemon
1.5 tbsp cornflour
50ml of water
Juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
30ml almond milk
2 tbsp of vegan butter

Method:

1. In a heavy-bottomed pan, place lemon zest and cornflour. Slowly add water, whisking as you go until you have a smooth paste. Once you have your paste, add in lemon juice and the sugar, whisk to combine.
2. Place your pan over a medium-low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Continue stirring over heat until the mixture becomes very thick.
3. Turn the heat down to low and add in your milk and butter – stir until melted and well combined.
4. Remove from heat and set aside to cool

For the Cookies:

1 cup vegan butter
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups of plain flour
1/2 tsp salt

Method: 

1. Cream together butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl until fluffy and pale. Add in your vanilla extract and mix to combine.
2. Add in the plain flour and salt and combine until you have a thick dough. I like to use a spatula here until it starts to come together – then I get my hands in to work the dough into a nice ball
3. Once you have your dough ball, wrap it up and place in the fridge for 15-30 minutes to cool the dough down. In the meantime, line your baking tray with baking paper and preheat your oven to 180 degrees celsius.
4. Remove your dough from the fridge. Break off tablespoons of dough (about 1-inch in diameter) and roll into balls. Place on your lined baking tray.
5. Flour your thumb and then proceed to make an indentation in the center of each dough ball. Place in the oven for 20 minutes or until firm and lightly golden on the bottom.
6. Remove from the oven and proceed to fill each of the indentations with pre-made and cooled lemon curd. (Note: you may need to push down on the thumbprint indentations again after removing from the oven)
7. After filling the indentations with curd, place them back in the oven for a few more minutes to firm up the curd a little.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool – I like to sprinkle a little sugar or confectioners sugar over the top at this point, but you may prefer to leave as they are.
9. Enjoy!

READY TO PIN!