If you’ve read a few of my posts, you’ll have worked out that as much as I love baking, I equally love outsourcing and indulging in the offerings of the many great bakeries around me.
One of my local bakeries makes oversized lemon curd almond macaroon cookies. They are hard to resist, especially if lemon curd is as much of a soft spot for you as it is for me. The cookies have a chewy almond texture, are finished with tart, buttery lemon curd and then brûléed on top. Delicious!
The last time I indulged in one, I thought, why not have a go at making my own? As it turns out, they are much less intimidating than they look sitting on the bakery shelf.
My version is a smaller, standard cookie size, although you can easily make them oversized. I also skipped the brûlée part. It felt like too much effort in the end, but if you’re keen to get out the blowtorch, by all means add a little crisp caramelised sugar on top.
The almond cookie base is naturally gluten free and there’s no mixer required, making these a particularly good option when you want maximum cookie reward for minimal effort. The lemon curd is equally straightforward – everything goes into a small saucepan and comes together quickly. None of it is tricky or particularly time-consuming.
These are well worth making, and you’ll have lemon curd left over to continue baking with – try these Brown Butter Lemon & Raspberry Mini Cakes – or keep it in the fridge to swirl through vanilla ice cream, spread on toast, spoon onto a scone or croissant, or simply eat straight from the jar. It’s that good!
Worth Making?
YES — if you love almond and sharp lemon together. The rich almond cookie needs something tart, and the lemon curd provides exactly that.
YES — if you want a naturally gluten-free cookie that’s also easy to throw together. Almond meal is what gives these their distinctive soft, slightly chewy texture.
YES — if you want something a little different from another lemon cookie. The open lemon curd centre gives you plenty of lemon without turning the entire cookie into one flavour.
SKIP IT — if you’re looking for a crisp, conventional cookie. These are deliberately thick and soft with a texture somewhere between an almond cookie and a macaroon.
SKIP IT — if you don’t like the slightly dense, moist texture of almond-based baking. These aren’t intended to have the crumb of a flour-based cookie.
Lemon Curd Almond Macaroon Cookies
Ingredients
Almond Macaroon Cookie
- 200 g fine almond meal
- 120 g caster sugar
- 2 g fine salt
- 65 g egg white
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ⅛ –¼ tsp almond extract optional
Lemon Curd
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 130 g caster sugar
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 120 ml fresh lemon juice
- 100 g unsalted butter
- Pinch fine sea salt
Instructions
Almond Macaroon Cookie
- Mix the almond meal, sugar and salt. Add egg white and the extracts. Mix into a thick, sticky almond paste. Chill for 30–45 minutes.
- Portion into 35–40 g balls. Don’t flatten them. Put them on the tray as fairly tall rounded mounds.
- Now press a thumb or the rounded end of a small utensil firmly into the centre to make a deep well, while keeping a thick wall of dough around it.
- Bake at 165°C fan for about 10 minutes. You want a lightly golden outside but a soft, moist, chewy centre. They’ll firm considerably as they cool.
- Once completely cool, spoon thick lemon curd into the wells so it’s almost level with the top.
Lemon Curd
- Whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice together. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continuously, until thickened and around 82–84°C.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter and salt until smooth. Strain, cover the surface directly and chill completely.
- The cookie batch should only need around 120–150 g, so you’ll have curd left over
Make it your own way
Change the curd — try passionfruit, lime or blood orange curd instead of lemon.
Dial up the almond — add a little almond extract for a stronger marzipan-like flavour.
Keep it subtle — leave out the almond extract and let the almond meal provide the almond flavour.
Make them larger — portion into larger cookies for an indulgent dessert size version and increase the baking time accordingly.
