Lemon Icebox Cupcakes!
I had goldfish crackers for dinner Monday night. Please don’t imagine me with a small ramekin of fishy crackers because I was definitely not eating them one by one in some a dainty feminine fashion. The reality is that I stood in my kitchen making a snack for Cooper and my giant man hands forced them into my mouth by the handful. And then like 15 minutes later Cooper was all, “MOM!! I’M STARVING!!” forcing me to wake up from my cracker binge coma. All this to say that I don’t have the energy to do much cooking/baking in the Summer. Sometimes I can’t be bothered turning on the stove or oven. Sometimes we have goldfish for dinner (with apples and red peppers) and if Casey’s away, it’s always cereal. We’re all just trying to keep it real, aren’t we?
I made these little beauties for my family on Father’s Day because the last thing I wanted to do was turn the oven on and bake a cake. They are absolutely NO FUSS. I’m sure you could add a little more work for yourself if you make your own lemon wafer cookies and lemon curd, but then you’d have to turn on the oven and your stove. Not advised when the temperature is pushing 90F. I compiled ingredients at Trader Joe’s the morning of our party like it was no big deal. Because it wasn’t.
Can I tell you the ONE drawback to serving these?? People were too shy to eat more than one. I think because they’re in individual cupcake wrappers, people assume that having two would be equivalent to having 2 cupcakes. If I had made an entire cake of them, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have had any leftovers. Since I didn’t want to have any leftover (I can’t be trusted with these in my fridge!) I dug into a few and made people “split” another cupcake with me. Safety in numbers, folks. Make your life easier this summer and make these. Also, if you don’t want to eat goldfish crackers by the fistful, don’t be a dummy (like me) and buy a case at Costco. I would be in serious trouble if I bought Cheez-Its…
And we’re off!! Simplicity at its best!
First we make our whipped cream. Beat the cream with a hand mixer or a stand mixer! Add in the vanilla and the confectioner’s sugar when you’re at soft peak stage. Then fold in the lemon zest.
Lemon curd enters the picture.
Side note: Trader Joe’s lemon curd is good! Doesn’t taste very eggy. I like that in lemon curd.
Line cupcake wrappers up! Put one wafer into wrapper.
Top with a dollop of lemon whipped cream. Now we stack!
Another layer down. We are going for 4 layers total finished with a nice dollop.
You could pipe them…but that’s an extra step.
JUST CALL IT RUSTIC. I mean…if you’re gonna complain about me making you a rustic dessert then you shouldn’t be at my table. You know what I mean??!
A dollop of lemon curd on top. You could stop here but then it kinda looks like eggs.
Raspberries are the perfect accessory.
After 4+ hours in the fridge, the cookies get a little soft and spongey in the same way that ladyfingers get in a tiramisu. It’s divine and it’s NO BAKE!
EAT TWO (or more). They’re LIGHT!!
If you need another quick & easy dessert, try White Chocolate Mousse!
Lemon Icebox Cookies
makes about 22 cupcakes
- 1 pint heavy whipping cream
- 1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1/2 cup lemon curd, divided
- 88 lemon wafer cookies
- 22 fresh raspberries
In a large bowl, beat the heavy whipping cream with a hand mixer until soft peaks form. Add in the confectioner’s sugar and vanilla extract and continue to beat until whipping cream forms firm peaks. Fold in lemon zest and 3-4 heaping tablespoons of lemon curd.
Line a baking sheet with 22 cupcake wrappers. Place a lemon wafer cookie on the bottom of each cupcake wrapper. Spread the tops of each cookie with a dollop of the lemon whipped cream. Layer another cookie on top and continue with another dollop of whipped cream and layer of cookie until you have four cookies layered for each cupcake. Top the final cookie with the lemon whipped cream and finish with a dollop of lemon curd. Place a raspberry on each icebox cupcake, cover baking sheet with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve nicely chilled.
