Spring is here, and what better way to celebrate than with these vegan daisy cookies with lemon curd?

I don’t know if it’s all the daffodils popping up just now but my vegan baking has taken a definite spring like (and yellow) turn! I’ve also wanted to make lemon curd sandwich cookies for a while. Lemon curd reminds me so much of my dad. He’d trowel it on to thick white toast, much to my mum’s pursed lips disapproval. And I think he’d really enjoy these vegan daisy cookies. Because not only are they so soft and delicious, they melt in your mouth, and have a wonderful lemon and butter flavour. The tangy homemade vegan lemon curd filling combines perfectly with the texture and sweetness of the cookie.

They’re a showstopper for Easter brunch, spring gatherings, or afternoon tea. Plus, they’re entirely egg-free and dairy-free, making them perfect for anyone looking for vegan spring desserts.

Why you’ll love these vegan lemon curd cookies

• They’re just so pretty! These cookies resemble daisies, making them ideal for Easter baking ideas or a springtime dessert platter.
• Buttery and melt-in-your-mouth with a hint of almond, yet completely vegan-friendly.
• Easy to make ahead! The cookies and lemon curd can be prepped separately and assembled when needed.
• Great for gifting. These cookies make a thoughtful homemade treat for Mother’s Day, Easter, or spring celebrations.

Ingredients for homemade vegan lemon curd

Plant milk – I tend to use unsweetened soya milk for everything – from my cuppa to everything baked or cooked. Use whatever plant milk you prefer.

Lemon juice and zest – grate the lemon before squeezing the juice. The amount of times I forget to do this and end up trying to grate a juiced lemon!

Cornflour – this is what thickens the liquid into curd.

Turmeric – purely for it’s vibrant yellow colour. It’s optional or you could use yellow food colouring.

Plant butter – added at the end it gives the vegan lemon curd a glossy richness. Use spreadable or block butter.

Ingredients for vegan daisy cookies

Plain (all-purpose) flour – because we don’t bake the cookies for very long, this type of flour helps give these daisy cookies their melt in the mouth texture

Ground almonds – add a light nutty flavour and helps give the cookies a richer, moister texture due to their high fat content.

Golden caster sugar – has a subtle caramel flavour and a slightly warmer, richer taste than white caster sugar because it’s unrefined and retains some molasses, a byproduct of sugar processing that gives it its golden hue and caramel-like flavour. The molasses contributes to a moister texture in baked goods. Substitute with white caster sugar if you can’t find golden or it’s too expensive.

Vegan butter – you’ll want the block kind of butter for this, the spreadable margarine may not hold the cookie shape so well when baking.

How to make homemade vegan lemon curd

Step 1: Ideally you’ll want to make this a couple of hours (or more) before you bake the cookies as it needs time to cool and then set in the fridge.

Step 2: In a small saucepan whisk together the milk, sugar, lemon juice and zest and cornflour over a medium heat until it just starts to bubble. Take off the heat, whisk in the turmeric to the desired colour and the butter. Transfer to a container then cool before putting in the fridge to chill completely.

How to make these vegan Easter cookies

Step 1: Put the flour, salt and butter into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub the butter and flour together until you have a fine sandy texture.

Step 2: Stir in the sugar and ground almonds. Add the milk and mix to a soft dough.

TIP: you can also make the dough in a food processor. Whizz together the flour, salt and butter to a sandy texture then add the almonds and sugar and give a quick whizz. Add the milk and pulse to make a soft dough.

Step 3: Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface then roll out to 6mm (1/4 inch) thick.

Step 4: Cut the cookies with a flower cookie cutter (I used a 7 cm one) and place them on trays lined with parchment paper or silicon mats. Squidge together the trimmings then re-roll and repeat until you’ve used all the dough. Use a smaller cutter to cut holes in the centre of half the cookies (I didn’t have one small enough so used the bottom of a small metal piping nozzle!)

Step 5: Place them on trays lined with parchment paper or silicon mats. You can space them fairly close together as they don’t spread much.

Step 6: Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes. You want them golden and a little puffy but still soft to the touch. They firm up once cooled but slightly underbaking them gives them that lovely melt in the mouth texture.

Step 7: Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Finishing and decorating your flower cookies

Once cooled dust the top cookies (the ones with the hole) with icing sugar. You can dust the whole cookie or half as I’ve done, up to you!

Then put a teaspoon of lemon curd in the middle of the base cookies and top with the dusted cookies

Store in an airtight container in a cool place (though not the fridge) for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these cookies – they don’t suffer a jot from being defrosted!

Looking for even more easy vegan cookie recipes? Try these:

Bumble Bee Cookies

Tahini Pecan Chocolate Chip Cookies

White Chocolate Raspberry Cookies

Cinnamon Sugar Cream Cheese Cookies

Viennese Whirls

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