Raspberry Lemon Thumbprint Cookies feature fresh lemon zest in the dough topped with an icing of fresh lemon juice and fresh raspberry. Perfect for showers or brunch or high tea.

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Why You'll Love These Cookies
These thumbprint cookies, infused with fresh lemon juice and zest in the dough and a fresh red raspberry in the icing, will be your new favorite cookie.
I was eating the icing with a spoon! This is a perfect cookie to make for Valentine's Day or bridal showers.
They remind me a bit of Lemon Shortbread Hearts. I'm inspired to make a drink using the same ingredients kind of along the lines of this Lemon Drop Martini.
If you need more lemon in your life, try Lemon Bars with Graham Cracker Crust or Copycat Panera Lemon Drop Cookies Recipe.
Amazon has been selling Cookie Perfection for 48 percent off the list price so if you love finding the next great cookie recipe as much as I do, you should snag it.
These thumbprint cookies have lemon zest in the dough and fresh lemon juice and a fresh raspberry in the pink lemonade icing. So, so, so, so, so good.
You'll use powdered sugar in the dough and the icing--no granulated sugar at all.
The use of powdered sugar in the cookie dough makes this lemonade dough very tender.
You will want to make these cookies for every holiday, including Valentine's Day and Easter and Mother's Day and twice on Sunday.
Cookie Baking Advice
You may find these baking posts helpful, from How to Freeze Cookie Dough, Room Temperature Butter for Baking to Salted or Unsalted Butter for Cookies? to Do I Need A Cookie Scoop?, Cookie Size Chart to What Should a Beginner Bake? to Where Can I Buy Sprinkles?, Why is my sugar cookie dough too sticky? and Cookie Holidays. What is Sanding Sugar and Where Can I Buy Sprinkles might also be helpful.
Special Ingredients and Tools You'll Need
- Microplane zester. I have this one and I expect it will last as long as the last one I had, 10 years.
- Wax paper or parchment paper
- A rounded teaspoon to make indentations (or use your thumb)
- A piping bag or a plastic bag like a Ziplock
- Lemons (2-3 medium should do it)
- Fresh raspberry (just one)
- Confectioner's sugar (you'll use it in the dough, the icing and to dust over the cookie once baked and iced.)

Recipe Notes
You will bake this cookie low and slow at 325 F for 25 minutes.
You'll need to pull the cookies out of the oven after 10 minutes to make the indentations. Then the tray goes back in the oven for 15 more minutes.
While the cookies are baking, make the icing.
Let the cookies cool completely before filling the indentations with pink lemonade icing.
You'll want to let the cookies rest at least 30 minutes to 45 minutes while the icing sets completely before packaging.
This is a really pretty cookie-not something you can always say about a cookie-so if you're gifting them to someone, think about putting them in a clear cellphone bag fastened shut with a ribbon.

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Raspberry Lemon Cookies

Raspberry Lemon Cookies are a tender two-bite cookie that has fresh lemon zest in the dough and fresh lemon juice and a raspberry in the pink lemonade icing.
Ingredients
- 2-½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted plus more for sprinkling over cookies
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup (two sticks), unsalted room temperature butter
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest (2-3 medium lemons)
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 fresh raspberry
Instructions
In a large bowl sift the confectioner's sugar and set aside.
Measure flour and salt and ½ cup of the sugar into a medium bowl and set aside.
Zest the lemons using a Microplane grater over a piece of wax paper until you get two tablespoons. The wax paper will help with cleanup and getting every last bit of the zest saved.
Once the lemons are zested, slice in half and juice over a small bowl using a sturdy fork or a citrus reamer. Set aside.
In another large bowl, using a hand mixer or a stand mixer on medium speed, beat butter, ¼ cup of the confectioner's sugar, the lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice until pale, about three minutes.
Add the dry ingredients to the dough and mix until just combined and no white streaks of flour remain.
Scoop the dough and roll into one-inch balls using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon. Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet about two inches apart. You should get 12 balls of dough on a tray. Freeze for ten minutes or until firm.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325 F.
Pull the cookies out of the freezer and bake for ten minutes.
Pull out after ten minutes and carefully without applying too much pressure, make a shallow indentation on top of each cookie using either a rounded teaspoon or your thumb.
Once you've made your indentations, put cookies back in the oven for 15 to 16 minutes.
While cookies are on their second bake, make the icing in a bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer or use a whisk. I'm lazy so I used my stand mixer.
Whisk 1&¼ cups confectioner's sugar, two tablespoons of lemon juice and the single raspberry together until smooth and pink.
Remove cookies from oven and let cool on a baking rack before dusting with confectioner's sugar and filling with icing.
Let the icing set up at least 20 minutes before packaging.
Notes
Don't skip over the step of freezing the balls of dough before baking. This will help them keep their shape.
No eggs used in the making of this cookie.
No granulated sugar used either--just confectioner's sugar.
Fresh lemon juice is a must.

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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 148Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 20mgSodium 153mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 0gSugar 10gProtein 1g
Get more lemon in your life with Lemon Bars or Lemon Shortbread Hearts.
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