These Lemon Shortbread Cookies are buttery, tender, rich, lightly sweetened, and bright with lemon flavor! Enjoy the cookies, plain or topped with creamy and refreshing lemon icing.
Making Lemon Shortbread Cookies is easy with only a few ingredients. They are delicious, traditional, simple, humble, tempting, and perfect with coffee or tea!
If you want to make traditional shortbread cookies, check out Shortbread Cookies (Eggless).
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Melt In The Mouth Lemon Shortbread Cookies
These Lemon Shortbread Cookies are flaky and tender with melt-in-the-mouth interior. They are easy to make with only seven ingredients.
The cookies have a delicious lemon flavor that brings sunshine to a plate! I topped the cookies with easy and creamy lemon icing, adding more zesty flavor. However, it is optional, and you can enjoy the plain cookies with the same deliciousness.
I always keep some of the cookies plain, and others topped with icing. My husband wants plain cookies, while my son loves the ones with icing.
The recipe is straightforward to follow, and the dough comes together quickly. However, this recipe requires chilling the dough, which is essential for perfect cookies.
I have posted the recipe for a dozen cookies, but you can double or triple it for a larger batch.
Why You Will Love These Cookies
- Lemon Shortbread Cookies are flaky, buttery, and tender.
- They are bursting with citrus flavor.
- Making these cookies is easy, with only seven ingredients.
- Topping the cookies with lemon icing adds more zesty flavor.
- The cookies are eggless and perfect for holidays or any time of the year.
Ingredients and Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: I have used unbleached all-purpose flour, which I mainly use for most of my baking goods.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps make these cookies extra tender. If you do not have cornstarch, you can replace it with rice or all-purpose flour.
- Salt: I like these buttery and lemony cookies with a slight contrast of salt.
- Butter: You can also use salted butter instead of unsalted butter. However, skip the salt from the recipe. The butter should be softened to room temperature.
- Sugar: I used granulated sugar for this recipe.
- Vanilla: For the best flavor, use pure vanilla.
- Lemon: Lemon is the star ingredient of this recipe. Zest your lemon before squeezing the juice.
How To Make Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Making the Dough
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, and salt together in a mixing bowl.
- Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Instead of a stand mixer, you can use a hand-held electric mixer.
- Cream the butter and sugar using a paddle attachment, initially at low speed and then at medium to high speed, until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
- Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture, and mix until just combined.
- Do not overmix.
- The dough should be soft but not sticky or crumbly.
Rolling and Chilling the Dough
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and, with your hands, form it into a disk.
- Roll out the dough to ¼ inches thick. If it seems too sticky, lightly dust it with flour.
- Place the rolled dough on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Cutting the Dough
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and cut it with a desired cookie cutter.
- I used a 2¼-inch cookie cutter.
- Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Refrigerate the shaped cookies and chill for 15 minutes.
Baking the Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes or until they are dry to the touch and lightly golden around the edges.
- If your cookies are smaller than 2 inches, keep an eye on them after the 10-minute baking time.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
- Then, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Icing The Cookies
- Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and cream or milk in a bowl and whisk to a smooth consistency.
- The consistency should be slightly thicker and spreadable.
- To adjust the consistency, add more sugar or cream.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread the icing on top.
- If you prefer, top the icing with lemon zest.
Storing Suggestions
Store the cookies without icing in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.
Once you ice the cookies, let the icing set on them. It will take 1 to 2 hours for the icing to dry. Then, store the cookies in an airtight container in a single layer.
Baking Tips For Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Measuring: For the best results, it is essential to measure the ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. If using the cup method, fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into a measuring cup. Then, level it off with a knife.
Dough: Do not overwork the dough; otherwise, it will end up in dense and crumbly cookies.
Vanilla: For the best flavor, use pure vanilla, not artificial extract.
Make Ahead: You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
Cookie Shape: You can cut the dough with any of your favorite cookie cutters.
Yield: This recipe yields 12 cookies with a 2¼-inch cookie cutter. However, the recipe can easily be scaled up for a large batch of cookies.
More Lemon Flavored Treats
Recipe Card
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
For the Cookies
- 1 cup (120g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoon (25g) cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ⅓ cup (65g) granulated sugar
- Zest of one lemon
- 1½ teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (130g) icing sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Whisk flour, cornstarch, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
- Place the butter and sugar in a bowl of a stand mixer. Instead of a stand mixer, you can use a hand-held electric mixer.
- Cream the butter and sugar using a paddle attachment, initially at low speed and then at medium to high speed, until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix until well combined.
- Turn the mixer to low, add flour, and mix until just combined. Do not overmix. The dough should be soft and hold its shape but not sticky or crumbly.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and, with your hands, form it into a disk. Roll out the dough to ¼ inches thick. If it seems too sticky, lightly dust it with flour.
- Place the rolled dough on a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Cutting the Dough
- Once chilled, remove the dough from the fridge and cut it with a desired cookie cutter. (I used a 2¼-inch cookie cutter). Place the cookies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
- Refrigerate the shaped cookies and chill for 15 minutes.
Baking the Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the cookies for 14-16 minutes or until they are dry to the touch and lightly golden around the edges. If your cookies are smaller than 2 inches, keep an eye on them after the 10-minute baking time.
- Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Then, transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool completely.
Making the Lemon Icing
- Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and cream or milk in a bowl and whisk to a smooth consistency.
- The consistency should be slightly thicker and spreadable. So, adjust the consistency by adding more sugar or cream.
- Once the cookies are completely cooled, spread the icing on top. Top the icing with lemon zest if you prefer.
Storing Suggestions
- Store the cookies without icing in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.
- Once you ice the cookies, let the icing entirely set on the cookies. It will take 1 to 2 hours for icing to dry. Then, store the cookies in an airtight container in a single layer.
Notes
- Measuring: For the best results, measure the ingredients correctly. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. If using the cup method, fluff your flour with a spoon and then spoon it into a measuring cup. Then, level it off with a knife.
- Dough: Do not overwork the dough; otherwise, it will end up in dense and crumbly cookies.
- Make Ahead: You can make the dough ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.
- Cookie Shape: You can cut the dough with any of your favorite cookie cutters.
- Yield: This recipe yields 12 cookies with a 2¼-inch cookie cutter. You can easily scale up the recipe for a large batch of cookies.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think.