Lemon Creme Sandwich Cookies

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  • Level: Easy
  • Total: 2 hr (plus cooling)
  • Active: 45 min
  • Yield: 12 servings
Tender, buttery cookies bright with lemon and vanilla flavor are sandwiched together and filled with a puckery lemon crème. A few drops of lemon gel food coloring give the cookies their brilliant hue, and a citrus cookie stamp provides the visual of a perfect slice of lemon. Don’t have a cookie stamp? No problem — simply punch out the rounds with a cookie cutter and you’ll still end up with colorful cookies that are just as delicious.

Ingredients

For the Cookies:

For the Filling:

Directions

Special equipment:
a 3-inch citrus cookie stamp (or other 3-inch cutter)
  1. Make the cookies: Whisk the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the flour mixture and beat until the dough starts to come together, then increase the speed to medium-high and beat until well combined. Beat in the food coloring to create an even lemon-yellow color. Divide the dough into 2 disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
  2. Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove the dough from the refrigerator 5 minutes before rolling. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until it’s 1/4 inch thick. Use a 3-inch citrus cookie stamp (or other 3-inch cutter) to cut out cookies and transfer them to the prepared baking sheets. Reroll the scraps and cut out more cookies. You should get about 24 cookies. Refrigerate 10 minutes before baking.
  3. Bake, switching the pans halfway through, until the cookies are pale golden around the edges and set in the center, about 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheets, then remove the cookies to a rack to cool completely.
  4. Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat the butter, confectioners’ sugar and salt in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon zest and milk until well combined. Beat in the lemon juice just to combine.
  5. Assemble the cookies: Spread 1 heaping tablespoon filling on the plain side of half of the cookies. Top with a second cookie.

Cook’s Note

To make this lemon design, you’ll need a citrus cookie stamp. Otherwise, just cut the dough into regular rounds.