You're going to fall in love with this lemon shortbread cookies recipe! They are absolutely perfect and bursting with lemony flavor. Their buttery texture makes them melt in your mouth. So bake some soon and enjoy them with a hot cup of coffee or tea!
Shortbread cookies are one of my favorite kind of cookies. Whether it's shakar lama (cardamom shortbread cookies) or vegan shortbread cookies, I can't get enough! I never expected to say this, but this lemon shortbread cookies recipe just might be my new favorite!
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🧐 Why This Recipe Works
- This is a really easy, fool-proof shortbread recipe that produces perfect results!
- Shortbread cookies freeze well so you don't have to eat them all at once, but you will most likely want to. They're that good!
- Lemon shortbread cookies travel well too. That means you can add them to care packages to send to your loved ones!
- If you're trying to watch your sugar intake, you can skip the lemon zest icing.
🛒 What You Need For This Recipe
🔖 Recipe Ingredients & Substitutions
- Butter: I used unsalted butter, however, you can use salted butter and leave out the additional salt.
- Flour: Instead of all-purpose flour, I decided to use pastry flour and I'm so glad that I did. It gives the shortbread cookies a wonderfully delicate and light texture. If you need to, you can use all purpose flour.
- Sugar: If you don't have baker's sugar, which is much finer than regular granulated sugar, you can use granulated sugar. Some recipes also call for powdered sugar.
- Lemon: You'll need one medium lemon which you will zest and juice. The fresh lemon juice and zest will be split between the cookies and the icing. I don't recommend using bottled lemon juice.
- Lemon extract: I decided to add ½ teaspoon of lemon extract to enhance the lemon flavor. If you don't have it, you can leave it out or use ½ teaspoon vanilla extract instead.
- Sea salt: A small amount of salt is needed to balance out the sweetness.
- Confectioners sugar: Confectioners sugar will be needed to make icing.
- Lemon icing: Once the cookies are cool, they can be iced unless you prefer them less sweet.
🍋 How to Make Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Step 1: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream room temperature butter until fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl then add ½ of the lemon zest and juice, along with the lemon extract, if using. Mix to combine.
Step 2: Pour baking sugar into the bowl and mix until incorporated. Sift pastry flour and sea salt into the bowl then mix the flour mixture with the other ingredients until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Baking Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Step 3: Roll out the dough into ¼" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies, then arrange 12 cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some room for expansion.
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Pro Tip: My cookie cutter was 2 ¾". If you use a different sized cookie cutter you may end up with more or less cookies. Also keep in mind that the baking time might need to be adjusted as well!
Step 4: Bake for 13 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Cool on a cooling rack.
Prepare Lemon Glaze
Step 1: Whisk icing sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Either dip the cookies into the icing, spread the icing onto the cookies, or drizzle the icing onto the shortbread cookies and allow them to set.
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQS
Yes, you should chill shortbread dough before baking the cookies. The chill time allows the dough to become firmer and will help to keep the cookies from expanding too much as they bake.
The desired texture of shortbread should be crunchy, buttery, and it should melt in your mouth.
It is helpful if you use room temperature butter to make shortbread so that it can be creamed into a fluffy texture. This will also allow the other ingredients including the sugar to blend into the butter more evenly. However, you will want to chill the dough for 30 to 60 minutes so that it's easier to roll out and won't spread as they bake.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- If you'd like, you can roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper instead of rolling the dough out on a floured surface.
- Another option is to roll the cookie dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill before slicing the dough into discs for baking.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
🍪 Related Recipes
If you enjoyed this lemon shortbread cookies recipe, be sure to check out the following cookie recipes too!
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 1 medium lemon juiced and zested (use ½ of juice & zest)
- ½ teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
- ⅓ cup baking sugar (Caster sugar)
- 1¾ cups pastry flour
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Lemon Zest Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar (Confectioner's sugar)
- 1½ tablespoon lemon juice (remaining from juiced lemon)
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest (remaining from zested lemon)
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream room temperature butter until fluffy. Scrape the sides of the bowl then add ½ of the lemon zest and juice, along with the lemon extract, if using. Mix to combine.
- Pour baking sugar into the bowl and mix until incorporated. Sift pastry flour and sea salt into the bowl then mix the flour mixture with the other ingredients until the dough comes together. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325°F
- Roll out the dough into ¼" thickness on a lightly floured surface. Use a cookie cutter to cut out cookies, then arrange 12 cookies on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving some room for expansion.
- Bake for 13 minutes or until the cookies are lightly brown around the edges. Cool on a cooling rack.
Prepare Lemon Zest Icing
- Whisk icing sugar, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Either dip the cookies into the icing, spread the icing onto the cookies, or drizzle the icing onto the shortbread cookies and allow them to set.
Notes
-
- If you'd like, you can roll the dough out between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper instead of rolling the dough out on a floured surface.
- My cookie cutter was 2 ¾". If you use a different sized cookie cutter you may end up with more or less cookies. Also keep in mind that the baking time might need to be adjusted as well!
- Another option is to roll the cookie dough into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill before slicing the dough into discs for baking.
- Store cookies in an airtight container for up to a week or freeze in freezer bags for up to 3 months.
Lori Ross says
Just made these for the first time. The recipe was super easy to follow. I did purchase the recommended sugar and flour. I tried to decorate them with a piping tip but honestly just dipping the top in the icing worked the best.
Hilda Sterner says
Hi Lori,
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving the review. Now try not to eat them all in one day. 😂 I limited myself to one a day!