Of all the wonderful things to forage in the spring, I think fir tips might be my favorite, and these Lemon & Fir Tip Thumbprint Cookies are the most fun recipe I’ve come up with so far to celebrate this special ingredient.
Rich buttery cookies. Crunchy fir tip sugar coating. Bright lemon curd infused with fresh fir tips. It’s a match made in heaven. Because of their natural citrusy flavor, fir tips pair perfectly with other bright and zesty flavors, so adding them to lemon curd felt like a no-brainer.
Lemon thumbprint cookies make an easy and quick use for this infused lemon curd, although you could also use it to fill a tart or layer a cake.
Why you’ll love these fir tip cookies
- Rich, buttery lemon cookies with just the right amount of sweetness
- Bright & zesty lemon curd filling
- Fir tip sugar flavors the curd and creates a crunchy cookie coating
- Perfect texture contrast, with creamy curd and tender butter cookies
- A super fun way to use fir tips in baking
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: ~45 mins (+ 30 min chilling) • Bake: 10-15 mins • Total: ~1 ½ hrs
🍴 Yield: 28 cookies
💪 Skill level: Intermediate (but I have super helpful curd-making tips below!)
😋 Flavor notes: Buttery, bright, lemony, with notes of grapefruit and pine. Pairs well with: Chamomile tea, lemonade, whipped cream, spring berries, or a Fir Tip Lemon Drop.
A note on fir tips
Fir tips are the fresh new growth that emerges on Douglas Fir trees each spring, appearing like little bright green paintbrushes on the tips of each branch. They have flavor notes of grapefruit, pine, lemon, and orange peel, and the flavor can be a bit different from tree to tree!
Although I’ll refer mostly to fir tips here (Douglas fir is very abundant in the Pacific Northwest), note that you can use any edible conifer tip in this recipe. That includes spruce tips, hemlock, pine, and even redwood.
☠️ Caution: All parts of the Yew tree are considered poisonous, so be sure not to collect from this plant. I recommend you take some time to learn about different types of conifer trees and how to identify them.
Disclaimer: Always forage with great care. The information on this blog is provided for educational and inspirational purposes only. It’s your responsibility to properly identify any wild plants before consuming them. If you’re uncertain about any plant, don’t eat it. Always consult a trusted field guide, local expert, or professional forager before consuming wild foods.
🌲 For more fir tip recipes, see Fir Tip Sugar, Fir Tip Lemon Drop Martini, Strawberry Fir Tip Cake, and Fir Tip Infused Vodka.
How to make lemon fir tip curd cookies
Find the full ingredients list and detailed recipe instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview of how to make this recipe:
- Make the fir tip sugar: Blend fir tips and sugar in a food processor until fir tips are broken down and the sugar is bright green and fragrant.
- Make the lemon fir tip curd: Whisk some of the fir tip sugar with egg yolks and lemon juice, cooking gently over a double boiler until thick. Remove from heat, whisk in butter, and strain to remove any lumps. Cool in the refrigerator while you make the cookies.
- Mix cookie dough: Beat butter until soft and creamy, then add sugar and lemon zest. Add egg yolk, then lemon juice, followed by the dry ingredients to form a thick dough.
- Scoop into balls: Scoop cookie dough into 1 tablespoon pieces, then roll them into smooth balls.
- Roll in fir tip sugar: Roll cookie dough balls in the fir tip sugar, tossing to coat all sides. Use your thumb or the back of a teaspoon to make an indent in the centers.
- Chill briefly: Chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F when the cookies are almost done chilling.
- Bake: Place cookies an inch or two apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until bottoms are golden and cookies are set, about 10-15 minutes. Press on centers of cookies while still warm to redefine the “thumbprints”.
- Fill: Allow cookies to cool completely, then fill indents with lemon fir tip curd.
Pro tips for perfect lemon curd
Use fresh lemon juice. The flavor quality is worth the squeeze!
Cook the curd over a double boiler (or a heatproof bowl over a pot of simmering water). This is a much gentler way to cook the curd, rather than cooking it over direct heat. It takes a little longer, but it’s worth it so you don’t end up scrambling the eggs by accident.
Whisk often. To prevent burning, clumping, and inconsistent heat, whisk the mixture thoroughly and frequently.
Strain after cooking. This ensures the most luxurious, silky-smooth texture.
Pro tips for the best thumbprint cookies
Indent cookies before chilling. If you try to indent them after chilling, it will be quite difficult and you’ll end up with a lot more cracks!
Tidy up any cracks. If your lemon cookies crack a little after making the indent, you can simply smooth them over with your fingers.
Chill before baking. This helps the cookies to keep their shape and not spread during baking.
Reinforce the indent. As soon as you pull the cookies out of the oven, gently press down the center of each one again to redefine the indent.
Variations
This is my personal twist on the popular lemon thumbprint cookies with lemon curd. You could certainly skip the fir tips and make these classic. Here are some other options:
Fill with a different curd. Grapefruit curd and lemon olive oil curd would both be delicious with the flavors here.
Use the lemon fir tip curd for a different dessert. Instead of filling cookies, you could use the curd to fill a tart shell or spread it between layers of lemon cake.
Already have fir tip sugar on hand? Skip the step where you process sugar and fir tips and simply use ½ cup fir tip sugar in the curd. You’ll need about ¼ cup for rolling.
🤓 You’ll end up with 4 egg whites after making this recipe. If you’re looking for ways to use them up, try a meringue-style buttercream, pavlova, or white cake.
Storage
Because of the lemon fir tip curd, you’ll want to store these cookies in the refrigerator. They’ll store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Store any extra lemon curd in the fridge as well, with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming.
If you have any leftover fir tip sugar, allow it to dry at room temperature or in an oven set to the lowest setting until crispy to the touch. Store dried sugar in a dark cupboard for up to a year.
If you make these Lemon & Fir Tip Curd Cookies, I’d love to hear how they turned out for you! Leave a comment and star rating below.
Lemon & Fir Tip Curd Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
Fir tip sugar:
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup fresh fir tips or spruce tips
Lemon fir tip curd:
- ½ cup tightly packed fir tip sugar
- 3 egg yolks
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 ounces (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, diced
Cookies:
- 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, soft room temperature
- ⅔ cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Make the fir tip sugar: In a food processor, blend ¾ cup sugar with ¾ cup fresh fir tips until well combined, 3-4 minutes. Fir tips should be broken into very fine bits and sugar will be bright green and fragrant.Measure out ½ cup tightly packed fir tip sugar, setting the rest aside in a bowl to roll cookies in later.
- Make the lemon curd: Whisk together the ½ cup fir tip sugar with 3 egg yolks and ¼ cup lemon juice in a large heat-proof bowl. Place this bowl on top of a pot filled with about two inches of water. Bring water to a low simmer and cook the curd gently, whisking often, until thick and opaque, about 8-11 minutes. The mixture should coat the back of a spoon (it'll set up further as it cools).Remove from heat and whisk in 2 oz diced butter, stirring until blended. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and pour into a bowl. Cool thoroughly in the refrigerator, placing plastic wrap directly on top of the curd to prevent a skin from forming.
- Make the cookie dough: Beat 8 oz butter until soft and creamy, 1-2 minutes. Add ⅔ cup sugar and the lemon zest, mixing until well combined and fluffy. Add egg yolk, blending until incorporated, then follow with 1 Tbsp lemon juice.In a separate bowl, sift together 2 ¼ cups flour with 2 tsp cornstarch and ½ tsp salt. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture until it comes together to form a thick dough.
- Scoop cookies: Scoop cookie dough into roughly 1 tablespoon pieces, then roll them between your hands into smooth balls.
- Roll in fir tip sugar: Roll cookie dough balls in the bowl of fir tip sugar you set aside in Step 1 (optional – you can skip this step if you'd like), tossing to coat all sides. Use your thumb or the back of a teaspoon to make an indent in the centers.
- Chill: Chill cookie dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350° F when the cookies are almost done chilling.
- Bake: Place cookies an inch or two apart on parchment-lined baking sheets and bake until bottoms are golden and cookies are set, about 10-15 minutes.As soon as the cookies come out of the oven, gently press down the center of each one again to refresh the indent.
- Fill: Allow cookies to cool completely, then fill indents to the top with cooled lemon fir tip curd.Store cookies in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken and continue to set as the cookies cool.
Did you try this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment below!
