lemon sunflower spritz cookies

Lemon Sunflower Spritz Cookies

Homemade lemon curd brightens the flavor of these buttery sunflower spritz cookies making them just perfect for celebrating Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day! Easter, Earth Day and some very special birthdays kind of snowballed on top of each other and snuck up on me this year. Better late in the day than never, I wanted to be sure that I shared this delightful Lemon Sunflower Spritz Cookie recipe with you. These cookies are perfect for celebrating the beauty of Earth Day, but their bright flavors are light and refreshing all year long. My homemade lemon curd added a subtle flavor that spritz cookies are known for and some chocolate jimmies added a realistically textured center. As per usual with spritz cookies, these turned out as delicious as they are whimsical and I’m totally in love.

I used my beloved OXO Good Grips Cookie Press and the sunflower disk that comes standard with the press. You may have noticed that I use a silicone baking mat with my press – I have found that people are very opinionated when it comes to baking spritz cookies. I, myself, come from a house divided when it comes to this topic. My grandmother swears by an ungreased, unlined baking sheet while my mother and I are known to use parchment or silicone lined baking sheets for pretty much everything we do. Know your equipment and do what works best for you.

Sunflower Lemon Spritz Cookies

That weird metal cone you see? That’s an inverted large piping tip. I placed it around the center of the sunflowers and dropped in a pinch of chocolate jimmies so that I could create perfectly round centers with very little effort. Seems silly, but my clumsy little fingers were getting jimmies everywhere when trying to do this freehand. Just a little tip (pun intended) to help control the jimmie population.

LEMON SUNFLOWER SPRITZ COOKIES
 
Yields: approximately 6 dozen cookies
INGREDIENTS
  • ¾ unsalted butter (1½ sticks), room temperature
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons lemon curd
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • yellow food coloring and chocolate jimmies for decorating
PREPARATION
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter, sugar and salt until light and fluffy.
  3. Add egg, lemon curd and vanilla extract, beating until smooth.
  4. Gradually add flour, beating until fully incorporated. Add a few drops of yellow food coloring at a time until desired color is reached.
  5. Put through cookie press onto cookie sheets and decorate with jimmies prior to baking.
  6. Bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly browned.

GADGETS
OXO Good Grips Cookie Press

RESOURCES
Lemon Curd Recipe
Guittard REAL Chocolate Sprinkles – these make a world of difference in baking, no waxy or artificial flavors here!

Lemon Sunflower Spritz Cookies