Italian Lemon Curd Filled Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup mild oil like canola
1/2 cup milk
4 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch salt
1 lemon, half zested and half peeled
2 cups milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup granulated sugar plus 2 tbsp for coating
4 tsp cornstarch
2/3 cup limoncello liqueur, divided
2 drops yellow food coloring

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar and 4 eggs until light; add in the oil and ½ cup milk and mix again.

In a medium bowl, combine 4 cups flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest; add slowly to the egg mixture and mix well. Using a lightly mounded tablespoon of dough, roll the dough between your palms to make a smooth round ball (the dough will be sticky so you may have to rinse your hands after every 12 balls – and keeping your hands a bit moist is helpful!), about the size of a walnut. Repeat process, taking care to make sure all the balls are fairly uniform in size. Place balls on prepared baking sheets spacing about 1 inch apart; flatten tops slightly with damp fingertips.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms are slightly golden; cool.

In a small pot on the stove, heat 2 cups milk over medium heat.

In a small dish, beat egg yolks and ½ cup sugar until combined. Slowly add about 2 tablespoons of warm (not hot) milk and stir again; add cornstarch and stir again.

Add a bit more warm milk and mix vigorously; add this mixture back into the pan and cook while stirring. Keep stirring until mixture thickens; remove from heat. Strain into a small bowl through a sieve (this is optional, but if you’re new to custard making, this will keep all lumps out of your mix); tuck the lemon peel into the custard and top with a piece of waxed paper to prevent a skin from forming.

Using a melon baller or small spoon, scoop out the insides of the cookies and set aside the cookie crumbs; place hollowed out cookies on a tray.

Moisten the insides of each cookie with a bit of the liqueur.

In a shallow dish, mix the rest of the limoncello with the food coloring until it turns yellow in color; put granulated sugar in another bowl.

Spoon about a teaspoon full of custard into each half and then sandwich 2 halves together. Dip into the colored liquor to coat all sides and roll in the granulated sugar; place on a tray.

If you wrap the cookies with plastic wrap and wait a day, the cookies will get softer.