Easter Egg Cookies - Paleo with Lemon Curd

These egg-shaped Paleo cookies are filled with homemade lemon curd for an Easter treat, like a visual pun on a deviled egg. The cookies are very simple, and not too sweet, with a non-dairy option for both the cookie dough and the tart curd.

This versatile dough, once rolled, can be cut into simple sugar cookies or filled with jam for other holidays. 

This almond-cookie recipe is easy to stir together by hand, and produces a workable dough provided that you refrigerate it for at least a half hour. Once you've done that, the dough will stay together during the rolling and cutting process.

What cookie cutters do I need?

I used an egg-shaped cookie cutter plus a round Linzer cutter to give the look of an egg with the yolk showing. 

If you have other Easter-themed cutters you could cut some of the cookies into those shapes. But I so enjoyed making cookies that look like deviled Easter eggs.

The basic sugar cookie is very similar to my chocolate-dipped matcha cookies except without any color or flavor in the dough.

How do I make these easter egg cookies dairy-free? 

The lemon curd is already dairy-free because it contains coconut oil rather than the typical butter. 

The fats in the original Paleo cookies are half ghee and half coconut oil. If you were to replace the ghee with all coconut oil the dough would likely be less elastic and more brittle than with the ghee. 

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The two substitutions I tried for the ¼ cup of ghee:

1. 2 tablespoons coconut oil + 2 tablespoons MCT/Avocado oil blend. These cookies were firmer and a bit more crumbly than with the ghee. They held together well in baking.
2. 2 tablespoons coconut oil + 2 tablespoons olive oil. This dough was very soft when I placed it into the refrigerator but firmed up well when chilled, and was easy to roll out as it warmed up. The cookies were a bit softer right after baking,  so I was extra careful in moving them to the cooling rack.

Does a dairy-free almond-flour cookie dough handle differently from one with ghee?

The modification to replace the ghee with part coconut oil and part MCT oil gives a somewhat crumblier dough, and the modification with olive oil a smoother one. With the MCT oil, I needed to round the edges a bit each time I reshaped the dough disk to re-roll it. I also erred on the side of rolling thicker than ¼ inch to be sure that the cookies don’t fall apart.

When you transfer the cookies to the baking sheet, be sure to use a thin, flexible spatula to make the move. As long as the cookies haven't warmed up completely from being chilled, I don’t need to dust the spatula with almond flour. 

Different sized cookie cutters will yield different numbers of cookies. My Fox Run egg cookie cutter measures 3 ⅜ inches at the longest part - a 2 ½ inch egg cutter would make more cookies and use more of the lemon curd. My round Linzer cutter measures just under 1 inch. 

What else can I fill these cookies with?

As alternatives to the lemon curd, you can also fill them with

• a jam of your choice - apricot or orange marmalade would be the closest in color.
• I've also included directions for making the curd with passionfruit instead. The passionfruit cost $2 each where I live and you'll need three of them, but the flavor and aroma are divine.

I shared this recipe on Fiesta Friday #374 - thanks to Angie for hosting!

Other baking recipes on A Meal In Mind

Ruby Cacao Chip Valentine Cookies; Gluten-Free

Pecan Almond Flour Red White and Blue Cookies

Cranberry Almond-Flour Pinwheel Cookies

Almond Flour-Carob Pinwheel Cookies

Almond Flour Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies; GF

If you make this or any of the recipes on A Meal In Mind, please let me know! Or if you like the recipe, leave a comment, rate it, post pictures on Facebook or Twitter. Hashtag a photo #amealinmind on Instagram.  I’d love to see what you come up with. Thank you so much!!

Beth

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5 from 7 votes

Paleo Easter Egg Cookies with Lemon Curd

These egg-shaped Paleo cookies are filled with homemade lemon curd for an Easter treat, like a visual pun on a deviled egg. The cookies are very simple, and not too sweet, with a non-dairy option for both the cookie dough and the tart curd.

Servings 8 filled cookies

Author Beth Allingham

Equipment

• Baking Sheets
• Cooling rack
• Thin spatula
• Mixing Bowl
• Whisk
• Mesh strainer

Ingredients

For the cookies:

• 2 ¼ cups almond flour
• 2 tablespoon coconut flour
• ¼ cup ghee melted (for non-dairy version, see suggested substitutions)
• ¼ cup coconut oil softened
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ¼ teaspoon pink sea salt if not using ghee or butter
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting, optional

For the lemon curd:

• ⅓ cup coconut oil melted
• ⅓ cup honey
• ½ cup lemon juice from fresh lemons about 2 large lemons
• the zest of 1 lemon use an organic lemon if possible; zest the lemon before juicing it!
• 2 whole eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• a pinch of sea salt

Alternatives to the lemon curd

• ½ cup jam or jelly, such as apricot or orange marmalade
• for passionfruit curd substitute ⅓ cup passionfruit juice (the juice and pressed pulp of 3 passionfruit) and a teaspoon or two of lemon juice; omit the lemon zest

Instructions

Make the cookie dough

• Combine almond flour, coconut flour, ghee, if using (see note), coconut oil, baking soda, vanilla, maple syrup and optional salt in a mixing bowl.
• Once combined, shape dough into a large disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• While it’s chilling, make the curd (directions below).
• Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Use a rolling pin to roll out the disc of dough between two sheets of parchment paper. Roll until dough is between ⅛ inch and ¼ inch thick (closer to ¼ inch if you have substituted oils for the ghee).
• Next, cut out dough using an egg-shaped cookie cutter. Cut out as many "eggs" as you can.
  
• Then, shape excess dough back into a ball, roll between sheets of parchment paper and cut more cookies out until dough is gone.
• Using a round Linzer cutter, cut out holes in HALF of the cookies.
  
• Place the uncut cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
• Place the cookies with holes cut out on a separate parchment-lined baking sheet. Set the oven for 12 minutes but you’ll check at 9 minutes. Remove the ones with the holes from the oven after 9 to 10 minutes or when edges are slightly golden. The intact cookies should need a couple minutes more, for a total of 10 to 12 minutes - this depends on your oven.
  
• Cool cookies for 5 minutes before using a spatula to carefully remove them to a wire rack.

For the curd:

• In a small pot, melt the coconut oil on low heat. Once it is melted, remove it from the burner and whisk in the honey and the juice. This will give you a relatively cool mixture before adding the eggs, so they’re less likely to curdle. Then whisk in the eggs, egg yolks, zest and pinch of salt.
• Replace the pan on the burner, and cook the curd on medium heat until it thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 10 minutes.
• Whisk often and once it starts bubbling (about 5 minutes), start whisking constantly. You will see the surface take on some texture and the curd will begin to stick to the whisk. When you draw the whisk through the curd it will form a path that will take a second or two to fill in.
• It will thicken more when cooling.
• Place a metal mesh strainer over a bowl and pour lemon curd through to strain it. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to help press it through the sieve (this will remove the lemon zest and any cooked bits of egg white).
• Give the curd a stir and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Spread 1 teaspoon curd on each of the uncut cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies.
  
• Spoon 1 teaspoon remaining curd into each small round in cookie to form a yolk.
  
• Dust cookies with powdered sugar. Serve.
  

Notes

The oils and fats in this recipe affect how easily the dough will roll out and how crumbly it is. With a ghee/coconut oil mixture, the dough will firm up in the refrigerator but then soften quite easily when you take it out. The cookies will stay together easily when cut to ¼ inch thick. 

Cookie recipe adapted from linzer cookies by Organically Addison. 

If you substitute part MCT oil for the ghee, the cookies will be a bit more crumbly so I suggest rolling them just a little thicker than ¼ inch. 

If you don't consume the cookies within an hour, refrigerate any that remain. They will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days without getting soggy.

Thank you for the basic recipe for lemon curd from the blog Not Enough Cinnamon and for the idea for the egg cookies from Taste magazine. 

Nutrition information can't be guaranteed accurate, as it represents information entered as approximations into the nutrition calculator, which doesn't contain all food items. It can, however, give you an estimate of the nutritional values.

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