Lemon Curd

1. Place the cubed butter and lemon zest in a large bowl.
2. Place a medium saucepan filled with two inches of water over medium low heat. In a medium bowl that serves as a double boiler, whisk together sugar, eggs and salt until combined. Slowly add the lemon juice and stir to incorporate.
3. Place the bowl over the pot with water and heat the curd over medium low heat, stirring often until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Be sure to stir the curd evenly as it cooks, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go. The curd is done when the mixture is thick and the temperature measures 165ºF using an instant read thermometer.
4. Remove the curd from the heat and pour it through a fine mesh strainer into the bowl with the butter and lemon zest.
5. Whisk to combine well, stirring until all of the butter is melted and the curd is smooth. Allow to chill in the refrigerator for atleast an hour.

Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and granulated sugar until the mixture is fluffy and pale yellow. Add the vanilla extract. Then, add the flour a cup at a time, until you have a crumbly dough that’s starting to come together.
3. Turn the dough onto a pastry or cutting board. Press the dough together with clean hands until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cut the dough into two, and flatten each portion into a 1/2” disc. Wrap with plastic wrap, and freeze for about 15 minutes or refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll each disc of dough until it’s 1/4” thick. Cut out an even number of 3” circles with a cookie cutter. Use a small cookie cutter to cut out a shape from half of the cookies.
5. Place the cookies 1” apart on the prepared sheets, and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the bottoms and edges are lightly browned. Let cool for about 5 minutes on the pan, and then move the cookies to a wire rack to completely cool.
6. Dust the cookies which have smaller circles with powdered sugar generously.
7. Once the cookies are cooled, pipe about 1 teaspoon of lemon curd onto the bottom cookies, and then sandwich the cut-out cookies on top. Dust with powdered sugar, and store in an airtight container for up to a week.