Polish Lemon Sandwich Tea Cookies (Cytrynowe Ciasteczka)

Stacks of Polish lemon sandwich tea cookies on a marble serving board

The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

Prep: 30 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 50 mins
Servings: 15 servings
Yield: 15 sandwich cookies

This recipe for melt-in-your-mouth Polish lemon sandwich tea cookies or cytrynowe ciasteczka do herbaty (sih-trih-NOH-veh chass-TETCH-kah doh err-BAH-tih) calls for a lemon-cream filling.

If you want your filling to look sunshine yellow, add a few drops of food coloring. It also will give your guests a hint as to what flavor is inside these delectable confections.

Actually, these cookies can be made with any citrus fruit and are equally yummy made with oranges, tangerines, blood oranges, and even grapefruit.

This cookie is ideal for a tea party, bridal shower, Mother's Day, or any time a pretty, delicate cookie is the order of the day. The beauty is, they’re easy to make and they store well. 

"These lemon cookies are very easy and their texture was really melt in your mouth. If you
are looking for a not-too-sweet cookie this will be a new favorite, perfect for a tea party." - Tracy Wilk

Polish Lemon tea sandwich cookies (cytrynowe ciasteczka)
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Cookie Dough:

  • 2/3 cup superfine sugar

  • 8 ounces (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 largeegg, lightly beaten, at room temperature

  • 2 teaspoons lemon juice

  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the Cookie Filling:

  • 2.7 ounces (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature

  • 4 cups confectioners' sugar, plus more for garnish

  • 4 tablespoons lemon juice

  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

  • 1 tablespoon milk, or as needed, optional

Steps to Make It

Make the Cookies

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Place rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375 F. 

    Ingredients to make Polish lemon sandwich tea cookies

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  2. Use a hand mixer to cream together the superfine sugar with 8 ounces softened butter in a large bowl until light and fluffy.

    A large mixing bowl with whipped butter and sugar

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  3. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, lemon zest, and flour until well mixed.

    A glass mixing bowl of crumbly dough

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  4. Using a one-inch cookie scoop, portion dough onto parchment-lined sheet pans, spacing two inches apart. Using the bottom of a glass that has been dipped in flour, lightly tamp the dough twice to flatten it.

    A parchment paper-lined baking sheet with small mounds of dough, with some flattened, next to a bowl of dough with a cookie scoop

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  5. Repeat with the remainder of cookie dough, dipping the glass in more flour, as necessary, so cookies won't stick.

    A parchment paper-lined baking sheet with flattened rounds of dough

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  6. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown but still quite light in color overall. Remove from oven. Cool 5 minutes on sheet pans and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

    A cooling rack with round lemon cookies

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

Make the Filling

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients to make lemon cream filling for Polish sandwich tea cookies

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  2. In a medium bowl, cream together softened butter, confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and zest. If the mixture is too thick, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is achieved. This mixture should be thick but smooth.

    A bowl of smooth lemon buttercream

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  3. To assemble the sandwich cookies, you can use a teaspoon to place dollops of filling; however, we prefer using a piping bag with a plain tip to pipe a spiral of filling onto the flat side of one cookie.

    A hand holding a lemon cookie, pipping lemon buttercream in a swirl

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  4. Top with another cookie, flat side down. Twist the top cookie a little to make sure it is on securely.

    Two hands twisting together two lemon cookies with lemon buttercream filling to make a sandwich cookie

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

  5. Dust the tops with confectioners' sugar.

    A cooling rack with Polish lemon sandwich tea cookies being dusted with confectioner's sugar

    The Spruce Eats / Abby Mercer

Recipe Variations

Substitute the juice and zest of any citrus fruit for the lemon juice and zest.

How to Store

Keep cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
367 Calories
17g Fat
53g Carbs
3g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 15
Amount per serving
Calories 367
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 17g 22%
Saturated Fat 10g 51%
Cholesterol 56mg 19%
Sodium 9mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate 53g 19%
Dietary Fiber 1g 2%
Total Sugars 38g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 1mg 6%
Calcium 11mg 1%
Iron 1mg 5%
Potassium 36mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)