Bursting with lemony flavor, these lemon shortbread cookies offer melt in your mouth, buttery goodness. Brightened with a light lemon glaze, your mouth will love you for making these.
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Shortbread is my all time favorite cookie. I love the salty sweet flavor combination and sandy, sugary texture. Trying different flavor combinations to compliment the flavor of the base cookie is fun and satisfies my need for creativity in the kitchen. Lemon offers a brightness to the cookie that feels like summer!
More lemon zest, please!
Tons of lemon zest and fresh lemon juice really make these cookies pop with lemon flavor. Whenever possible, I love using fresh versus extract. The flavor comes forward cleaner and more naturally.
A quality zester is a must. My old zester created thick strips of zest that I had to then chop to make the zest come together in the batter. This microplane is a game changer, it creates the finest zest to really bring that fresh citrus taste to any recipe!
Tips for success!
These cookies come together easily, but here are my tips for success to make the best cookies! Butter at room temperature allows the ingredients to come together more smoothly. I prefer to use salted butter as I feel it allows the flavors to balance out more evenly.
Many shortbread recipes call for the use of confectioner’s sugar, but I really prefer granulated sugar. I love the texture this brings to the cookies and the sandy, melt in your mouth result!
Chilling the dough prior to baking solidifies the fats in the cookie dough, resulting in cookies that spread less as they bake. I like my shortbread to have clean edges, so chilling helps create beautiful cookies! I do not chill my dough prior to rolling and cutting. The dough becomes difficult to work with when it is cold and hard.
Rolling my cookies and cut them, I then pop the tray in the fridge for 15 minutes. It works out perfectly and makes baking the cookies more time efficient. This also allows stamping cookies with a cool design easier too!
Cookie stamps are perfect for shortbread cookies! They bring design and creativity to the finished cookie. I love using different stamps for different recipes and seasons.
Check out my Honey Cinnamon Shortbread with cute honey bee stamps!
I use a simple water glass to cut my cookies. Once placed on a baking sheet, dust your stamp in flour between each cookie and then firmly, but gently press the design into each cookie.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Butter
- ¾ Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 TBSP Lemon Zest
- 3 TBSP Lemon Juice
- ½ TSP Salt
- 2¼ Cups All-Purpose Flour + 2 TBSP Flour
Lemon Glaze
- ½ Cup Confectioner's Sugar
- 1 TBSP Milk
- 1½ TSP Fresh Lemon Juice
- Extra Milk as needed for thinning
Instructions
- In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- While butter and sugar comes together, finely zest 2 lemons.
- Juice lemons, to create 3 tablespoons of lemon juice for the recipe.
- Add the salt, lemon zest and lemon juice to the mixer and mix until well combined.
- Add in flour a ½ cup at a time and mix until combined. Add the full 2 ¼ cups of flour, then add additional flour in small amounts up to 2 TBSP to create a soft play dough like consistency.
- Prepare 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mat and set aside.
- Flour a flat surface and roll out the dough to a ½ inch thickness. Using a 2¼ inch round cookie cutter, cut dough and place on the prepared cookie sheets. If not using a cookie press, make cookies a little over ¼ inch in thickness.
- Flour the cookie stamp and gently press each cookie to create design.
- Place prepared cookies in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill. While cookies chill, preheat oven to 350°F.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes until the edges of the cookies are just starting to brown.
Lemon Glaze
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whip until smooth.
- Brush glaze onto cookies and allow to set.
Nothing is more perfect in cookies than lemon! I love these lightly glazed cookies for summer cookouts, light and bright, salty and sweet. These lemon cookies are amazing, you must try some today!
Live fully, eat well, bake cookies!
Check out these other great recipes!
- Brown Sugar Ricotta Cheesecake
- Spiced Snowflake Sugar Cookies
- Irish Cream Cheesecake with Chocolate Ganache
- Nutella Swirl Banana Bread
- Key Lime Cheesecake With Marshmallow Cream Topping
Strawberry Lemonade Thumbprint Cookies
Easy Crepes with Sweet Cream Cheese
