Name: Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 36
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter; 6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil; 1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, plus 2 tablespoons; 6 tablespoons Powdered Sugar; 1 tablespoon Water; 1 large Egg; 1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract; 2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour; 1/2 teaspoon Salt; 1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda; 1/4 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar; 1 1/4 cups Lemon Curd

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These lemon sugar cookie cups are like mini lemon pies with a sugar cookie crust – easy to make, they’re the perfect little sweet treat!

Have you ever made lemon curd before? I have to admit that I never had, except for the kind that you make for a lemon meringue pie I suppose, although it’s a little different.

These lemon sugar cookie cups are like mini lemon pies with a sugar cookie crust - easy to make, they're the perfect little sweet treat!

But I recently discovered how easy it is to make homemade lemon curd – both on the stovetop and in the Instant Pot – and now I’m wondering why on earth I’ve taken so long to start making it. My freezer is currently filled with jars of homemade lemon curd, so I’m using it in everything I can think of.

These lemon sugar cookie cups are one of our favourite ways to enjoy it so far. They’re like mini lemon tarts with sugar cookie crusts – so tasty and so easy to make.

We all loved these little lemon sugar cookie cups.

These are made with homemade Swig sugar cookie dough, baked in a mini muffin tin so the cookies are cup shaped, and then filled with this easy homemade lemon curd.

Seriously so good.

But then, I love any kind of lemon treat. It’s just such a fresh and bright flavour, that it’s hard to find a lemon recipe that I don’t like. Although I don’t think that I’m alone on that!

Desserts like these raspberry lemon cookies, these raspberry lemon blondies, or these lemon berry no bake cheesecake cups.

Or breakfast-y things like these glazed lemon cranberry muffins, lemon raspberry sweet rolls, or glazed raspberry lemon bread. (I might have a thing for lemon and raspberry together!)

Or even entrees like this honey lemon baked salmon or this one pot lemon thyme chicken and rice.

All delicious. Lemon things are amazing.

And these lemon sugar cookie cups are no exception. A tasty sugar cookie filled with a tart and sweet lemon curd – pretty sure they need to be made again soon!

How do you make sugar cookie cups?

Super easy to do. I use my Swig sugar cookie dough for these sugar cookie cups. Mix up the dough and place 1 inch balls into a greased mini muffin tin.

Then use the rounded bottom of a measuring spoon to press a well into each cookie. Bake, re-press the well, and let them cool.

Then fill those tasty sugar cookie cups with whatever filling you like. Lemon curd is pretty fantastic!

What kind of butter do you use in sugar cookies?

I always bake with unsalted butter. This makes it easier to manage the salt content in the recipe. If you prefer salted butter I would recommend reducing the added salt in the recipe to 1/4 teaspoon. There is approximately 1/4 teaspoon of salt in half a cup of salted butter.

How to make Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups:

Make sure not to pull these sugar cookie cups out of the oven too soon – usually I say not to over bake, but if these aren’t starting to brown on the edges they will be very difficult to get out of the muffin tin without breaking them. They should be just starting to brown on the edges, and then they will pop out easily once they’ve cooled.
If you don’t want to make lemon curd, you can use any store bought variety, but it is very easy to make if you want to try it!

Here are some more great cookie recipes for you:

Yield: 36 cookies

Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups

These lemon sugar cookie cups are like mini lemon pies with a sugar cookie crust - easy to make, they're the perfect little sweet treat!

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar, plus 2 tablespoons
6 tablespoons Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon Water
1 large Egg
1/2 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
2 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoon Cream Of Tartar

For the Filling:

1 1/4 cups Lemon Curd

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Cream together the butter, oil, sugar, powdered sugar, water, eggs and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition, until all of the dry ingredients have been incorporated into the dough.
Roll the dough into 1 tablespoon sized balls and place them in the lightly greased cups of a mini muffin tin.
Use the rounded bottom of a 1/2 tablespoon sized measuring spoon to press a well in the middle of each cookie.
Bake the cookies for 9-10 minutes, or until they are lightly browned on the edges.
Remove them from the oven and re-press the well in the cookies while they are still warm.
Let them cool completely in the muffin tin, then use the tip of a sharp knife to pop them out of the tin.
Fill the wells in the cookie cups with 1/2 tablespoon of lemon curd.
Store the cookie cups in an airtight container in the refrigerator and serve chilled. The cookies also freeze well for up to 3 months.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1 cookie
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 41mgCarbohydrates: 11gFiber: 0gSugar: 4gProtein: 1g

Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.

I’ve also shared this Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups recipe over on Food Fanatic.

Norma

Sunday 1st of January 2023

I made these little cookies for Christmas dinner this weekend. By the time we were ready to eat them, the crust was so soggy you could not pick them up. What did I do wrong?

Stacey

Monday 2nd of January 2023

I’m sorry but I don’t know what went wrong, I’ve never had that happen! Do you live in a humid climate maybe? I live in a very dry climate so I would think that might make a difference. Other than that I’m really not sure what would make them go soggy, they haven’t been soggy at all for me. Sorry!

Diana

Thursday 22nd of July 2021

Can I use gluten free flour by King Arthur?

Monday 26th of July 2021

I haven’t used that flour so I don’t know how it substitutes, but if it’s meant to substitute for all purpose flour one for one it would be worth trying!

Terry C

Sunday 23rd of May 2021

When you say mini muffin cups I am not sure if these are the itty bitty size or like the size of a cupcake. I have both types of pans but some recipes call for mini muffin pans and they are referring to the size that I see not jumbo size, more like a cupcake.

Thank you for your response. I am looking forward to trying the recipe as soon as I know your answer. ?‍?

Monday 24th of May 2021

I mean the tiny ones that usually have 24 per pan. Smaller than a cupcake sized tin.

Amy

Thursday 14th of November 2019

Can you freeze these cookies with lemon curd in the cookie?

Friday 15th of November 2019

Yes you can - they freeze very well! Just freeze them in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers so they don't stick together.

Monday 8th of July 2019

Your pictures are gorgeous! :) I made these tonight for my sister's bridal shower this weekend. I'm going to fill them with homemade lemon curd. Mmm! I do have 1 question though. I tasted one of the tarts after they cooled and it wasn't too, too sweet and maybe a hint of too much flour. Is that common since it's going to be filled with a fruit filling and it'll be fine in the end? Thanks for the recipe, they are just so cute!

Tuesday 9th of July 2019

Thank you! I've never found these cookies to taste like flour. It's basically the same cookie dough as these Swig Sugar Cookies - so it should taste like a soft sugar cookie. That being said, I've never personally found sugar cookies to be overly sweet on their own, they're always better once they have icing on them. So these are likely the same, and you should find them sweet enough once they're filled with lemon curd.