Do you know the old saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade”? Well, I think you should make these cookies instead! The rich, tangy and buttery goodness of these Lemon Tea Cookies will make your afternoon snack session So Much Sweeter!

Filled in a sweet and tart lemon buttercream, these scrumptious sandwich cookies are topped with chopped nuts for a tasty fusion of flavors that captivates the palate and leaves you wanting more and more with each bite.

Easy To Make

Lemon Tea Cookies are effortless to make. All you have to do is combine all the ingredients into the dough, refrigerate, portion the dough, then bake the cookies. It will take about 25 minutes to prep this recipe and 10 minutes to bake each batch.

Make-Ahead Of Time

Our Lemon Tea Cookie recipe is delectable and comes together in under half an hour! However, the dough requires a chilled time of several hours. These are the perfect cookies to make ahead of time as you can get the prepping out of the way fairly quickly and store them in the fridge until you’re ready to bake them. 

How To Serve Lemon Tea Cookies?

These cookies are best served at room temperature, Whether you decide to serve them single or layer them in lemon filling and make a sandwich. I recommend serving them with tea or coffee but if you’re feeling for a cool and refreshing beverage, just pair it with a glass of lemonade or any juice.

Serving Size

From this one recipe, you can get up to four and a half dozen cookies! No need to adjust your eyes, you saw right; With a yield of 54 cookies, you can accommodate guests at a small party, have a bake sale or bake what you need and store the rest of the dough for later.

Equipment Needed

Electric Mixer– You can use an electric hand mixer for this recipe; a stand mixer will also work.

Bowl– You’ll need at least 2 bowls to make the dough and mix the filling. One small and one large.

Baking Sheet– Use standard-sized baking sheets to bake the cookies.

Citrus Zester– Use this to zest an orange for the filling.

Main Ingredients 

Butter– For this recipe, I softened 3/4 cup and 3 tablespoons of room-temperature butter to make both the cookies and filling.

Walnuts– I used 1/4 cup of finely chopped walnuts to top the cookies just before baking. Use whatever nuts you like best or exclude them if you’re allergic.

Substitutes

Powdered Sugar– If you’re low on powdered sugar, you can use make some—Blend 1 cup of granulated sugar and 1 tablespoon arrowroot.

White Sugar– If there isn’t any white sugar immediately available, use an equal amount of brown sugar to replace it.

All The Ingredients

• Butter– Creamed with sugar.
• Sugar– Gives sweetness to the cookies.
• Egg Yolk– Added to the cream mixture with the vanilla.
• Vanilla– Gives the cookies flavors.
• Flour– Added to the egg mixture for structure.
• Walnuts– Finely chopped and used to top half of the cookies before baking.
• Lemon Juice– Gives a tangy flavor to the filling.
• Orange Zest– Combined with butter, lemon juice, and powdered sugar to make the filling.
• Powdered Sugar– Gives sweetness and thickness to the filling.
• Food Coloring– Used to color the filling a yellow color.

How Did I Make Lemon Tea Cookies?

1. I cream the butter and sugar for about 6 minutes until smooth and combined.
2. I added the egg yolk and vanilla next, mixing just long enough to combine, and added the flour gradually until it was incorporated and formed a dough.
3. I cut the dough in half, shaped both pieces into 14-inch rolls, and then patted them into a 14×1/8×1/8 inch block.
4. I tightly covered the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until the next day; I heated the oven to 400 degrees.
5. I removed the dough from the fridge, unwrapped it, and cut it into 1/4 inch slices.
6. I transferred the dough slices to a baking sheet, allowing 2-inches of space between them, then I sprinkled the chopped nuts on over half the number of cookies.
7. I lightly pressed the nuts into the cookies’ tops and baked them for about 10 minutes until the edges brown slightly, then placed them on a wire rack to cool.
8. Combine all the filling ingredients in a bowl until smooth, then place a teaspoon between two cookies with the plain on the bottom and nutted ones on top.

Why Wrap The Dough In Plastic?

Once I had divided the dough in two and shaped it into a block, I wrapped both in cling wrap and refrigerated overnight. Why wrap it? I did this to prevent the dough from drying out and cracking during the long chill time.

Chill The Dough

For this recipe, I chilled the cookie dough overnight before portioning and baking it, but what if you don’t have an entire night to spare? If that’s the case, chill the dough in the freezer. 

First, wrap them in plastic or place them in an air-proof container and pop them into the freezer for about 30-35 minutes. This hack should only be used as a last resort as the recipe does call for an entire night of chilling.

How To Store Lemon Tea Cookies

If your friends and family are anything like mine, there will be nothing left to store when they’re through! If you have any of these tangy treats left, I recommend storing them in an airtight container (in a single layer) for up to 6 days at room temp.

For a long-term storage solution, flash freeze the cookies until solid, cover in tin foil and freeze for up to a month.

If you’re still wondering why you should make these tasty cookies, allow me to remind you! They’re easy to make, are perfect for making ahead of time due to the long chill time. The recipe yields a whopping 54 cookies, plenty to share with friends and family alike, and they’re delicious! The real question is, why haven’t you made them yet?

Lemon Tea Cookies

Yield: 4 1/2 dozen

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Yummy lemon cookies, perfect for your next mid-morning brunch with friends!

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Ingredients

Cookies

• 3/4 cup butter (softened)
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup walnuts (finely chopped)

Filling

• 4 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tbs butter (softened)
• 3/4 tsp orange zest
• 2 drops of yellow food coloring
• 1 1/ cups powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar for about 5-7 minutes until light and smooth, add the vanilla and egg yolk, then mix to combine.
2. Gradually mix in the flour until it forms a dough. Cut the dough into 2 equal parts and shape each piece into a 14-inch roll.
3. Shape the dough into a block 14x1/8 inches, wrap, and chill overnight in the fridge.
4. Preheat the oven to 400°F or 200°C.
5. Remove from fridge and cut into 1/4 inch slices and place on a non-stick cookie sheet, sprinkle with nuts and press them down gently into the dough.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 8-10 minutes or until light brown around the edges. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
7. To make the filling, cream the butter, sugar, orange zest, and lemon juice until fluffy.
8. Add the powdered sugar to the creamed mixture slowly and mix until smooth and lump-free.
9. Using a few drops of yellow coloring, lightly tint the filling, then spread a teaspoon worth onto the bottom of a cookie(without nuts), and cover with a cookie topped in nuts.