Lemon Sandwich Cookies With Lemon Curd (Vegan, Gluten Free)

Ingredients

Lemon curd

zest of 2 organic lemons
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 2 large lemons
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup water
1.5 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons almond milk
pinch turmeric powder, for color

Lemon Cookies

1 cup almond flour
3/4 cup Bob Red's Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1 teaspoon turmeric, for color
1/8 teaspoon sea salt
7 tablespoons coconut oil
6 tablespoons agave syrup, *see notes
zest of 1 organic lemon

Matcha leaf cookies

1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch
6 tablespoons Bob Red's Mill 1:1 Gluten Free Flour
1 teaspoon matcha, sifted
3 tablespoons agave syrup
3 tablespoons coconut oil

Icing

1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup vegan butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 teaspoons almond milk, as needed to thin

Instructions

Lemon curd

Start by making the lemon curd so it has time to cool in the fridge. In a small pot add the lemon zest, lemon juice, water, sugar and cornstarch. Whisk until combined. Turn the heat to medium, whisking periodically. Once it starts to bubble the mixture will thicken. Turn off the heat and add the almond milk and coconut oil. Whisk until combined. Add just a pinch of turmeric and whisk. The color will darken as it sits. Transfer it to a container and place in the fridge to cool. Stir it periodically to help it cool down quicker. In the meantime, start on the cookies.

Lemon cookies

Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, Bob's Red Mill 1:1 flour, tapioca starch, turmeric, lemon zest and sea salt. Stir until there are no clumps.
Add the melted coconut oil and agave directly into the dry ingredients. Stir and use your hands to form the dough into a ball. It should stick together without any dryness. If the dough is too soft to roll out place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until the dough is 1/4" thick. Cut out the cookies with your cutter. Use an offset spatula to carefully transfer the cookies to the lined baking sheet. Form the leftover dough into a ball and roll out again until all the dough is used. Set the cookies aside while you make the matcha dough. If it is very warm you may want to place the cookies in the fridge.

Matcha leaf cookies

These are essentially half a batch of the lemon cookie dough without the turmeric and lemon zest. In a small bowl mix the dry ingredients – almond flour, Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Flour, tapioca starch and sifted matcha. Stir until there are no clumps. Add the melted coconut oil and agave straight into the dry ingredients and mix. The dough should be sticky and hold together. If the dough is too soft to roll out place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Roll the dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until the dough is 1/4" thick. I used a small pairing knife to cut out the leaves since I didn't have a cookie cutter small enough (see photo in post). You can gently smooth out the leaves with your fingers to shape them how you would like. Place them onto the lemon cookies and gently press down. You will have leftover matcha dough which can be cut out and baked as cookies (they also taste great with lemon curd). If the dough gets warm and is too soft to roll out place it in the fridge for 15-20 minutes.
Bake the cookies for 10 minutes. Watch carefully so they don't brown too much. They should be a light golden brown around the edges. Let them cool on the pan for 15 minutes and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Vanilla Icing

In a medium sized bowl add the room temperature butter and beat with a hand mixture. Sift in the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time and beat. Next add the vanilla extract and almond milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, until a smooth and pipeable consistency is reached.

Assembly

Once the cookies and lemon curd are cooled start to assemble the cookies. Place the icing into a piping bag or use a ziplock bag and cut the tip. Flip th bottom cookies upside down and pipe the icing around the outer edges to make a border (see photo in post). Add a spoonful of the lemon curd in the middle. Place the top cookie and gently press down. They are best eaten the same day. Keep them stored in the fridge. Enjoy!

Notes

*For the cookies I like to use light agave syrup to keep the cookies a light color. Maple syrup can be substituted but the color of the cookies will be slightly darker. If subbing with maple syrup you may need to use 1 tablespoon less.

Nutrition