Lemon Curd Crinkle Cookies

These are THE BEST lemon crinkle cookies! They’re thick, soft, and packed with lemon flavor because we’re using lemon curd, lemon juice, AND lemon zest! I also threw in some white chocolate chips and marshmallow fluff because, why not?

What makes these Lemon Curd Crinkle Cookies the BEST?

• BOLD Lemon Flavor. These cookies are not for the lemon feint of heart. Lots of lemon flavor in these bad boys coming from lemon curd, lemon zest, and fresh lemon juice.
• THICK Powdered Sugar Crust. Big tip on getting that thick crackly powdered sugar crust – first roll the cookie dough in granulated sugar, THEN in powdered sugar.
• Super Soft Middles. A little cornstarch helps these cookies stay thick and pillowy soft in the middle.
• ALL the Mix Ins. No boring lemon cookies over here. These cookies are packed with white chocolate and swirls of both lemon curd and marshmallow fluff.

Ingredients

• Salted Butter. Let’s make a pact to use salted butter in our bakes. Salt makes sweet things better!
• Cream Cheese. My secret ingredient to keep these cookies soft and tangy.
• Lemon. These cookies call for fresh lemon juice and zest AND lemon curd. I’ve included an easy homemade lemon curd recipe below, but store bought lemon curd works too!
• Cornstarch. Cornstarch prevents the cookies from spreading too thin as they bake. That way were left with thick pillow lemon cookie clouds.
• Marshmallow Fluff. I still dream about the lemon cookie from Last Crumb and if they’re putting marshmallow in their lemon cookies, then so am I!
• White Chocolate. Optional, but gives these cookies a little textural contrast that I like. I’m not a huge white chocolate gal, but when I splurge for the good stuff, I’m in. I like these white chocolate chips.

How to Make the Best Lemon Curd Crinkle Cookies

Make the Lemon Curd

You can absolutely use store bought lemon curd, but if you’re going to make your own, do that first.

In a small/medium saucepan, add the sugar, salt, egg, and egg yolks. Whisk until combined, then whisk in the fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the eggs. Once the lemon curd starts to simmer around the edges and becomes thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat and stir in the butter until fully melted.

Transfer the lemon curd to a small glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Press the plastic right up against the surface of the lemon curd so that it doesn’t form a skin. Chill for at least 2 hours. The lemon curd will keep in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Make the Lemon Cookie Dough

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed. Add the egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix to combine. The egg whites tend to settle at the bottom of the bowl, so again, be sure to scrape down the bowl as needed to ensure everything gets evenly incorporated.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the white chocolate chips if using. Dollop the marshmallow fluff and lemon curd all over the dough and fold together very gently so that streaks of fluff and curd remain swirled throughout the dough. Use a large 3 TBSP cookie scoop to portion out the dough onto one of the cookie sheets. Don’t worry about leaving space between them at this point because we’re just going to chill the dough first. Pop the cookie sheet in the fridge and let it chill for 30 minutes.

Bake the Cookies

Next, grab 2 plates or shallow bowls and put 1/2 C of granulated sugar in one and 1/2 of powdered sugar in the other. Roll the cookies into a ball in your hands, then roll them first in the granulated sugar, then the powdered sugar. Rolling them in granulated sugar first will help us get that thick crackly powdered sugar crust. Make sure to coat them pretty heavily in the powdered sugar and press it into the dough.

Then, arrange the cookie dough onto the two cookie sheets, leaving space in between as the cookies will spread slightly. Bake at 350 for 14-15 minutes, or until the edges of the cookies are set, but the middles seem slightly under done. Let the cookies cool on the hot cookie sheet and they will finish baking as they cool leaving you a perfectly soft center. If they didn’t spread enough for your liking, you can firmly bang the cookie sheet on the counter 2-3 times to help them spread.

Lemon Curd Crinkle Cookies FAQs

• Can I make these cookies gluten free? While I haven’t personally tested it, you should be able to sub the all purpose flour for a gluten free 1 to 1 flour replacement like this one from King Arthur Baking.
• What white chocolate is the best? I like these white chocolate chips, and these white chocolate bars. Either would be great in these cookies!
• Can I freeze these cookies? You could freeze these as dough balls before you roll them in the sugars for up to three months in an airtight container. To bake, just thaw on the counter for 30 minutes, roll in the sugars, and then bake as directed.
• How can I use the leftover egg whites? If you make your own lemon curd plus these cookies you’ll have 4 leftover egg whites. I like to save mine to make an omelet, or even better meringue cookies, pavlova, or swiss meringue buttercream.

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• Soft and Chewy Lemon Sugar Cookies
• Lemon Blueberry Shortbread Bars
• Lemon Olive Oil Cake
• Lemon Curd Donuts