Lemon Curd Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Buttery coconut shortbread cookies are filled with homemade lemon curd for a light and sweet cookie that just screams summer! Pair these Lemon Curd Coconut Thumbprint Cookies with a cold glass or milk or even a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
If you're looking for more lemon desserts, check out Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies, Lemon Blueberry Protein Cookies With Collagen, Vegan Lemon Chamomile Tea Cake, or Best Meyer Lemon Pound Cake.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Lemon Curd Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
- Ready In: 59 minutes
- Makes: 30 cookies
- Main Ingredients: salted butter, cane sugar, all purpose flour, coconut
- Flavor Profile: buttery and tropical coconut with sweet lemon curd
- Dietary Info: no seed oils, gluten free swap available
- Difficulty: Medium
- Why You’ll Love It: buttery, crisp coconut shortbread with a juicy lemon curd filling
Summarize & Save This Content On
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Summery AF: These thumbprint cookies are the epitome of summer! They are light and zesty. The combination of sweet coconut with zesty lemon curd is perfect for a summer dessert. Not to mention these are beautifully colored thanks to the bright yellow, naturally colored, homemade lemon curd!
- Buttery & Sweet: These lemon cookies are a coconut shortbread base, so they are buttery and sweet. The addition of coconut in the cookies gives these a great texture, combined with the smooth lemon curd is so delicious! If you're a lemon fan, you will love these!
- Make Ahead: Thumbprints are a great make ahead cookie because they are usually made of a shortbread base. You can easily make these ahead of time for a backyard barbecue.
Ingredients
- Butter: I use organic salted butter, but if you prefer unsalted butter that's okay too, just add 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the dough. Be sure to check out my post Best Salted Butter for Baking for my top picks for butter cookies.
- Coconut Extract: I use Flavorganics Coconut Extract in these cookies for the best coconut flavor. Just be sure to use a coconut extract you like the flavor of as they can vary widely.
- Coconut: I'm using organic unsweetened fine shredded coconut. Make sure to use a fine shred coconut as these are smaller cookies, so you really want that fine shred so it's easy to ball them and also eat them.
- Lemon Curd: I'm using my Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks, but you can also use store bought if you prefer.
*For a full list of ingredients and measurements, visit the recipe card below.
Baker's Tips
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally.
- If you don't have coconut extract, you can use vanilla extract in its place. You'll get some coconut flavor from the fine shredded coconut, but not as much as if you use a coconut extract too.
- If you want to fill these with jams instead of lemon curd, you can do that. Just fill the cookies with your jam of choice before baking! I recommend using raspberry jam, strawberry jam, or even apricot jam as these are delicious with the coconut!
- The cookie will puff up a little bit as they are baked with no filling. That's why I use a teaspoon to just press them down right after they come out of the oven. This will allow you to have the largest cavity to fill in with the lemon curd!
- These need to be stored in the fridge, because of the lemon curd. So, be sure to keep them in the fridge so the lemon curd won't sour. You can put them just on a plate or also put them in a tupperware if you want, they will be fine either way. If you are stacking them, be sure to add a layer of parchment paper in between each one.
- Gluten Free – Replace the organic flour with 339 grams (2 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons) gluten free flour blend (I used Namaste Organic Perfect Flour Blend for testing).
- High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottoms.
How to Make Lemon Curd Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Step 1
Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, and coconut extract. Mix on low until combined, then set a timer for 5 minutes and mix until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.
Step 2
Add the egg, and mix until combined. Add the flour and coconut, and mix on low until combined into a smooth dough.
Step 3
Using your hands, form the dough into 30 balls and place on the prepared cookie sheets. Press your thumb into the center to create an indent.
Step 4
Refrigerate the cookie sheets for 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 5
Bake for 19 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. (Make sure to check the Notes at the bottom of the recipe for high altitude baking instructions). Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a teaspoon and press it into the center of the indent to make it more prominent. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets. Once cooled, fill each cookie with lemon curd.
Recipe FAQ's
The coconut adds a chewy and soft texture to these coconut butter cookies. It's so good!
If you don't have coconut extract you can replace it with vanilla extract or even almond extract. Both would make this recipe delicious in their own way. You'll still get the coconut flavor from the fine shredded coconut in the cookies!
Yes, if you don't want to make this recipe, you can buy it if you prefer. Either works.
Because these are filled with lemon curd, we fill them after baking. But, if you want to fill them with a jam instead, you would do that before baking.
Too much flour or coconut. Be sure to use a digital food scale and measure ingredients to ensure you have the right amounts. Incorrect measuring is one of the biggest mistakes home bakers make, but it's also the easiest fix if you just use a digital food scale. I cannot stress this enough.
If you measured incorrectly this can happen (not enough flour or coconut). If your egg was too large, this can also cause this. Be sure to use a digital food scale to measure ingredients properly so you get perfect cookies.
Follow the recipe exactly and use a digital food scale. This recipe does not spread, it's a stiff dough and won't result in spread if it's made correctly.
Look for golden brown edges and dry cookies.
If you over fill them, that will happen.
Yes, these do need to be stored in the fridge because of the lemon curd. You can let them sit out at room temperature for a short time, such as if you're hosting a party and they are on a platter. But, otherwise, keep in the fridge.
These should be stored in the fridge because of the lemon curd.
Yes you can. You should place cookies on a baking sheet, just do a single layer, and freeze until solid. Then you can transfer to your freezer safe container and place a piece of parchment paper between each layer. You can freeze them for up to 3 months.
More Ways to Use Homemade Lemon Curd
If you are making Homemade Organic Lemon Curd With Egg Yolks (or even if you are buying a jar) you may have some leftover. Don't let it go to waste and use it for other recipes!
- Use as a topping to Eggless Sourdough Waffles, Eggless Banana Waffles, or Homemade Buttermilk Pancakes.
- Use as a swirl on top of frosting on cakes such as Vanilla Buttermilk Sheet Cake with Vanilla Frosting, Eggless Coconut Sheet Cake, or Lemon Olive Oil Snack Cake With Lemon Frosting.
- Use as a toast topper on Lemon Rosemary Sourdough Bread.
- Swirl into Homemade Organic Whipped Cream and dip fresh berries in it.
More Lemon Recipes to Love
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Lemon Curd Coconut Thumbprint Cookies
Equipment
- Digital Food Scale
- Stand Mixer
- Half Sheet Pan
- Parchment Paper Sheets
Ingredients
Dough
- 226 grams salted butter (softened)
- 170 grams cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon coconut extract
- 1 large egg
- 350 grams all purpose flour
- 57 grams fine shredded unsweetened coconut
Filling
- 170 grams Lemon Curd
Instructions
- Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the butter, cane sugar, and coconut extract. Mix on low until combined, then set a timer for 5 minutes and mix until the mixture is light in color and fluffy.
- Add the egg, and mix until combined. Add the flour and coconut, and mix on low until combined into a smooth dough.
- Using your hands, form the dough into 30 balls and place on the prepared cookie sheets. Press your thumb into the center to create an indent.
- Refrigerate the cookie sheets for 25 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 19 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottom. Immediately after the cookies come out of the oven, use a teaspoon and press it into the center of the indent to make it more prominent. Let cool completely on the cookie sheets.
- Once cooled, fill each cookie with lemon curd.
- Store in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Always weigh ingredients for the best results.
- Make sure your butter is soft. I like to leave butter out on the counter to soften naturally.
- If you don't have coconut extract, you can use vanilla extract in its place. You'll get some coconut flavor from the fine shredded coconut, but not as much as if you use a coconut extract too.
- If you want to fill these with jams instead of lemon curd, you can do that. Just fill the cookies with your jam of choice before baking! I recommend using raspberry jam, strawberry jam, or even apricot jam as these are delicious with the coconut!
- The cookie will puff up a little bit as they are baked with no filling. That's why I use a teaspoon to just press them down right after they come out of the oven. This will allow you to have the largest cavity to fill in with the lemon curd!
- These need to be stored in the fridge, because of the lemon curd. So, be sure to keep them in the fridge so the lemon curd won't sour. You can put them just on a plate or also put them in a tupperware if you want, they will be fine either way. If you are stacking them, be sure to add a layer of parchment paper in between each one.
- Gluten Free – Replace the organic flour with 339 grams (2 ¼ cups plus 2 tablespoons) gluten free flour blend.
- High Altitude — Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned on the bottoms.
Nutrition
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I made the lemon curd coconut thumbprint cookies and everyone loved them. The body of the recipe calls for eggs, but the ingredient list doesn’t mention eggs. I only used one, but thought my dough was a little stiff. How many eggs does the recipe actually require?
hi Erin! So sorry about that typo! You were right though, it is just 1 egg, and I have updated the ingredient list. The dough should be stiff here, as we want it to keep its shape in the oven, so that is correct. If you feel it’s very dry, make sure you are weighing your ingredients as that makes a big difference, and you could accidentally have too much flour or coconut. Also, all eggs are not always equal, you can also weigh those. 1 large egg should weigh 50 grams, if you find you’re under then that could also be why. You can crack 2 eggs in this cake, whisk together to combine, then weigh out 50 grams to get the exact amount (use the extra eggs for breakfast 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions!
Light, zesty, and perfectly sweet, these cookies are always such a crowd pleaser!