lemon shortbread

Shortbread is a glorious mix of butter, sugar, and flour. I added lemon zest and it became even better, with a nice zing cutting through that buttery amazingness. The dough can be refrigerated for a day before baking and the baked shortbread keeps very well. A great holiday idea!

Easy Lemon Shortbread

(175 grams) unsalted butter,

(175 grams) all-purpose or cake flour

salt

lemon zest

vanilla extract (drops, literally)

(70 grams) powdered sugar, sifted

granulated sugar, for topping

Have

ready a 9-inch (20x20cm) square baking pan that has been buttered or sprayed with baking spray.

Line

it with parchment paper: take a large piece of parchment paper of about 8 inches (almost as wide as the pan) and cover the bottom and two sides of the pan. The other two sides will remain buttered but not lined with paper. This will help you remove the shortbread after it's baked. 

a large bowl mix soft butter with the lemon zest and vanilla.

the powdered sugar and incorporate well so there are no lumps. I recommend sifting the sugar before adding, or sifting it directly over the butter mixture as I do.

the flour and salt in 2 parts, mixing with the spatula until it is smooth, well combined and no dry spots remain. 

Transfer

the dough to the prepared pan, scattering small amounts on the bottom. 

With

your hand, lightly pat the dough until it covers the whole surface. Make sure the edges are covered. Make it as even as possible, but relax because it will not be very smooth. 

Refrigerate

the whole pan, covered in plastic wrap, for 1 hour or up to 24 hours. 

Preheat

Sprinkle

the granulated sugar over the top before baking.

Bake

the shortbread for 40-45 minutes, until the top is dry, it has puffed a little and is beginning to color. You can leave a couple more minutes if you want a more golden shortbread. Just don’t let it dry out.

cool 10 minutes on a wire rack and carefully cut into sticks or squares o triangles with a smooth bladed knife. 

cool on the cooling rack completely, lift the whole square of the pan with the aid of the parchment paper, and carefully break each piece. 

Keep

Great recipe, so good it’s hard to share!  I baked in my 8” sq pan &amp; for some reason they were done @ about 30  minutes. I did add a few drops of lemon extract to up the lemon flavor even more.  So easy &amp; delicious!  Thanks for sharing!

Really simple and easy to make shortbread and the results are gorgeous! I think the timings may be off a little though as mine were done by 35 mins (in fact a little over-golden) thankfully still tasted fantastic x

I’ve used this recipe a couple of times. Can’t remember how long I baked them but they were delicious.  
Your recipe says bake for 40-45 minutes, but at the top of the recipe it says prep time 45 minutes and cook time 20 minutes ???

Great Recipe - steps were really easy to follow. My dough came out sticky and soft - I was wondering if that’s normal? I ended up adding extra flour to help it come together. 

I used a cookie mould with this recipe - Dough kept getting stuck. I was wondering if anyone else had the same problem?

This Lemon Shortbread Cookies recipe gives you thick, melt-in-your-mouth, buttery soft cookies that are packed with the perfect amount of lemon flavor. For some extra lemon flavor, top them with a simple lemon glaze and a sprinkling of lemon zest.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

All-Purpose Flour

tsp Baking Powder

Salt

Unsalted Butter (room temperature)

Sugar

Brown Sugar

Lemon Zest (from 1 small lemon)

tbsp Lemon

tsp Vanilla Extract

Powdered Sugar

Milk

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Set to the side.

Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the unsalted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla extract on medium-high speed until well blended.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, gradually adding in the whisked dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.

Adjust oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center), preheat oven to 300ºF, and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Using a spoon or a 1 tablespoon-size cookie scoop, roll the cookie dough into balls. Place roughly 1 1/2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets. You can also use a 1 1/2 tablespoon-size cookie scoop which will yield slightly fewer cookies.

With the bottom of a glass, gently press down on the tops of each cookie to flatten slightly. I recommend dipping the bottom of the glass in some flour so the cookies won&#39;t stick to the glass.

Bake for 15-20 minutes at 300ºF or until the edges are a light golden brown. For reference, mine baked for 18 minutes. If baking these cookies on smaller cookie sheets, one at a time, I recommend keeping the cookie dough stored in the refrigerator until you&#39;re ready to bake the next batch.

The cookies will still be very soft—let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 5-10 minutes first before transferring them to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk until well combined. Using a spoon, drizzle some lemon glaze over each cookie. You can also dip the tops of each cookie into the glaze. Let any extra glaze drip off, then enjoy!

Lemon Glaze

Store cookies at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Lemon shortbread cookies can also be stored in the freezer for up to 4 months. Place them in a well sealed container separating cookies with a layer of wax paper.

Storing Cookies

These melt-in-the-mouth vegan lemon shortbread cookies have a bright lemony flavor and they need just six ingredients!

Vegan Lemon Shortbread Cookies

sugar

vegan butter ((at room temperature))

lemon juice

Zest of one large lemon ((about 1 tbsp))

tsp pure vanilla extract

¼ cup unbleached all purpose flour

rice flour

Use a hand mixer or whisk to cream together the butter and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy, about a minute.

Add the lemon juice, lemon zest and pure vanilla extract to the bowl. Beat together until well-incorporated.

Add the rice flour and all-purpose flour to the bowl and beat briefly with the electric beater.

Gather the cookie dough into a ball, wrap tightly in cling wrap, and refrigerate. After 30 minutes remove the cookie dough from the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celsius.

Dust a surface and a rolling pin with powdered sugar and roll out the refrigerated shortbread cookie dough to a thickness of ¼th of an inch.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out square or round shapes or any shape you desire. I used a 2-inch square cookie cutter. Gather up any scraps, pat into a disc, roll, and cut out more cookies.

Place the cookies an inch apart on a baking sheet and bake 20 minutes or until the cookies are just beginning to color very lightly at the edges. Smaller cookies will need less time.

Place the cookies on a wire rack so they can cool down and firm up further. After 15 minutes, use a thin spatula to transfer the cookies directly to the wire rack where they can continue cooling.

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Easy Lemon Shortbread

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Top 3 lemon shortbread recipes from across the web

The most viewed lemon shortbread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Lemon Shortbread

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Vegan Lemon Shortbread Cookies

The most viewed lemon shortbread recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine