Lemon Tiramisu Cookies

Lemon Tiramisu Cookies are a bright, elegant twist on a classic dessert. Soft, delicate cookies are layered with creamy filling and a hint of citrus, blending the rich flavors of tiramisu with the fresh zing of lemon perfect for a refined treat that feels both light and indulgent.

Prep: 20 min
Cook:10 min
Yield:about 1 Dozen

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1-1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons whole milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
• 3 teaspoons lemon extract
• 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

frosting:

• 1 carton (8 ounces) mascarpone cheese
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• Optional: Baking cocoa and white chocolate shavings

Directions

1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Beat in the egg and extract. In a small bowl, combine milk and instant espresso; stir to dissolve. Add to creamed mixture. Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Cover and chill for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4-in. thickness. Cut with a 4-1/2-in. circle cookie cutter dipped in flour. Place cutouts 2 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake until the edges just begin to brown, 10-12 minutes. Remove to wire racks to cool.
4. For frosting, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add mascarpone, milk, pudding mix and lemon extract. Beat on medium speed until smooth 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe topping to cover each cookie. If desired, dust with baking cocoa and decorate with white chocolate shavings.

Nutrition Facts

1 cookie: 183 calories, 9g fat (6g saturated fat), 37mg cholesterol, 158mg sodium, 21g carbohydrate (11g sugars, 0 fiber), 3g protein.

Notes:

Ideally, you’ll frost only the cookies you need and keep the rest of the cookies unfrosted for storage. Unfrosted cookies can be stored in a tin or tightly lidded container on the counter, but frosted cookies and extra frosting must be kept in the fridge.

Put partly filled piping bags, with the tip folded up slightly so that the frosting stays in the bag, into plastic quart containers for storage.

Unfrosted cookies stored outside of the fridge are best within two to three days, so if you’d like them to last longer, pop them into the fridge from the get-go. The frosting alone, or frosted cookies kept cold, will be good for around three days.

The dough can be made three days in advance and refrigerated in a tightly wrapped disk. You can also slide the disk into a freezer bag and keep the dough frozen for up to three months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge before using.

The filling, on the other hand, is more perishable and can’t be frozen, so you should try to make it the day you want to use it.

There are a few different ways to prevent cookies from flattening and spreading too much in the oven. Starting with cold dough is one of them, so if you notice that the dough has warmed up significantly as you’ve been rolling and cutting, you could chill the cookies for a few minutes on the sheets before baking.

Using ungreased baking sheets helps, too, as does cooling the sheets between batches. (Putting dough directly onto a warm cookie sheet makes spreading much more likely.) That said, you should expect at least a little spread with these cookies.