Lemon Bar Cookie Cups Recipe with the Best Sugar Cookie Mix
Lemon Bars are a favorite of mine, so turning them into a cookie cup has been so much fun! There is something so wonderful about cookies baked in a mini muffin pan. A two bite cookie that you can fill with whatever you want totally rocks. It makes them so versatile. These Lemon Bar Cookie Cups are a perfectly baked sugar cookie cup that is filled with a super quick homemade lemon filling. You are going to want to grab the recipe and make them for yourself.
Not only are Lemon Bars one of my favorites but they are also a favorite of my Tale’s.
Growing up it was a dessert she asked for a lot when it was her birthday or any other occasion that she got to choose the sweet treat.
Birthdays were always a fun time for my kids because they could chose whatever they wanted for dessert.
When they were little it was all about decorated cakes {think race car and Barbie} but the older they got things like these Lemon Bar Cookie Cups is what they asked for.
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Tips & tricks to achieve the most delicious cookies of your life!
How to make Lemon Bar Cookie Cups with a Sugar Cookie Mix
Begin by combining the sugar cookie mix with softened butter and an egg.
I like to use a hand held mixer to be sure I get everything mixed nicely but you can also do this step by hand.
Use a small cookie scoop and scoop mounds of dough into each cavity of the mini muffin pan that has been liberally sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
Then go back and press down the top of each cookie dough mound with your fingers to get a flat top.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 9-11 minutes or until the sugar cookie dough has puffed up.
It might also drop in the middle while it bakes but that doesn’t matter.
Once you remove them from the oven, immediately run a knife around the edges to release the sides so they don’t stick.
The next step is to take a tart shaper and press down the middle of each cookie.
This is going to give you the perfect spot for the lemon filling.
Quick Homemade Lemon Filling
Combine butter and sugar in a medium saucepan. Cream the two ingredients together and then add the egg yolks. Mix to combine.
Finally, add the lemon juice and zest and whisk until combined. Cook over medium heat until smooth and thick.
Be sure to whisk most of the time.
Once the mixture is ready, pour it out onto a sheet pan and spread it out.
This will make cooling the filling super quick. You can even put it in the refrigerator to speed up the process.
Once the lemon filling is cooled, spoon a teaspoon of it into each cookie indention.
It might take a bit more than a teaspoon, so adjust by filling to just under the top of the cookie edge.
The last step is to sprinkle each Lemon Bar Cookie Cup with powdered sugar.
A few pieces of the lemon zest on top is always nice too. That way everyone knows exactly what they are about to eat.
They really are the perfect cookie bite. Anyone who loves lemon {and even people who say they don’t} will be ready to gobble these babies down.
5 Tips for making Lemon Bar Cookie Cups
- Use a small cookie scoop to get just the right amount of dough into each mini muffin cup.
- Take a knife and run it around the edge of each cookie to loosen just as soon as you remove them from the oven.
- Use a tart shaper to make an even indentation into the middle of each cookie. If you don’t have a tart shaper, use the end of a wooden spoon.
- Cool the lemon filling on a cookie sheet so that it will cool quickly.
- Add fresh lemon zest to the top of each cookie so that everyone will know that it is lemon flavored.
Do you love cookie cups? Try these recipes…
- Boston Cream Pie Cookie Bites
- Black Bottom Cake Cookie Cups
- Banana Pudding Cookie Cups
- Cannoli Cookie Cups
- Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cookie Cups
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Lemon Bar Cookie Cups Recipe
Ingredients
Sugar Cookie Cup
- 1-17.5 oz. pkg. Sugar Cookie Mix
- 1/2 cup butter {softened}
- 1 egg
Lemon Bar Filling
- 6 tbsp butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 egg yolks
- 2/3 cup lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
Topping
- 3 tbsp powdered sugar
Instructions
Sugar Cookie Cup
- Combine sugar cookie mix, 1 stick of softened butter and egg with a hand held mixer {or by hand} until you have a thick dough.
- Generously spray each cup of the mini muffin tin. Use a small cookie scoop and scoop a mound of dough into each cup. Press the top of the mound down slightly with your fingers so that you have a level top.
- Bake for 9-11 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately run a knife around the edge of each cookie to loosen them. Once the cookies are loose, take a tart shaper and create an indentation into the middle of each cookie.
- Allow the cookies to cool and bake the remainder of the dough.
Quick Lemon Filling
- In a medium sauce pan, cream together the butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and mix until well combined. Add lemon juice and lemon zest, continue to whisk until totally combined. Turn the burner on over medium heat and whisk until it is smooth and thick.
- Pour the mixture onto a cookie sheet and spread out into an even layer so that it cools quickly. Once cooled, spoon a teaspoon {or so} into each cookie cup. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and lemon zest before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an air tight container for up to 4 days.
