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Vegan daisy-shaped shortbread cookies filled with bright yellow lemon curd, dusted with powdered sugar, cooling on a wire rack.

Vegan Daisy Cookies with Lemon Curd - easy spring & Easter treat

Prep: 30 mins | Cook: 12 mins | Total: 42 mins | Quantity: approx 16 sandwich cookies

Ingredients

Vegan lemon curd ingredients:

  • 60ml (1/4 cup) plant milk
  • 55g (1/4 cup) golden caster sugar (can sub with white caster sugar)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tablespoon cornflour (cornstarch)
  • 1/2 tablespoon vegan butter
  • pinch of turmeric (optional for stronger yellow colour – can sub with yellow food colouring)

Daisy cookie ingredients:

  • 225g (1.5 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
  • 140g (5/8 cup) vegan block butter
  • 70g (1/3 cup) golden caster sugar (can sub with white caster sugar)
  • 30g (1/4 cup) ground almonds (replace with same amount of plain flour for nut free)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 45ml (3 tablespoons) plant milk
  • 1-2 tablespoons icing (powdered) sugar

Equipment

Instructions

  1. Ideally you'll want to make the lemon curd a couple of hours (or more) before you bake the cookies as it needs time to cool and then set in the fridge
  2. Finely grate the zest from the lemon then squeeze the juice, put into a small saucepan with the milk, sugar and cornflour
  3. Cook 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
  4. Preheat your oven to 170 Fan / 190 C / 375 F / Gas 5 and line a couple of large baking trays with parchment or silicon mats
  5. To make the cookies 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 (see note)
  6. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface then roll out to 6mm (1/4 inch) thick
  7. Cut the cookies with a flower cookie cutter (I used a 7 cm one). 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!)
  8. Place them on trays lined with parchment paper or silicon mats. You can space them fairly close together as they don't spread much
  9. Bake in the 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
  10. Leave to cool on the tray for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely
  11. 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!
  12. Then put a teaspoon of lemon curd in the middle of the base cookies and top with the dusted cookies
  13. Store in an airtight container in a cool place (though not the fridge) for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these cookies

Notes

  • 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

Recipe by The Cook & Him at https://thecookandhim.com/recipes/vegan-daisy-cookies-with-lemon-curd-easy-spring-easter-treat/