Step 1

Add the raspberries to a small saucepan and cook them over medium heat until they've completely softened and released their juices.

Step 2

Pass the softened raspberries though a sieve, placed over a small bowl or jug, to remove the seeds and other solids. You should get about 80g or about ⅓ cup of raspberry juices.

Step 3

Return the raspberry juices to the saucepan and add the lemon juice. Set aside until needed.

Step 4

In a heat-proof bowl, whisk together the sugar, egg, egg yolk and salt until slightly fluffy and paler in colour (no need to use a stand or a hand mixer for this, just whisk them briefly together by hand with a balloon whisk).

Step 5

Cook the raspberry-lemon juice mixture over medium heat until it only just comes to a boil (but don't allow too much moisture to evaporate, remove it from the heat as soon as it comes to a boil).

Step 6

Add the hot raspberry juices to the egg-sugar mixture in a slow drizzle, whisking constantly until you've added all the juices.Tip: This tempers the egg and egg yolk, and prevents your raspberry curd from splitting or curdling when you cook it.

Step 7

Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook it over low heat with constant stirring until thickened so that it thickly coats the back of a spoon or spatula. This should take about 4-6 minutes. Don't allow the raspberry curd to come to a boil – you shouldn't see any bubbles forming.

Step 8

Once thickened, remove from the heat and stir in the butter until it's fully melted. Add the vanilla and mix well.

Step 9

Pour the finished raspberry curd into a bowl or heat-proof container and cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film. Make sure that the plastic wrap/cling film is in direct contact with the surface of the raspberry curd – this will prevent skin formation. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature, then chill it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or until thickened. (You can also prepare the raspberry curd a day or two in advance and keep it in the fridge until needed.)

Step 10

Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl, and use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar. Tip: This helps to release more essential oils from the zest, and it will make your cookies even more lemony and aromatic.

Step 11

Add the melted butter, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla, and whisk well until combined.

Step 12

In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder and salt, and add them to the wet ingredients.

Step 13

Mix with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until you get a smooth, batter-like cookie dough.Tip: At this stage, the cookie dough will really be more like a batter – it will be very loose, soft and sticky, bordering on runny. That's how it should be. Don't add more flour!

Step 14

Chill the cookie dough in the fridge for at least 2 hours before proceeding to the next step. You can also keep it in the fridge overnight if you want to bake the cookies the next day.Tip: In addition to firming up the cookie dough into something you can actually handle and shape into balls, chilling also ensures that the cookies won’t melt into puddles during baking.

Step 15

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC) and line two large baking sheets with parchment/baking paper.Tip: You will bake the cookies in two batches, so you can line two baking sheets if you have them on hand. Otherwise, just re-use the same baking sheet, but make sure to cool it completely before you place the next batch of unbaked cookies onto it.

Step 16

Use a 2-tablespoon cookie or ice cream scoop to scoop out a portion of the cookie dough. Drop it directly into a bowl of powdered/icing sugar and roll it around until it’s evenly coated. The sugar coating will allow you to handle the cookie dough without it sticking, so you can roll it between your palms to form a perfectly round ball.Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough, you should get 16 cookies in total.

Step 17

Place the sugar-coated cookie dough balls onto the lined baking sheets, with plenty of space between them, about 8 per baking sheet (as the cookies will spread during baking).

Step 18

Use a ½-tablespoon measuring spoon to make an indent in the centre of each cookie dough ball (make sure that you press only halfway through each cookie dough ball, not all the way through).

Step 19

Fill the cookies with about 1 (generous) teaspoon of raspberry curd.Tip: Note that you won't use up all of the raspberry curd. You can use the remainder to serve with the cookies, or you can spread it on bread or cakes, swirl it into frosting or similar.

Step 20

Bake one baking sheet at a time at 350ºF (180ºC) for 9-12 minutes or until the cookies have spread and cracked around the edges and the raspberry curd centre is slightly puffed up but NOT visibly bubbling (this will ensure that it stays beautifully smooth and creamy).While the first batch of cookies is baking, keep the second baking sheet with the cookies in the fridge until needed.

Step 21

The cookies will be very soft and delicate immediately out of the oven. Allow them to cool on the baking sheet for about 5-10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 22

These raspberry curd lemon cookies are amazing both warm and at room temperature, but I find them to be at their very best when they're chilled from the fridge.

Step 23

The gluten free raspberry curd lemon cookies keep well in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days, or in the fridge for up to about 1 week.

Step 24

You will have some raspberry curd left over – you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to about 10 days.