Easy Lemon Pecan Cookies: Fancy Enough for a Cookie Tray
Sneak Preview: Easy Lemon Pecan Cookies are traditional thumbprint cookies featuring a lemon curd filling in the middle. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or drizzle with icing for a dressier look. The pecans make these cookies unique and extra flavorful.
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Are you looking for a lemon cookie to add to your Christmas cookie tray or a sweet bite to end a meal? These miniature desserts would be my first choice. You don’t have to chill the dough or do anything ahead of time. Make, bake, and serve.
A couple of nights ago, my husband and my Alabama sister went through my freezer looking for these cookies. After eating several, they said, “Be sure to tell everybody these are really good.”
I replied, “Thank-you. Get out of my freezer!”
Happy Bakers Speak Up
“I made these for a cookie exchange and was a little afraid because not everyone likes lemon the way I do. I think folks were so tired of chocolate that these were among the first to go. I will definitely make them again. I also want to put Rob on my speed dial.” —SCOOTER
Recipe Inspiration
My Easy Lemon Cookies are a variation of my husband’s favorite Christmas Thumbprint Cookies.
Three Ways To Save Time and Make This Recipe Simple
- I mixed the pecans into the dough instead of rolling dough balls in egg whites and chopped pecans. Feel free to leave out the pecans altogether if you prefer.
- I used lemon curd (storebought or homemade) instead of frosting in the center.
- I sprinkled the finished cookies with powdered sugar. I’ll also show you a variation with vanilla frosting.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- FLOUR: The flour of choice in this recipe is all-purpose, bleached, or unbleached.
- PECANS: Since the pecans are inside the cookie, toasting them will add flavor. You can toast them in the oven, but I prefer to toast all the nuts in a microwave. Be sure they cool before adding them to the cookies. Pecans are optional. Leave them out or swap them for another chopped nut of your choice.
- SALT: I use table salt or sea salt. If using Kosher salt, add a pinch more.
- BUTTER: Let the butter (salted or unsalted) come to room temperature for the best results. I don’t recommend substituting margarine for butter. The buttery flavor is the calling card of this recipe.
- SUGAR: The recipe was tested with granulated white sugar.
- EGG YOLK: Egg yolks add richness to this cookie. Adding the egg white will change the texture. Freeze the egg white and save it for another recipe like this fabulous angel food cake.
- LEMON CURD: You only need about ⅓ cup, so buy the ready-made stuff if you can find it at the grocery store. If not, here’s my recipe for making lemon curd in the microwave. If you prefer, use the orange curd or lime curd variation in that recipe.
- POWDERED SUGAR: You’ll need confectioners’ sugar (aka powdered sugar or XXXX sugar) to sprinkle over the top of the cookies or make a frosting if that’s what you prefer.
📌Kitchen Secrets📌 for Lemon Pecan Cookies
- Toasting the pecans makes a difference. Skip it and miss out on the extra flavor. Toasting nuts takes only 1-2 minutes with a microwave.
- Putting the cookies in the oven for a couple of minutes before making a crater helps soften the dough so you won’t have big cracks around the edge that leak filling. No guarantees–you may still get a few–but it works for me.
- Be sure cookies are completely cooled before dusting them with powdered sugar, or the sugar will melt and disappear. If this happens, dust them again. No harm done.
How To Make Lemon Pecan Cookies with a Lemon Curd Filling
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
Step 3: Combine the chopped pecans, flour, and salt in a medium bowl and set to the side.
Note: The reason you see different colors of lemon curd is that I used store-bought curd in some of the cookies and homemade lemon curd (the lighter lemon color) in others. They turned out equally well.
Step 12. If you crave sweetness, drizzle the cookies with powdered sugar icing. Or give each cookie a sprinkling of confectioners’ sugar. (I use a small tea strainer to create a uniform effect.)
FAQs About Lemon Pecan Cookies
Yes. Double wrap (plastic wrap and a plastic storage bag or container) and store in the freezer for a month. Be sure to place paper or plastic wrap between every single layer of cookies. If you sprinkled them with powdered sugar originally, you might want to give them another sprinkle after defrosting.
Yes, it is made with eggs. That means these cookies need to be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Spray or grease your baking pans or cookie sheets with an aerosol spray oil like PAM. High-quality non-stick pans may need nothing.
Random Thoughts: If you need a dessert after a nice meal, one or two of these cookies are perfect. Keep them handy in the freezer (but you might need to hide them, like I do). Here are some more cookies to consider if you like these: Thumbprint Cookies, Pink Shortbread Cookies, and Meyer Lemon Yogurt Squares
Need help troubleshooting? Email me: Paula at saladinajar.com—photos welcome!
Easy Lemon Pecan Cookies: Fancy Enough for a Cookie Tray
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
- ⅔ cup (72 g) pecans, toasted and chopped (see toasting instructions)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar
- 1 (18 g) egg yolk
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (56 g) lemon curd homemade or storebought
- ¼ cup (30 g) confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).
- Place 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour, ⅔ cup (72 g) pecans, toasted and chopped, and ⅛ teaspoon salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Use an electric mixer to combine ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter and ⅓ cup (66 g) granulated sugar beating until light-colored and fluffy.
- Add 1 (18 g) egg yolk and ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, mixing well.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and gently combine just until the flour disappears. Scrape the bowl a couple of times to ensure no streaks of butter are left unmixed.
- Roll dough into tablespoon-size balls and place onto a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (If dough is too soft to handle, chill for about 30 minutes.)
- Bake for 2 minutes. Open the oven door and use a small cork, the small end of a round-handled wooden spoon, or your finger to make an indentation in the middle of each cookie. Bake another 8-9 minutes.
- Working quickly, re-indent the center of each cookie. fill it with a half-teaspoon of ¼ cup (56 g) lemon curd. Return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes until cookies start to brown on the edges.
- Fill the indentation or cavity with a half teaspoon of lemon curd.
- Return to the oven for another 8-10 minutes until cookies start to brown on the edges.
- Allow the cookies to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove them to a wire rack. When completely cool, sprinkle them with¼ cup (30 g) confectioners sugar or ice with frosting (see the notes below).
Notes
Nutrition
All images and text ©️ Paula Rhodes for Salad in a Jar.com
Paula Rhodes, owner
As a retired home economist, I created Saladinajar.com to share my belief that you don’t have to be a chef to find joy in creating homemade food worth sharing. Bread machines (used in an unconventional way), homemade yogurt, and quick microwave recipes are my specialty.