Meyer Lemon Honey Curd Linzer Cookies

Brighten your holiday season with these adorable Meyer Lemon Honey Curd Linzer Cookies! Tender and buttery shortbread cookies dusted with powdered sugar and filled with a tangy Meyer lemon honey curd. These cookies are so delicious and extremely easy to make!

This post is sponsored by Local Hive™ Honey, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make Short Stack Kitchen possible!

Harvest Reserve Gift Box

Today’s post features Local Hive™ Honey’s Cali Citrus honey, one of 3 varietals that is part of their newly launched Harvest Reserve gift box! The gift box also includes their Oregon Blackberry and Washington Raspberry varietals. Three incredible tastes from across the states, all in one box! It makes the perfect gift to give to your friends and family this holiday season.

About Local Hive™ Honey's Cali Citrus

Local Hive™ Honey's Cali Citrus is a limited-edition honey that features a unique blend of 2 varietals; a citrus blossom honey from So Cal and an orange blossom honey from Nor Cal. The result is a sweet and floral honey with strong citrus notes of lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange. Making it the perfect honey for our linzer cookies.

Lets jump right into today's recipe! These Meyer Lemon Honey Curd Linzer Cookies have 2 elements; a tangy Meyer lemon honey curd and an easy honey shortbread cookie.

Meyer Lemon Honey Curd Ingredients

• Local Hive Cali Citrus Varieties - This is one of my favorite varietals and it compliments the Meyer lemon so well, however, you can use any varietal.
• Egg Yolks - We'll be cooking the egg yolks. The yolks adds thickness and richness to the curd.
• Unsalted Butter - Adds flavor and a bit of richness.
• Lemon Juice & Zest - I'm using Meyer lemons, but you can use regular lemons. We'll be using both the lemon juice and zest for flavor and tanginess.

Meyer Lemon Honey Curd Instructions

Step 1 - Fill a pot with 1 to 2 inches of water and bring to a simmer, keeping on medium heat. In a heatproof glass bowl, add honey, yolks, butter, lemon juice and zest and place over the simmering water. Make sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Cook until the mixture reaches 170ºF (76ºC), making sure to stir constantly to prevent the yolks from curdling. It will take about 20 minutes or so and the mixture should thicken slightly. It may seem thin, but don't worry, it will thicken considerably as it cools in the fridge.

Step 2 - Strain your mixture into a clean bowl and transfer to glass jars.

Step 3 - Place cling wrap on top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming and place in the fridge until needed. Can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up 10 days.

Honey Shortbread Cookies Ingredients

• Local Hive Cali Citrus - We'll be adding just a bit just to lightly scent the cookies.

• Unsalted Butter - Make sure your butter is at room temperature butter, which is around 68ºF (20ºC). You can quickly bring butter to room temp by cutting into small cubes and leaving it on the counter.
• Vanilla Paste and Extract - Adds extra flavor.
• Confectioners' Sugar - The key to soft, melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies is using confectioners’ sugar.
• All-Purpose Flour - Use a high quality flour, such as King Arthur for best results.
• Salt -  Use fine salt for best results.

Honey Shortbread Cookies Instructions

Step 1 -  In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix room temperature butter, honey and vanilla until light and fluffy. About 2 minutes on medium. *You can also use a hand-held mixer or mix by hand.

Step 2 - Add sifted confectioners’ sugar and mix until incorporated. 

Step 3 - Next, sift in flour and salt and mix on the lowest setting just until combined. The dough will be a bit sticky.

Step 4 - Transfer dough to cling wrap and chill for at least 1 hour. I like to shape the dough into a rectangle, about 1-inch (2.5 cm) thickness to make it easier to roll out later. You can also divide and wrap the the dough into 2 pieces.

Step 5 -  Roll your dough out to ⅛ inch (3.1 mm) thickness. Lightly dip your cookie cutter into flour and cut out your cookies. With a metal spatula, carefully transfer the cookies to 2 to 3 lined baking trays, placing them 2 inches apart. Gather the scraps, reroll and cut out more cookies. I used a 2.5 inch (6.3 cm) flower cookie cutter and got 36 cookies, making a total of 18 sandwiches. If at any point the dough gets too warm from handling, don’t fret, pop it back in the fridge for 15 minutes or so to firm up!

Step 6 - With a round ½-inch (1.7 cm) cutter (I used the end of a piping tip), punch a hole in the center of 18 cookies, while leaving the other 18 whole. Place the trays of cookies in the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. This is a very important step and cannot be skipped!

Step 7 – Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350ºF (176ºC). Bake for 10 minutes, one tray at a time. Allow to sit on the tray for about 2 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Step 8 – Once the cookies are cooled, lightly sift confectioners’ sugar on each top cookie. Flip the bottom cookies over and spoon about 1 teaspoons of the meyer lemon honey curd in the center. Place the cookie with the hole, on top of the curd and press down lightly.

Serve and Enjoy!!

EXPERT TIPS

• Follow the recipe exactly. My recipe has been carefully tested and written in grams to ensure you get the best results. I highly recommend weighing the ingredients with a kitchen scale, as it’s the most accurate way to bake. You can read more about this below!
• If you are not using a kitchen scale, measure your flour correctly. Fluff and aerate your flour first, then spoon into your measuring cup and finally level off with the back of a butter knife. Do not pack it in as it will add too much flour.
• Chill, chill and chill! The best part about shortbread cookies is that it’s full of butter. To prevent the cookies from spreading and losing its beautiful shape, we will need to chill the dough several times.
• After rolling out the dough, I like to put it back in the fridge to firm up for 15 minutes. It makes it easier to cut out your cookies.
• When cutting the cookies, you can also dip the cutter into flour to help them release easier.
• You can make the dough 5 days in advanced. Just wrap tightly in cling wrap and store in the fridge. When you are ready to roll out your dough, allow to sit on the counter to soften a bit before rolling out.
• Do not underbake these cookies. They should be cooked through and somewhat crisp.
• Use non-melting powdered sugar, such as this one, if you do not want the sugar to disappear. Please note that traditional powdered sugar usually disappears on your baked goods the next day. If you are planning to make them ahead, bake your cookies up to 3 days in advance (store in an airtight container) and then assemble your sandwiches the same day you plan to serve.
• You can get pretty creative with linzer cookies. Use any cookie cutter shape and size and have fun with the center cutout of the top cookie. Hearts, stars, holiday shapes and more! Keep in mind that if your cookie is larger, they may take longer to cook then specified in the recipe card.

LOCAL HIVE™ HONEY RECIPES

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