These lemon sandwich cookies with strawberry frosting are soft, chewy and bursting with flavor. You get two chewy lemon cookies with strawberry buttercream in the middle that’s made from real berries. Perfect for spring!
I love the combination of tart lemons and sweet strawberries, and these lemon sandwich cookies with strawberry frosting just might be the perfect recipe. The cookies are soft and chewy, and the lemon flavor tastes like sunshine. By using strawberry frosting instead of lemon frosting or vanilla frosting in the middle – you really take these cookies to the next level.
For the Lemon Cookies
The lemon cookies are adapted from my lemon sugar cookies recipe – however, I wanted the cookies to be softer and chewier so that they’re better for sandwiching. The lemon flavor comes from lemon zest and lemon extract. Using lemon extract instead of freshly squeezed lemon juice means that the cookies keep their chewy texture. I found that using lemon juice meant that I had to use a lot more – and using a lot of liquid means that the cookie texture changes.
You can find lemon extract in the baking aisle of your grocery store. I have, however, included a substitution using freshly squeezed lemon juice in the recipe. Just know that the lemon flavor won’t be quite as prominent.
For the Strawberry Frosting
The strawberry frosting is made with real berries. This means that it does require a few extra steps. You’ll first need to core the strawberries, then pulse the berries in a food processor or blender until the berries are a puree. You’ll strain out the seeds – this is optional, but I prefer the frosting with no seeds. The puree is then boiled down until it’s thick like jam. You can see the before and after below.
Once the puree is boiled down and fully cooled, making the frosting is very simple. You’ll beat together the butter, powdered sugar, reduced and cooled strawberry puree, and salt. You can add in a drop of red food coloring for a brighter pink color, but I typically don’t find it necessary.
Baking Tips & Tricks
- Make sure to measure the flour carefully – otherwise the cookies can become dry and thick. Use a scale and with the flour in grams. Or if using measuring cups, whisk the flour first. Then spoon into dry measuring cups and level off the top.
- Use a cookie scoop to form your cookie dough into balls. This will ensure that your cookies are al the same size – which is key for sandwiching.
- If you want to save time, you can substitute the reduced strawberry puree with 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam. Skip the steps of puree-ing the berries and boiling down the puree.
- The reduced strawberry puree must be fully cooled before adding it to the frosting – otherwise it will melt the butter and the frosting will be too thin.
- Because the puree needs to fully cool, I recommend puree-ing the berries and boiling it down before making the cookies. This will give it the time to cool fully before making the frosting.
- Of course, if you prefer to make a vanilla frosting for these lemon sandwich cookies you can do so. You’ll need:
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cream. You can also substitute the cream with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice for a lemon frosting recipe.
Two super soft lemon cookies, sweet strawberry frosting – yup, these lemon sandwich cookies are just the perfect recipe. And if you love the flavor combo of lemon and berries, then be sure to try:
Lemon Sandwich Cookies with Strawberry Frosting
Equipment
- Cookie Sheets
Ingredients
Lemon Cookies
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour (219 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened but not starting to melt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
Strawberry Frosting
- 8 ounces strawberries (226 grams) cored
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (168 grams) slightly softened, but not starting to melt
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar (330-440 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream (15 ml) if needed
Instructions
Lemon Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or baking mats.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy (you will still see granules of sugar).
- Beat in the egg, vanilla extract and lemon extract into the butter mixture until incorporated and you no longer see pieces of egg.
- Starting with the mixer on a low speed, beat the flour mixture into the butter mixture. I typically do this about ½ at a time until all the flour mixture has been added.
- Form the cookie dough into balls with about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons of dough each. Use a cookie scoop for uniform balls. They should each be a bit smaller than a golf ball.
- Bake 1 cookie sheet at a time in the middle of the oven for about 9-11 minutes, or until the tops look just set. If your cookies don't spread as much as you'd like - flatten the cookie dough balls before baking. You'll get about 24 cookies in total - which will give you 12 cookie sandwiches.
- Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for at least 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
Strawberry Frosting
- Core the berries. Then add the berries to a food processor or blender and pulse until the berries are a puree.
- Pour the puree through a metal sifter to remove the seeds. You will likely need to press it through using the back of a metal spoon or rubber spatula.
- Add the seedless puree to a small saucepan over low-medium heat. Bring the puree to a very gentle boil (not a rapid bowl - or the puree can burn) while gently stirring. Continue to boil the puree while gently stirring until it is thick like jam and a deep red color. This may take anywhere from 10-20 minutes.
- Remove from the stove. Cool the puree fully. You can speed this up by transferring the reduced puree to a different bowl and cooling in the fridge.
- Once the puree is fully cooled, in a large bowl beat the butter until smooth.
- Add in 2 cups powdered sugar along with the salt. Beat together, starting with the mixer on a low speed and gradually increasing to medium speed until incorporated.
- Add in 2 tablespoons of the fully cooled reduced strawberry puree and beat until incorporated.
- Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time, adding in 1 more tablespoon of the cooled and reduced strawberry puree. Adding more sugar will make the frosting thicker. If needed, beat in 1 tablespoon of cream. Adding in the cream will make the frosting thinner and less sweet.
Assembling the Cookies
- Once the cookies are fully cooled, spread the bottom of 1 cookie with strawberry frosting. Then place a second cookie on top and flatten slightly. Repeat with the rest of the cookies.
Notes
- Lemon Extract: This can be found in the baking aisle near the vanilla extract. It can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Do not use lemon juice from a bottle.
- Strawberries: Instead of using strawberries, pureeing them, and then boiling down - simply skip steps 1-4 of the frosting and substitute the reduced puree with strawberry jam. Use 2-3 tablespoons of high quality strawberry preserves or jam.
- Storage: Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 8 hours or in the fridge for up to 4 days. Unfrosted cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only and based on 1 cookie sandwich, assuming the recipe yields 12 uniform cookie sandwiches and all the frosting is used.
Leave a Reply