Lemon Sugar Cookie Cups

Why This is the Best Recipe

• Budget-Friendly: With just two ingredients plus berries, this is a party dessert you can make on a budget.
• Prep Ahead: Save time on your busy party day by baking the cookie cups in advance.
• Pretty for the Buffet Table: These elegant lemon tarts are just perfect for any festivity.

Ingredients

• Sugar Cookie Dough: I used two tubes of prepared dough from the store but you could also make a batch of homemade sugar cookie dough in advance and refrigerate it.
• Lemon Curd: You can buy jarred lemon curd from the grocery store, Trader Joe's is especially good. But I've made these with my easy homemade lemon curd and it makes a huge difference if you have the time.
• Fresh Fruit for Garnish: I used blueberries because they matched our party theme but fresh strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries would all be great choices. If you don't want to use fruit, you could sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top instead.

Prepare the Cookie Cups

I have a metal mini muffin tin and the cookie cups baked up nicely in them but a silicone mini muffin pan might help you to get the cookie cups out of the wells with less breakage. I have tips for working with both kinds of pan.

Metal Pan:
Spray with cooking spray so the cookies can release easier.

Silicone Pan:
Place on a metal baking pan to help stabilize the surface in the oven and help with the tapping step.

I sliced each log of cookie dough into 1/4-inch thick pieces and shaped the dough into a ball.

Drop one cookie dough ball into each well, you should get 12 balls from each log of dough.

Then use a small tart shaper, the back of a spoon, or even your fingers to press the cookie dough ball into a cup shape in the pan.

Baking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

You'll bake the cookie cups for 11 - 13 minutes total but as the cookies bake they will puff up and you'll lose the cup shape.

Half way through baking, you'll want to gently "bang" the pan against the stove top. This will deflate the puffy cookies and help them form their cup shape again.

If you used a metal baking pan, this is very easy to do. Just tap the bottom of the pan on the stovetop once or twice and the cookies will properly deflate.

If you used a silicone baking pan, it would be harder to bang on its own. In this case, I suggest putting the silicone baking pan on a metal baking sheet. Then you can lift the metal baking sheet to do the deflating taps as needed.

Remove the Cookie Cups from the Pan

It is very important to time the removal of the cookie cups just right or they will stick to the pan and break when you try to remove them.

You can't pull them out too soon, or they'll crumble. If you let them cool completely, they'll stick.

Set a timer for about 5 minutes or so. Work one cup at a time and gently turn the cookie cup in the well before lifting it out. This helps ensure it hasn't stuck to the walls or bottom of the well and loosens it up a little before you pull it out.

This is where a silicone baking mat would be highly beneficial. I'd still recommend waiting 5 minutes for the cookie cups to set, but then you could gently push up on the bottom of the well to release the cup without the twisting.

Final Assembly Tips

Let the cookie cups cool completely before you fill them with the lemon curd.

Simply use a spoon to ladle the filling into each cup.

Garnish with a pretty fresh berry and/or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

Make Ahead Tips

When I prepped these for my daughter's graduation party, I baked the cookie cups the day before and kept them in an airtight container on the counter overnight.

The morning of the party, I filled them with the lemon curd and let them chill in the fridge on a platter. Then they were ready to put out on the buffet table once our guests arrived.

We had a couple of the lemon sugar cookie cups leftover after the party. I stored them in the fridge and they were still delicious the next day but the cookie cups definitely softened a bit. So, I think it is best to store the elements separately if you want to make them in advance.

Serving Suggestions

These sweet little bite-sized lemon tarts in sugar cookie cups were a huge hit at my daughter's graduation party. We had several guests ask me for the recipe.

I arranged them on a tiered tray on the dessert table, so they'd be just perfect for an elegant tea party treat for a baby shower or wedding shower, too.

They travel well if you can tuck them into a 9x13-inch covered container so they'd make a great potluck party dessert, too.

75 Elegant Tea Party Recipes

Tea for a Tea Party

More Easy Party Dessert Recipes

Looking for other bite-sized cookies and bars for your party? Don't miss some of my other favorite recipes:

Double Vanilla Cookies

Swedish Chocolate Balls {Chokladbollar}

Sourdough Discard Brownies

Meyer Lemon Bars