Lemon-Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

4.73 from 11 votes

Lemon-Lime Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

A lime infused shortbread cookie filled with homemade Lemon Curd and topped with a simple lime icing - a real summer treat!

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookies, lemon, lemon-lime, lime, shortbread cookies

Servings: cookies

Calories: 72kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

For the cookie dough:

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, or pure vanilla extract
juice of ½ fresh lime
zest of 1 small lime
dash of salt
2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons
½ - ⅔ cup lemon curd (See NOTES for link)

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
juice of ½ fresh lime

Instructions

Combine the butter, granulated sugar, vanilla bean paste, salt, lime zest and the juice of ½ a lime in a large mixing bowl. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is creamy. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a spatula and blend again. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour in 3 parts. Scrape the sides and blend another 30 seconds. Cover the mixing bowl and refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Shape the dough into 1-inch balls and place 2-inches apart on the prepared pan. Make an indention in the center of each cookie with a small finger - pushing straight down trying not to flatten the dough ball. The edges of the dough may crack slightly. Push the cracked dough back together to make a smooth ball. Filled each ball with a heaping ¼ teaspoon of lemon curd.
Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to rest on the pan for a minute or two before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.
For the glaze combine the 1 cup powdered sugar and the juice of ½ lime and whisk until smooth. Thicken or thin as desired and drizzle over cooled cookies. Allow the icing to fully set then refrigerate leftovers.

Notes

NOTE: When making the indention for the lemon curd, use a small finger and push straight down, but only about halfway. Do not smash the dough and flatten it out. DO NOT MAKE THE INDENTION TOO DEEP. The deeper the whole, the wider the cookies will spread.

Feel free to omit the lime and use lemon zest and juice instead.
Homemade Lemon Curd is very simple to make and delicious served on pound cake, angel food cake, muffins, biscuits or scones.
Original base shortbread recipe adapted from Land-O-Lakes.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition