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    Home » Recipes » Cookies

    Published on: March 16, 2021 by Janice Lawandi; Updated on: February 10, 2023 8 Comments

    Lemon shortbread cookies

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    This easy recipe for lemon shortbread cookies makes a dough that you can roll out and cutout with cookie cutters, or even stamp out to give them a pattern. They are brushed with a lemon glaze when warm for extra lemon flavour.

    A pink ceramic plate of glazed lemon shortbread, ready to be eaten.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Shortbread ratio of ingredients

    For this recipe, we are using the classic shortbread ratio of 1:2:3 by weight, so 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, and 3 parts flour, combined with lemon zest and lemon juice.

    Ingredients to make lemon shortbread cookies measured and ready to mix.

    This is the same ratio I used for these lavender shortbread and it's the base for these easy lemon bars. However, instead of patting the dough in a pan to bake, you can roll out the shortbread to cut them with cookie cutters as done in the recipe below.

    A disk of lemon shortbread cookie dough.

    These lemon shortbread are made with granulated sugar. I like to use granulated sugar because I find it gives the shortbread a more crumbly, coarse texture. You could use icing sugar instead as a possible baking substitution, as in these jam-filled shortbread cookies. The icing sugar will make the cookies more tender and gives them a melt-in-your-mouth quality.

    Rolled shortbread that don't spread

    The trouble with shortbread is that they are high in fat and, sometimes, if the butter gets too warm, the cookies can spread in the oven.

    To avoid cookies spreading too much in the oven, we chill the cookie dough before rolling out the dough and baking the cookies. Actually chilling the dough also makes the dough easier to roll out because when the butter is warm, the dough is particularly tender and prone to tearing and sticking to the work surface, even if it's floured.

    Learn how to make glazed lemon shortbread cookies with this easy recipe. The glaze is flavoured with lemon juice and the cookies with lemon zest.

    You can also chill the cut-out cookies before baking to ensure that the cookie dough is cold before you pop the pan into the oven. I like to do all the rolling, stamping, and cutting at once, and get all the cookies onto a couple of cookie sheets to chill them all at once.

    A sheet pan of lemon shortbread with a stamped texture before baking.

    I preheat the oven while the cookies are chilling. Then when they are firm and the oven is preheated, I can transfer a few to another baking sheet, spacing them out to allow air to circulate between them and then I bake them. I find it's easier to batch the work of rolling, cutting, chilling, and baking.

    Freshly baked lemon shortbread on a parchment lined sheet pan.

    Adding lemon flavour to cookies

    Though the cookie dough is flavoured with both lemon zest and lemon juice, the lemon flavour is mild, though it smells quite citrusy as they bake.

    It takes a lot of lemon juice to impart that acidity, and too much lemon juice would ruin the texture of the cookies. The extra liquid would also make the cookies spread as they bake in the oven, even if you chill the cookie dough.

    Lemon shoortbread cookies cooling on a rack being glazed.

    The tart lemon flavour mostly comes from the glaze, made with lemon juice, icing sugar, and a little butter to round out the flavour. This is the same glaze used for these soft gingerbread cookies.

    Using a cookie stamp (like these stamps from Nordic Ware on Amazon I used here), pressed on the surface of the cookies before baking, leads to lots of nooks and crannies so the cookies can hold more glaze. The dents give place where a little extra glaze can settle in without running off. Stamping is optional, but I love the effect it gives.

    A plate of glazed lemon shortbread cookies.

    Of course, you don't have to glaze these cookies, but the lemon glaze really makes these cookies shine, both in flavour and in appearance. It's a little extra touch that is easy to do but makes them look even more special.

    📖 Recipe

    A pink plate filled with lemon shortbread cookies and with a yellow napkin.

    Lemon Shortbread Cookies

    AuthorAuthor : Janice Lawandi
    These easy lemon shortbread cookies are topped with a lemon glaze to give these butter cookies even more lemon flavour.
    5 from 2 votes
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    Prep Time 25 minutes mins
    Cook Time 14 minutes mins
    Chill time 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 39 minutes mins
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine British
    Servings 26
    Calories 146 kcal

    Equipment

    • Food processor
    • Rolling pin
    • Cookie stamps
    • Pastry brush

    Ingredients
     
     

    Lemon shortbread

    • 230 grams unsalted butter room temperature
    • 100 grams granulated sugar
    • 15 mL finely grated lemon zest
    • 2.5 mL Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt (or up to 1 teaspoon fine kosher salt)
    • 290 grams bleached all-purpose flour
    • 22.5 mL fresh lemon juice

    Lemon glaze

    • 125 grams icing sugar
    • 30 mL fresh lemon juice heated in the microwave so it's hot
    • 28 grams unsalted butter melted
    • 1 pinch Diamond Crystal fine kosher salt

    Instructions
     

    Lemon shortbread

    • In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar lemon zest, and salt until it is smooth, light, and creamy.
    • Add the flour and beat it in until the mixture turns into a sandy crumble. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture should come together into a uniform dough once you add the liquid.
    • Divide the mixture in two and flatten each piece of dough into a disk. Wrap them in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
    • Preheat the oven to 350 ºF (175 °C).
    • Working with one disk of dough at a time, on a lightly floured surface, using a rolling pin, roll out the dough to between ⅛–¼ inch. Stamp out as many cookies as possible, then cut with 3-inch cookie cutters.
    • Transfer the cookies to a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a 1 inch space between them. If the cookies are too soft, chill them before baking.
    • Bake the cookies until the edges are just beginning to brown, about 13 to 15 minutes. Prepare the glaze while the cookies are baking.
    • Let cool 5 minutes then brush generously with the glaze so that the glaze melts onto the cookies. Let cool completely. The glaze should harden.
    • Repeat with the rest of the cookie dough, rerolling the scraps.

    Lemon glaze

    • To make the lemon-butter glaze while the cookies are in the oven, as the glaze needs to be brushed onto the cookies while they are still warm, sift the confectioners’ sugar into a small bowl. Add the melted butter, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Mix with a fork until you form a smooth glaze. The glaze will thicken slightly if it sits around, so stir through a little warm water if you need to—it should be the consistency of runny honey.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 146kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 1gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 40mgPotassium: 17mgFiber: 1gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 248IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 1mg
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    Comments

    1. Beth says

      February 25, 2023 at 11:31 pm

      These are delicious!! They came out wonderfully.
      Do you think they could be made with fresh orange juice and zest instead of lemon?

      Reply
    2. ANGELICA says

      May 27, 2021 at 5:54 am

      Pinning these yummy cookies!

      Reply
    3. Richard Gilchrist says

      April 04, 2021 at 9:44 pm

      There are no equivalent measures in the icing.

      Reply
      • Janice says

        April 04, 2021 at 10:33 pm

        Fixed it!

        Reply
    4. Bruce says

      April 02, 2021 at 6:51 pm

      Looks very tasty, thanks. BTW, 1 and 1/2 Tbsp is 22.5 ml.

      Reply
      • Janice says

        April 02, 2021 at 11:01 pm

        You’re right! I was missing a millilitre! Thanks for catching that.

        Reply
    5. Lucy says

      April 01, 2021 at 8:40 am

      I plan to make after receiving the cookie stamps, but in reading through the recipe, I did not see when to add the lemon zest. I usually mix with the sugar in a food processor prior to creaming, but some people might be a bit confused.

      Reply
      • Janice says

        April 01, 2021 at 10:18 am

        Hi Lucy! Thanks so much for mentioning the lemon zest! You can definitely mix it with the sugar in the food processor first, or in this case, I mixed it with the butter, sugar and salt in the first step because I think the mixer plus the sugar granules will help to work the oils and the flavour out of the citrus to infuse the mixture. I'll make sure to add that to the directions.

        Reply

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