These lemon shortbread cookies are made with a buttery dough filled with both lemon zest and lemon juice, baked and topped with a zesty lemon glaze.
If you are a fan of lemon desserts and buttery and melt in your mouth shortbread cookies you are going to love this recipe! It is made with only 7 ingredients and takes under an hour from start to finish!
For more lemon desserts, check out our lemon bars with graham cracker crust, lemon pound cake, lemon curd cookies, lemon poppy seed muffins, lemonade bundt cake, lemon cooler cookies, lemon tart, and lemon curd cake.
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Why this recipe works
- These cookies are made with fresh lemon juice and fresh lemon zest.
- This is a no-chill cookie recipe! Which means that it takes under an hour to make it from start to finish!
- You can double, or triple this recipe if desired!
- This is a great recipe to make ahead of time! You can prep the dough a day or two before and bake it when ready!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this shortbread lemon cookies recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of these delicious cookies.
Lemon juice- use fresh lemon juice for this recipe. Fresh lemon will give you the best result. We don't recommend using store-bought lemon juice. This will make the flavor pop!
Lemon zest- you will need ½ teaspoon of lemon zest. We recommend zesting the lemon first and then juicing it.
Flour– we used all-purpose flour for this recipe. cake flour will work great as well.
Baking powder– baking powder allows the cookies to spread. Make sure that your baking powder is not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the lemon glaze
Powder sugar (for assembly)- you will need powder sugar for the glaze. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Instructions
Into a small mixing bowl, add the softened butter, granulated sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy.
Add the flour, and baking powder, and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy and there are no lumps of flour visible.
Using an ice cream or a cookie scooper, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll them into balls.
Slightly flatten the cookies using your clean hands or a glass. Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.
Make a simple lemon glaze by mixing together in a small mixing bowl powder sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Top each cookie with how much glaze you like! Top with more lemon zest and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use fresh lemons! To get the best lemon flavor, first, grate the lemons (only the outer layer and not the white layer) and then cut them open and juice them.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Faq's
These cookies will last for up to 5 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature in the fridge or up to 4 days stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
We used regular unsalted butter for this recipe. If you want to use salted butter in this recipe, simply skip the salt and make the recipe as written.
We use all-purpose flour for this recipe, and cake flour will work great as well.
Yes! You can make the cookie dough and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. When you are ready to bake, follow the instructions as written.
Storing
Store these cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Freezing
There are two ways to freeze these cookies, follow the instructions as written and make the dough, then cover the dough with plastic wrap and place it into a freezer-friendly airtight ziplock bag, and freeze the cookie dough for up to 3 months.
When ready to make these cookies, thaw them in the fridge overnight and follow the instructions as written.
The second way you can freeze these cookies is by baking them according to the instructions, letting the cookies cool completely, and freezing them in an airtight freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months.
To thaw, place them at room temperature for 1-2 hours to defrost.
Substitutions
Dairy-free- It’s easy to make this cookie recipe dairy-free. Simply replace the butter with vegan butter.
Gluten-free- you can swap the flour with gluten-free flour to make these gluten-free. I never tested this recipe with gluten-free flour, but it should work.
Variations
White chocolate- add mini white chocolate chips to the cookie dough for a delicious white chocolate flavor.
Lemon zest- add even more lemon zest for a stronger lemon flavor and aroma.
Powder sugar- top these cookies with powdered sugar instead of the glaze for a more subtle topping!
Lemon flavor- for an even extra lemon flavor, add ½ teaspoon of lemon paste or lemon extract!
More cookies recipes
Chocolate chip cookies without brown sugar- If you ever wanted to make chocolate chip cookies but ran out of brown sugar, make these! They are super delish and use simple ingredients.
Brownie cookies- These brownie cookies are rich, fudgy, and full of chocolate flavor. These have a crackly top and a fudgy center that tastes just like a brownie!
Nutella cookies- These Nutella cookies are chocolate cookies that are made with Nutella inside the cookie dough and topped with dollops of melted Nutella.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 115 g Butter
- ¼ cup Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice
- ⅓ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ⅓ teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 cup Flour
Lemon glaze
- 1 cup Powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Into a small mixing bowl, add the softened butter, granulated sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, kosher salt, and vanilla extract. Mix with an electric hand mixer until well combined and creamy.
- Add the flour, and baking powder, and mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy and there are no lumps of flour visible.
- Using an ice cream or a cookie scooper, scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the cookie dough and roll them into balls.
- Slightly flatten the cookies using your clean hands or a glass. Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for 12-15 minutes.
- Make a simple lemon glaze by mixing together in a small mixing bowl powder sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Top each cookie with how much glaze you like! Top with more lemon zest and enjoy!
Notes
- Use fresh lemons! To get the best lemon flavor, first, grate the lemons (only the outer layer and not the white layer) and then cut them open and juice them.
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have moist cookies and not dense and dry cookies.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Line your sheet pan with parchment paper or a silicone mat! This step helps the cookies to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your cookies release easily from the pan.
- Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
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