Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies

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Easy homemade strawberry jam sandwiched between lemon shortbread cookies. 

Celebrate the beginning of summer with these delicious strawberry lemonade sandwich cookies. If you love strawberry lemonade, these cookies are for you. They are everything you’d expect in the refreshing beverage, except in cookie form…sweet, tart and complete with that anticipated pucker.

These cookies start with homemade strawberry jam to get the freshest and purest strawberry taste. If you didn’t go crazy at the store and buy strawberries in bulk like yours truly, then you could opt for jarred jam, but I’m telling you, you’re not going to beat the homemade stuff. Plus, the jam is super easy to make, so I strongly encourage you to make it from scratch. You’re going to use most of the jam up in the sandwiches anyway, so there’s not even a need to sterilize jars. Convinced yet? :)

The jam is then sandwiched between two perfect lemon shortbread cookies that are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and just the right amount of chew. These were so addicting on their own, that I had to make a replenishment batch because they were eaten up before I could assemble the sandwiches. Save yourself the heartache and just make a double batch from the get-go. You won’t be sorry.

Let’s start with the jam since it needs time to cool down and chill. Combine sugar, freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium pot.

Over low heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Add quartered strawberries.

Give it a stir to coat.

Continue to stir occasionally over the low heat. The juices will release and it will begin to look like strawberry soup.

After about 45 minutes to an hour of cooking, the strawberries will be broken down and will look like strawberry topping for ice cream sundaes.

Test the doneness of the jam by placing a small amount on a frozen dish. After a few seconds, see if the jam has gelled by holding the dish vertically and run your finger down the middle. If the jam doesn’t run into the gap and doesn’t run off the dish, the jam is ready.

Pour the jam into a glass container and chill in the refrigerator while you work on the cookies.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar at medium speed until pale in color and creamy.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add vanilla extract, freshly squeezed lemon juice and lemon zest. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add flour and continue mixing at low speed until a cohesive dough forms.

Transfer the dough onto plastic wrap and roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.

Cut out 2” rounds with a cookie/biscuit cutter or use the rim of a glass tumbler (that’s what I used) and transfer them to a cookie sheet lined with either a Silpat or parchment paper, 1” apart (they don’t spread very much at all).

Bake at 350°F for 7-8 minutes until the edges are golden brown.

Once the cookies are cool and the jam is chilled, scoop about a teaspoon of jam onto the center of one cookie. Sandwich with another cookie and take a bite into summer!

Strawberry Lemonade Sandwich Cookies

Yields 10 sandwiches
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Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
1 cup sugar
½ large lemon, juiced and zested
1 ½ cups (15 oz. or 425g) fresh strawberries, hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Place a small dish into the freezer.
2. Combine the sugar, lemon juice and zest in a medium pot.
3. Over low heat, stir until the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the strawberries and give it a stir to coat.
5. Continue to stir occasionally over low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until the strawberries look like strawberry topping for ice cream sundaes.
6. Test the doneness of the jam by placing a small amount on the frozen dish. After a few seconds, see if the jam has gelled by holding the dish vertically and run your finger down the middle. If the jam doesn’t run into the gap and doesn’t run off the dish, the jam is ready.
7. Pour the jam into a glass container and cool in the refrigerator.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
6 tablespoons of salted butter, softened
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Zest from 1 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
1 cup (5 oz. or 142g) unbleached all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy and pale in color.
3. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla extract, lemon juice and zest. Mix until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Add the flour and continue mixing at low speed until a cohesive dough forms.
5. Transfer the dough onto plastic wrap and roll the dough out to about ¼” thick. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 10 minutes.
6. Cut out 2” rounds with a cookie/biscuit cutter or use the rim of a glass tumbler (that’s what I used) and transfer them to a cookie sheet lined with either a Silpat or parchment paper, 1” apart.
7. Bake for 7-8 minutes until the edges are golden brown. Let sit on cookie sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Assembly
Once the cookies and jam are cool, scoop about a teaspoon of jam onto the center of one cookie. Sandwich with another cookie and apply enough pressure to spread the jam toward the edge of the cookie.

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