Lemon Meringue Thumbprint Cookies

A buttery vanilla cookie base with a lemon curd puddle and a dollop of toasty meringue on top and a toasty meringue dollop, what’s not to love! 🍋

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These buttery vanilla cookies are filled (or topped rather) with homemade lemon curd, decorated with toasted meringue and dusted in powdered sugar. A citrus cookie dream come true! 

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Homemade Lemon Curd

The best part is definitely the homemade lemon curd, it is rich, tangy, silky smooth, creamy and simply delicious! You can easily swap out the lemon curd for storebought, but a homemade version just can’t be beaten. It’s also super simple to make!

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I highly recommend making your own lemon curd. It is super simple and so much better than store-bought! Just be patient and don’t turn up that heat too much, or you’ll end up with scrambled eggs instead of silky smooth lemon curd.

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Tips for making the best Lemon Meringue Cookies

Start mixing on a very low speed - You don’t want that powdered sugar to fly everywhere! Trust me, I speak from experience 🙄. You can crank up the speed whenever the sugar is incorporated

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Make your own lemon curd - It’s not as hard as it sounds! And you’ll never go back to storebought once you know how to make your own. Plus, how cool is it to say you made your own lemon curd? 

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Chill your cookie dough before baking - I can’t stress this enough... Chilling your dough will allow not only the flavours to develop, but also prevents the cookies from spreading in the oven and helps them keep their shape. Which is so important with these cookies! A flat and spread out cookie means there’s no room for the lemon curd. 

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Use a high-quality butter - Butter is the main ingredient for the cookie, which will mean it heavily determines its flavour. So it is highly recommended to use butter of good quality.

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Use a stand mixer for the meringue - Italian meringue takes a long time to whip up and you probably don’t want to hold a hand mixer for 15 minutes! I would highly recommend using a stand mixer. If you are not comfortable with Italian Meringue, feel free to swap it out for e.g. Swiss Meringue instead.

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Use a candy thermometer - The sugar syrup needs to be heated enough so it is capable of cooking and stabilising the egg whites. This is why it is very important to use a candy thermometer and get the syrup up to 121 degrees celsius.

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Variations within the same recipe

There are a few different routes you could take when it comes to incorporating your lemon curd into your cookies. You could do it the OG way, which is adding the lemon curd after baking. This will ensure the lemon curd stays soft, super tangy and colourful. 

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The second option would be to add the lemon curd before baking. This will however impact the tanginess and colour of your lemon curd. It results in a slightly chewier cookie and a stickier lemon curd filling.

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The last option would be to add your lemon curd halfway through the cookies’ baking time. This option is for those who can’t choose! It results in a still tangy and colourful lemon curd centre which is a bit more chew than the original version.

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Baking time and oven temperature

Baking time and oven temperature may vary depending on the oven you are using.  All oven temperatures in my recipes are based on a conventional oven. If you bake with a fan assisted oven, turn down the temperature slightly as these ovens tend to become hotter than a conventional oven at that temperature setting. Ovens have the tendency to deviate from the temperature you set the oven to. I would highly recommend using an oven thermometer to ensure the inside of your oven is at the right temperature. My oven for example only goes up to 160C even though I turn it up to 230C 

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An oven that is too hot may result in an overbaked or burnt bake and an oven that is too cold may result in underbaked and soggy bakes. Having the thermometer will not only help in getting the right temperature but also helps in determining the right baking time. 

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Other factors that may affect baking time

The shade of your baking tray may also affect your baking time (yes, really). A darker sheet pan like black will get hotter than an e.g. grey baking sheet. If you make bigger or smaller cookies than written in the recipe, keep in mind that this will impact your baking time.

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How long can I store these cookies?

I would recommend storing these cookies in an airtight container in the fridge. These will last for 5 days. 

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