Description
These Lemon Crème Brûlée Cookies combine a lemon-infused sugar cookie base with a rich, creamy lemon pastry cream center, topped with a brûléed sugar crust for a delightful citrusy and crunchy treat perfect for any occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
Lemon Pastry Cream
- 2 1/4 cups whole milk
- 6 egg yolks
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp granulated white sugar
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut in cubes
Lemon Sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
Lemon Sugar Cookies
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 2 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar (for the brûlée topping)
Instructions
- Heat the Milk: In a medium saucepan, heat the milk over medium-low heat just until it’s steaming. Then, turn heat down to low until ready to use.
- Mix Egg Yolk Mixture: In a large bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest, salt, vanilla bean paste, and cornstarch until combined and pale yellow.
- Temper Eggs: Add 1/4 of the heated milk to the egg mixture while stirring vigorously, then add the remaining milk and stir to combine.
- Cook Pastry Cream: Transfer mixture back to saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat and cook for 12 minutes, whisking continuously until thickened and soft peaks form.
- Finish Pastry Cream: Remove from heat, add butter, and mix until combined. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface and chill until cold.
- Prepare Lemon Sugar: Combine granulated sugar and lemon zest in a bowl. Set aside.
- Preheat Oven & Prepare Pans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Using a mixer, cream softened butter and granulated sugar on high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add Wet Ingredients: Add egg, vanilla bean paste, and lemon zest; mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Combine Dough: Slowly add dry ingredients, mixing on low just until dough comes together.
- Form Cookies: Scoop dough into balls, roll each ball in lemon sugar mixture, place on prepared sheets, and slightly flatten.
- Bake Cookies: Bake 9-10 minutes, then cool on sheets 5 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Use a cookie cutter to perfect shapes if desired.
- Assemble Cookies: Fill a piping bag with chilled pastry cream. Pipe cream on top of each cooled cookie.
- Brûlée Topping: Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon granulated sugar on each filled cookie. Use a kitchen torch to brûlée the sugar until golden brown and fragrant.
- Serve: Let brûléed cookies cool 10 minutes before serving. Add pastry cream only when ready to serve to prevent sogginess.
Notes
- Make sure the pastry cream is fully chilled before piping to achieve best texture and prevent melting.
- Use fresh lemon zest for bright and vibrant flavor in all components.
- If you don’t have a kitchen torch, place cookies briefly under a very hot broiler watching carefully to brûlée.
- The cookies are best enjoyed fresh after assembling, as they may become soggy if stored assembled for long periods.
- You can prepare the pastry cream and cookie dough ahead of time to save assembly day.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 220 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 7 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
