If you love a good shortbread cookie but you’re also a fan of lemon, this is the recipe for you! This delicious lemon shortbread is simple to make and over-the-top delicious to eat!
What is a Shortbread Cookie?
Shortbread cookies are among the most popular, not just for their delicious flavor but their ease! This is a base recipe, one easily tweaked to fit a variety of flavor profiles.
In this particular case, we’re going lemon. Lemon, lemon, lemon! I add lemon zest to the cookie and lemon juice to the glaze. Pucker up, because this one will have you zinging!
Lemon in Shortbread Form? Yes, Please!
Lemon lovers, unite!
I happen to have a son-in-law who’s crazy about lemon. I always know that I can take my lemon-themed desserts to him and he’ll eat ‘em up. That was definitely the case with these. When I first offered him the container of cookies, he said, “No, that’s okay. I don’t need them.”
Then he ate one.
And extended his hand for the container to take home.
Yep, they’re that kind of good. Addictive, even! So, what are we waiting for? Let’s take a look at what you’re going to need to make these delicious cookies.
Lemon Shortbread Cookie Ingredients
You will find a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here’s a quick peek at what you’ll need to make these. I’m guessing you already have these ingredients on hand in your kitchen, right now!
For the cookies:
- 1 cups butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Zest of two lemons
For the Glaze
- Juice of two fresh lemons
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
That’s it! Just a few simple ingredients!
How to Make Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Because these have to chill for half an hour, there’s no need to preheat your oven before starting.
Cream the butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. You want it to be light in color and fluffy.
Now add the brown sugar. Cream it for at least 2 – 3 minutes, until fully incorporated.
Add the lemon zest and flour next. Mix at low speed, only until it comes together. You don’t want to over-mix or you’ll end up with tough cookies.
Place cookie dough on a floured work surface. (I used a piece of waxed paper.)
Using a rolling pin, roll into large rectangle between two pieces of parchment paper. Shoot for about 1/4 inch thickness.
Poke dough with the tines of a fork.
Place the shortbread dough on a tray and chill for half hour.
About ten minutes before you’re ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Using a small circle cutter, (or your favorite cookie cutters) cut out cookies. (My tiny cutter made about 40 cookies.) Place on baking sheets.
Bake at 350 for 12 – 14 minutes or until golden brown. Baking time may vary, depending on your oven. For best results, don’t over-bake.
Remove from the oven and place on cooling rack.
While the cookies are cooling, make your glaze: Measure out 1 cup confectioners’ sugar.
Add fresh lemon juice and stir well until lumps are gone and the glaze is the desired consistency. (I’ve learned this is a matter of preference. I like mine to be honey consistency.)
Once the cookies are able to be handled, dip them into the simple lemon glaze and set on the wire rack to dry. Your glaze will form a crust, but not harden completely.
Serve and enjoy!
Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container (or tightly covered in plastic wrap). They should stay good up to a week. These cookies can be frozen and eaten later. (In fact, the dough can be frozen and baked later, if you like. Just roll it into a log/tube and use as slice-and-bake cookies.)
What to Expect from these Cookie
This is a classic shortbread cookie recipe, and I’ve always been a fan (for good reason):
Shortbread cookies are light, flaky, and over-the-top delicious. These are even better, thanks to the addition of that lemon glaze. I practically swooned. When I say “these are addictive” I really mean it. I had a hard time limiting myself. (Ahem.) I wanted to keep going. And going. And going.
(Hey, I’ve always loved buttery cookies and these are among the best!)
So, I packaged them up and gave them away to two different families (my son-in-law, obviously…and a good friend). I couldn’t keep them in my house. They’re that kind of dangerous.
I have now made it a life goal to make as many variations of this recipe as possible, which leads me to the following suggestions…
Variations on this Recipe
If you want a big batch, double the recipe. Here are some other things to try.
Key Lime: I think key lime shortbread cookies would be delectable! Just substitute key limes for the lemons you used in this recipe.
Maple: Instead of lemon, use maple extract. (Sounds delicious, right?)
Berry: Keep the lemon but top each cookie with a fresh blackberry or trio of blueberries. Lemon-berry cookies sound delicious!
Caramel: Add a dollop of caramel to the top. You can use my sweetened condensed milk caramel recipe if you like. It’s the perfect texture for this sort of project.
Turtle: Add the caramel, along with drizzled chocolate and chopped pecans. Voila! Turtle shortbread!
Almond: Not a fan or lemon? No worries. Just add almond extract to the cookies and the glaze. Delicious! (These will probably taste a lot like my cut-out sugar cookies, which call for almond and vanilla.)
Jam: Use any flavor of jam you like to top (or dunk) your cookies. Delicious!
Lemon extract: If you don’t have fresh lemons or lemon juice, you can use a dash of lemon extract instead. It’s not quite the same but they will still be delicious.
Other Cookies from Out of the Box Baking
If you like these simple shortbread cookies you’re bound to love the following cookies:
Old-Fashioned Sugar Cookies: If you’re looking for a fluffy, crisp, old-fashioned Sugar Cookie, do I have a treat for you! This is a simple sugar cookie recipe, packed full of flavor, and straight from Grandma’s cookbook!
Old-Fashioned Butter Cookies: If you’re looking for a light, crisp buttery cookie, you’ve come to the right place. In this post I’m going to teach you how to make traditional, old-fashioned butter cookies, just like Grandma used to make!
Easy Twix Cookies: This is a shortbread-based cookie—so delicious and pretty!
Pecan Toffee Cookies with Salted Caramel: If you’re looking for an amazing brown sugar cookie loaded with crunch and depth of flavor, this is the recipe for you! These delicious pecan toffee cookies are packed full of brown sugar, toffee bits, and pecans and they’re drizzled with salted caramel.
That’s it for this post, friends! I hope you enjoyed this delicious lemon shortbread cookies recipe.
If you make this lemon cookies recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you’re at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!
See this recipe at
About the Author
Janice Thompson is an author, baker, and all-around mischief maker! She has overcome a host of baking catastrophes, including a toppled wedding cake, to learn more about the baking process. Janice has published over 165 books for the Christian market but particularly enjoys writing recipes and baking devotions. To learn more about Janice or to drop her a note, visit her About the Author page.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
If you love a good shortbread cookie but you’re also a fan of lemon, this is the recipe for you! This delicious lemon shortbread is simple to make and over-the-top delicious to eat!
Ingredients
- Cookies:
- 1 cups butter, softened
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 to 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- Zest of two lemons
- Glaze:
- Juice of two lemons
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Because these have to chill for half an hour, there’s no need to preheat your oven before starting.
- Cream the butter in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment. You want it to be light in color and fluffy.
- Now add the brown sugar. Cream it for at least 2 - 3 minutes, until fully incorporated.
- Add the lemon zest and flour next. Mix only until it comes together. You don’t want to over-mix or you’ll end up with tough cookies.
- Place on a floured work surface. (I used a piece of waxed paper.)
- Roll into large rectangle between two pieces of parchment paper. Shoot for about 1/4 inch thickness.
- Poke dough with the tines of a fork.
- Place the dough on a tray and chill for half hour.
- About ten minutes before you’re ready to bake them, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Using a small circle cutter, cut out cookies. (My tiny cutter made about 40 cookies.)
- Bake at 350 for 12 - 14 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool.
- While the cookies are cooling, make your glaze: Measure out 1 cup powdered sugar.
- Add lemon juice and stir well until lumps are gone and the glaze is the desired consistency. (I’ve learned this is a matter of preference. I like mine to be honey consistency.)
- Once the cookies are able to be handled, dip them into the glaze and set on the wire rack to dry. Your glaze will form a crust, but not harden completely.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container (or tightly covered in plastic wrap). They should stay good up to a week. These cookies can be frozen and eaten later. (In fact, the dough can be frozen and baked later, if you like. Just roll it into a log/tube and use as slice-and-bake cookies.)
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 40 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 112Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 41mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g
The nutrition information is a product of online calculators. I try to provide true and accurate information, but these numbers are estimates.