Lemon Linzer Cookies, grain free and refined sugar free!

These tasty little lemon cookies are just like lemon bars- tart and not too sweet and there’s no need to worry about getting sticky fingers!

Tangy lemon curd made from fresh lemon juice and zest sits in a soft sugar cookie made with almond flour.  

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

These cookies are Paleo, gluten free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and dairy free so you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying them. 

Ingredients

For the paleo lemon curd:

• Eggs and egg yolks – I prefer to use free-range or organic eggs.
• Honey or allulose – If you use honey choose raw honey.
• Fresh lemon juice – I prefer the juice from Meyer lemons
• Lemon zest – Choose organic lemons if you are using the zest.
• Sea salt – I like to cook and bake with sea salt.
• Coconut oil or ghee – If you don’t want a coconut flavor choose refined coconut oil

For the cookie dough:

• Almond flour – I like to buy the almond flour at Costco.
• Arrowroot flour – Arrowroot helps make these cookies crumbly soft.
• Salt – A touch of salt enhances the flavor of these cookies.
• Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract if possible.
• Maple syrup – Choose real maple syrup, not able syrup.
• Coconut oil – If you don’t want to have a coconut flavor then choose refined coconut oil.

Equipment Needed To Make

• Saucepan
• Whisk
• Sieve
• Airtight storage container
• Heart shaped cookie cutter
• Rolling pin
• Food processor
• Cookie sheet

How To Make

Lemon curd:

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together eggs, yolks, honey, lemon juice, salt, and zest. Add coconut oil or ghee, and turn the heat on low.
2. Stirring constantly, cook on low until the coconut oil or ghee is completely melted and incorporated.
3. Turn heat to medium. Continue stirring as the mixture thickens, about 5-7 minutes. Tiny bubbles will begin to surface when the mixture is done.
4. Immediately remove from heat and strain through a sieve. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. The curd will continue to thicken as it sets.
5. Chill for at least 1 hour before using. I usually make my lemon curd the night before I make my cookies, that way I am not too impatient to get the cookies together and I can be sure the lemon curd is cool!

Cookie dough:

1. You will need 2 sizes of heart shaped cookie cutters– one large and one small
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
3. Add the almond flour, arrowroot and salt to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until fully combined. Next add vanilla, maple syrup and melted coconut oil. Pulse until well combined. The dough will be crumbly in texture. Gather up the dough into a disc shape and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
4. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper to a thickness of about ¼”. Cut out as many large hearts as will fit and cut small hearts in the center of half of your large hearts. Transfer the dough shapes to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. If the dough gets too soft, pop it back in the refrigerator for a few minutes.
5. Bake the cut-out cookies for 7-8 minutes. They will still be soft when they are removed from the oven and a very light golden color. These cookies are best slightly under baked if you like a soft sugar cookie. If you like your sugar cookies crisper, leave them in the oven until very lightly browned at the edges
6. Cool the cookies completely before decorating.
7. Once the heart cookies are cooled, remove the lemon curd from the refrigerator. Spread lemon curd on the large heart shapes (without a hole). To spread the lemon curd, you can use a small spoon or a pastry bag or even a small plastic bag with one corner cut off to create your own pastry bag! Place the heart cookies with the centers cut out gently on top of the lemon curd and press them into place. Sprinkle with powdered monkfruit sweetener and enjoy!

Storage

These lemon linzer cookies will keep for a few days on the counter if they are stored in an airtight container.

Pro Tips

• Let your lemons come to room temperature before juicing them.
• Use fresh lemons to make the juice, bottled lemon juice won’t give you the same fresh, tart taste.
• Let the eggs come to room temperature before baking with them.
• Don’t compromise on the cooling time for the lemon curd.

FAQs

Why are they called “linzer?”

These cookies are named after a torte that is called a Linzer Torte. The Linzer Torte originated in Austria and consisted of pastry dough and jam.

Can I use bottled lemon juice to make these lemon cookies?

Technically bottled lemon juice can be used to make these cookies but I suggest you juice fresh lemons to get the nice, fresh tart taste you get from fresh lemon juice.

What can I substitute for the almond flour?

If you can’t get a hold of almond flour you could substitute cashew or walnut flour though I haven’t baked these cookies with anything other than almond flour.

What can I substitute for arrowroot flour?

If you don’t have any arrowroot flour on hand you can substitute cornstarch. If you do use cornstarch I recommend you choose organic cornstarch.

Can I use a different shape cookie cutter to make these cookies?

Yes you can use a different shape of cookie cutter as long as you have two sizes of the same shape.

Did you make this recipe? If you did don’t forget to tag me and share on Instagram!