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These Lemon Sandwich Cookies are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies sandwiched around a tangy-sweet lemon cream filling. They taste like sunshine, with bright fresh lemon in both the cookie and the creamy center. They look bakery-fancy but come together with simple ingredients, and Maddie loves helping cut out the shapes. If you love a buttery cookie, they are right up there with our meltaway lemon cookies.
Made with a tender lemon shortbread and a smooth lemon buttercream filling, these lemon sandwich cookies are a bright, easy, make-ahead treat.
Lemon Sandwich Cookies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 10 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 55 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 17 sandwich cookies
- ⚡ Calories: 180kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Buttery lemon shortbread with a tangy-sweet lemon cream filling
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our almond cookies
Quick Answer
To make lemon sandwich cookies, cream softened butter with sugar, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, then beat in an egg yolk. Gradually mix in flour and salt until a dough forms, shape it into a disk, and chill briefly. Roll the dough out, cut into shapes, and bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes until just set. Cool completely. For the filling, beat butter with powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest, adding a splash of cream until smooth and pipeable. Pipe the lemon cream onto the flat side of one cookie and press another on top to sandwich. These lemon sandwich cookies are buttery, bright, and melt in your mouth.
Jump to:
- Lemon Sandwich Cookies Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Lemon Sandwich Cookies
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Lemon Sandwich Cookies FAQs
- Other Recommended Easy Cookie Recipes
- Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Fresh lemon in both layers. Lemon juice and zest go into both the shortbread and the cream filling, so these lemon sandwich cookies taste bright and citrusy all the way through.
- An egg yolk keeps them tender. Using just the yolk adds richness without extra moisture, giving the cookies a melt-in-your-mouth, shortbread texture.
- Chilling makes them easy to cut. A quick chill firms the dough so it rolls and cuts cleanly into neat shapes that hold their edges.
- A buttercream center pipes neatly. The lemon cream filling is sturdy enough to pipe and sandwich without squishing out the sides.
- Simple pantry ingredients. Butter, sugar, flour, and a couple of lemons are all you need for these bakery-style sandwich cookies.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are buttery, tender, and bursting with bright fresh lemon flavor in every bite.
- They look impressive but use simple ingredients and come together easily.
- They are perfect for spring, Easter, showers, and cookie trays, like our
Key Ingredients
Simple baking staples plus fresh lemon make these bright sandwich cookies.
- Butter: Softened unsalted butter is the base of both the tender cookie and the creamy filling.
- Fresh Lemon Juice and Zest: The star flavor, used in both the dough and the filling for bright, real lemon taste.
- Granulated and Powdered Sugar: Granulated sweetens the cookies, while sifted powdered sugar makes a smooth filling.
- Egg Yolk: Just the yolk adds richness for a melt-in-your-mouth shortbread texture.
- Flour and Salt: All-purpose flour gives structure and a pinch of salt balances the sweetness.
- Vanilla and Heavy Cream: Vanilla rounds out the flavor and a splash of cream brings the filling to a pipeable consistency.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These lemon sandwich cookies are easy to customize.
- Change the filling: Swap in lemon curd, raspberry jam, or vanilla buttercream.
- Add a glaze: Drizzle the tops with a simple lemon glaze instead of dusting with powdered sugar.
- Make them mini: Use a smaller cutter for bite-size sandwich cookies, perfect for trays.
- Switch the citrus: Use lime or orange zest and juice for a different bright flavor.
- Dip in chocolate: Dip half of each sandwich in melted white chocolate for an extra-special touch.
How to Make Lemon Sandwich Cookies
- Cream the softened butter until smooth, then beat in the sugar, fresh lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla until light and creamy.
- Beat in the egg yolk, then gradually add the flour and salt, mixing until a dough forms.
- Form the dough into a disk, chill 15 minutes, then roll out on a floured surface and cut into shapes.
- Transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 9 to 10 minutes, until just set. Cool completely.
- For the filling, beat the butter with powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon zest, adding cream a little at a time until smooth and pipeable.
- Pipe a generous amount of lemon cream onto the flat side of one cookie, then gently press another cookie on top to sandwich.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use fresh lemons for both the juice and zest. Fresh citrus makes a noticeable difference in these cookies.
- Do not skip the chill. Cold dough rolls and cuts much more cleanly into neat shapes.
- Roll evenly to about a quarter inch so all the cookies bake at the same rate.
- Cool completely before filling, or the lemon cream will melt and slide out.
- Re-roll the scraps to get the most cookies out of every batch.
- Pipe, do not spread, the filling for the neatest, most even sandwich cookies.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Dust these lemon sandwich cookies with a little powdered sugar and serve them on a pretty plate with tea or coffee. They are perfect for spring gatherings, Easter, and bridal or baby showers.
They make a beautiful addition to any cookie tray. Pair them with our Silly Girls Kitchen Homepage 2024
the-best-almond-cookies-easy-recipe/”>almond cookies and Silly Girls Kitchen Homepage 2024
meltaway-lemon-cookies/”>meltaway lemon cookies for a bright, buttery assortment.
For a full lemon dessert spread, serve them alongside our Silly Girls Kitchen Homepage 2024
best-lemon-cake-with-lemon-buttercream-frosting/”>lemon cake.
Lemon Sandwich Cookies FAQs
Yes. Bake the cookies up to a few days ahead and store them unfilled in an airtight container. Fill them with the lemon cream the day you plan to serve for the freshest texture, or fill ahead and refrigerate.
Absolutely. These lemon sandwich cookies are delicious with lemon curd, raspberry or strawberry jam, vanilla buttercream, or cream cheese frosting in place of the lemon cream.
Store filled cookies in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Let them sit at room temperature for a few minutes before serving so the filling softens.
Shortbread-style dough can look crumbly at first. Keep working it with your hands and it will come together. If it is still too dry, add a teaspoon of lemon juice or cream.
Yes. Freeze the unfilled baked cookies for up to three months. Thaw, then fill with fresh lemon cream before serving. You can also freeze the dough disk, wrapped well, and roll it out later.
Chilling is recommended. It firms the dough so it rolls out and cuts into clean shapes without sticking. A short 15-minute chill is enough for these lemon sandwich cookies.
Love a bright lemon treat? Try our meltaway lemon cookies next.
Round out your cookie jar with these buttery cinnamon tea cakes.
Building a cookie tray? Add these light vanilla meringue cookies next.
Want a bakery worthy treat with zero fuss? Make these flaky cinnamon cream cheese palmiers.
Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies:
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh squeezed
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Lemon Filling:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk only if needed
Instructions
- With an electric hand mixer beat your butter until well-creamed.1 cup unsalted butter
- Add sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla, mix until creamy.¾ cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, Zest of 1 lemon, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Stir in vanilla, lemon juice, and salt, stirring until well combined, and scrape down the sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula to ensure ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add egg yolk and beat until combined.1 large egg yolk
- Gradually add flour and salt, use a silicone spatula until well incorporated (you will need to scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl several times for this, as the mixture is fairly dry and crumbs tend to settle at the bottom of the bowl).2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon salt
- Transfer the dough to a clean surface and use your hands to form it into a cohesive ball.
- Flatten into a disk (about 1″ thick), cover with clear wrap, and chill for 15 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Once the dough has chilled, transfer it to a clean, lightly floured surface and use a lightly floured rolling pin to roll it out to about ¼” thickness.
- Lightly flour your cookie cutters and cut out your shapes, transferring them to a greased cookie sheet, and placing them at least 1″ apart.
- Once you have cut out all of the shapes that you can, be sure to re-combine the scraps and roll out and cut out again to get the maximum number of cookies from your dough.
- Bake at 350F for 9-10 minutes and allow cookies to cool completely before filling them with lemon cream.
Lemon Filling:
- In a large bowl, beat the softened butter until creamy, about 2 minutes.½ cup unsalted butter
- Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, beating on low speed until combined.1 ¾ cups powdered sugar
- Add vanilla extract and lemon zest and beat until smooth.1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 tsp lemon zest
- Add heavy cream or milk, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the filling reaches a smooth and spreadable consistency.1-2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
Assembling the Cookies:
- Pair the cooled cookies.
- Using a piping bag, spread a generous amount of the crème filling on the flat side of one cookie.
- Place another cookie on top and gently press together to create a sandwich.
Notes
- Chill the Dough: If your dough seems sticky, cover dough in plastic wrap and chill it for about 15 minutes. It’s much easier to roll out that way.
- Use a Paddle Attachment: If you have a stand mixer, try using the paddle attachment for an even mix. If not, a hand mixer or good ol’ elbow grease works fine.
- Roll Evenly: For a uniform thickness, place two rulers or a dough guide on each side of your dough. This helps the cookies bake evenly—no thin edges or thick centers.
- Watch the Oven: These cookies can go from soft to over-browned quickly, so keep a close eye. The edges should be lightly golden for the best way to maintain a soft texture.
- Taste Test the Filling: If you want more “zing,” add a few more drops of lemon extract or a bit of extra fresh lemon. If it’s too tangy, throw in a bit more powdered sugar for balance.
- Divide Dough: Rolling out a smaller portion of dough at a time is easier. Keep the rest in the fridge so it stays cool and workable.
Nutrition
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