Lemon Sablé Flower Dunk Cups

Lemon Sablé Flower Dunk Cups pair delicate buttery lemon sablé cookies with a fluffy lemon marshmallow dip. They're an elegant treat, perfect for summer gatherings, tea parties, showers, gifts, and special occasions. When packaged in individual clear dome cups with inserts, they're as beautiful as they are delicious.

Quick Look at the Recipe

• Taste: Buttery, lightly sweet, and delicately flavored with fresh lemon zest.
• Texture: Crispy, sandy sablé cookies paired with a smooth, fluffy marshmallow flavored with fresh lemon zest.
• Difficulty: Easy
• Best For: Parties, showers, brunches, tea parties, gifts, and make-ahead entertaining.
• Make-ahead Friendly: Yes. The dough can be prepared and frozen for up to 2 months. The cookies can be baked several days in advance and stored in an airtight container.
• Elegant Packaging: 9-ounce clear plastic dome cups with 2-ounce inserts for the dip.

Jump to:

• Quick Look at the Recipe
• Why You'll Love These Lemon Sablé Dunk Cups
• What Are Sablés?
• Ingredients You'll Need for the Lemon Sablé Cookies
• Making the Lemon Sablé Cookies - Step-by-Step
• Making the Lemon Marshmallow Dip
• Assembling the Dome Cups
• Chula's Test Kitchen Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Other Creative Cookies You'll Love
• Recipe

Why You'll Love These Lemon Sablé Dunk Cups

• Elegant enough for a bridal shower, but simple enough for a weekend gathering.
• Inspired by my experimenting with individual cookie-and-dip cups. After creating Mini Chocolate Chip Cookie Dip Cups and Patriotic Star Cookie Cups, I wanted something that felt a little more refined. The Lemon Sablé Dunk Cups check all the boxes.
• These French-style cookies have a delicate, crumbly texture and just enough lemon flavor to be special without being overwhelming.
• When paired with a light lemon marshmallow dip and packaged in clear dome cups, they create a bakery-style presentation that's perfect for gifting and entertaining.

What Are Sablés?

Sablés are a classic French butter cookie known for their characteristic sandy texture. In fact, le sablé actually means "sand" in French, referring to the delicate crumb that practically melts in your mouth.

Unlike traditional sugar cookies, sablés are rich and buttery, delicately sweet, tender and crumbly, and perfect for pairing with coffee or tea. In addition, because they don't contain baking powder or baking soda, any spread during baking is minimal.

Even though sablés are often rolled into a log and cut into circles, I transformed these lemon sablés into delicate flower-shaped cookies that fit beautifully into individual dunk cups.

Ingredients You'll Need for the Lemon Sablé Cookies

Making the Lemon Sablé Cookies - Step-by-Step

2. Flavor the Sugar: Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl and rub them together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and fragrant, about a minute.

2. Make the Dough: Beat the butter with the flavored sugar on medium until smooth and creamy. Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla, and beat on medium for about a minute. Add the flour, and beat on low just until the flour is incorporated. Avoid overmixing.

3. Refrigerate or Freeze: Transfer the dough to a gallon-size freezer Ziploc bag, and roll into an even layer. Place the bag on a flat surface. With the top open, roll the dough into a ¼-inch-thick rectangle that fills the bag. As you roll, turn the bag occasionally and lift the plastic from the dough so that it doesn't cause creases. Seal the bag and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or freeze for at least 1 hour.

4. Cut into Flower Shapes: Open the Ziploc bag, carefully cut the dough away from the bag, then discard the bag. Transfer the dough to a parchment-lined surface dusted with confectioners' sugar. Cut the dough into shapes with a 3.5-inch flower cookie cutter.

5. Bake: Arrange the flower shapes on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about an inch between the cookies. Sprinkle the tops with yellow sanding sugar and bake in a preheated 325°F oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown around the edges.

6. Cool: Remove the cookies from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Making the Lemon Marshmallow Dip

1. Ingredients: For the dip, you'll need marshmallow fluff, confectioners' sugar, unsalted butter, fresh lemon zest, and fine sea salt.

2. Process: Add the marshmallow fluff, confectioners' sugar, butter, lemon zest, and salt to the food processor with the steel blade. Process for about 30 seconds until smooth and creamy.

Assembling the Dome Cups

1. Add the Cookies: Add 8 to 10 cookies to each of the plastic cups, leaving room for the insert.

2. Fill the Inserts: Add 2 tablespoons of the dip to the cup inserts, and sprinkle with yellow sanding sugar.

3. Secure the Cups: Place the filled inserts on the top of the cups, and secure the dome lids.

These Lemon Sablé Dunk Cups take a classic French-inspired butter cookie and turn it into an elegant, individually packaged dessert that's perfect for entertaining. With their delicate lemon flavor, buttery crumb, and fluffy lemon marshmallow dip, they're a sophisticated treat that's surprisingly easy to make.

Whether you're hosting a summer gathering, preparing party favors, or simply looking for a unique way to serve homemade cookies, these charming dunk cups are guaranteed to impress. Yum!

Chula's Test Kitchen Tips

• Use Fresh Lemons: Freshly zested lemons provide the best flavor. Older refrigerated lemons often lose some of their aromatic oils.
• Roll Dough Evenly: For uniform cookies, roll the dough to an even thickness before chilling and cutting. The Ziploc bag makes this easy to do.
• Confectioners' Sugar Rather than Flour: I like to sprinkle confectioners' sugar on the parchment paper rather than flour before adding the dough. Confectioners' sugar works as well as flour and imparts a subtle sweetness to a not overly sweet dough. Flour can make the cookies gummy.
• Dough Scraps: Anytime you use cookie cutters for shapes, you inevitably end up with scraps of dough. One of my favorite uses of the scraps is to gather them up, cover them with a piece of parchment paper, roll them to about ¼-inch thickness, and use a crinkle pastry wheel to make cookie fries!
• Chill Before Baking: Chilling the cut cookies helps maintain crisp flower shapes during baking.
• Package at Room Temperature: Allow both the cookies and dip to cool completely before assembling the cups.

Frequently Asked Questions

Other Creative Cookies You'll Love

Recipe