Shortbread Cookies are a must and these Lemon Shortbread are the perfect Lemon Lovers melt in your mouth Cookie. Delicious not just at Holiday Time!
I am a huge shortbread cookie lover! Never fail, every holiday season my Mom’s Shortbread Cookies would be front and centre.
And for good reason they are amazing.It was always hard to decide what were your favourite, because when you took a bite of one it instantly became your favourite until the next one came along.
So of course because of our love of all things Lemon, I knew a Lemon Shortbread Cookie was in our future.
I decided to add an extra touch of Lemon with a simple Lemon Glaze drizzled on top. And yes it was just what they needed!
What are the ingredients for Shortbread Cookies
Butter, lemon zest, flour, and powdered / icing / confectioners sugar, and sometimes cornstarch my Mom’s Shortbread uses cornstarch but these Lemon Shortbread do not.
Cornstarch is used in some shortbread because it helps to hold the cookie together and make a more tender cookie.
So you see, just a few ingredients to make a delicious melt in your mouth Christmas Cookie.
How to make the Perfect Shortbread Dough
Add the flour slowly, into the creamed (mixed) butter mixture, sometimes you need less flour and sometimes more.
Once it starts to come together move the dough to a flat surface and knead it together, then you can add more flour if needed.
If you find that your dough is too crumbly then add a little more butter to bring it together, a tablespoon at a time.
How to make Shortbread Cookies
These Lemon Shortbread are a one bowl cookie, no beating or creaming necessary.
In a large bowl using a wooden spoon mix together the softened butter, powdered sugar and zest until well combined. Then add the sifted flour a little at a time until completely combined.
Form into a ball and refrigerate for about 2 hours. Remove the dough from the fridge roll on a lightly floured flat surface and using your favourite cookie cutter cut out forms.
If it’s too cold then let it warm up a bit in order to roll it out.
How to Measure Flour
The correct way to measure flour is to spoon the flour into the cup measurement and level it off with the blade of a knife. The best flour to use for cut out cookies is a high protein all purpose flour, 12-14 % protein is what you are looking for.
Place them on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, refrigerate for about 15 minutes and bake in a moderate oven for about 12 minutes.
Let the cookies cool completely and then drizzle with a simple Lemon Glaze. What I love about these Shortbread Cookies are that you can make them anytime in the year. Not just during the holidays.
You can use a round, square or any type of cookie cutter or just roll the dough into a log, refrigerate, then slice and bake. Fast and easy and the perfect melt in your mouth Lemon Shortbread.
Why Chill the Cookie Dough before Baking
The main reason for chilling the cookie dough before baking is to solidify the fat in the cookies.
As the cookies are baking, the chilled fat in the dough will take longer to melt then room temperature dough fat. Therefore the cookies will spread less.
How to make the Perfect Shortbread Base for Bar Cookies
There are some delicious Bar Cookies that call for a simple Shortbread Base such as Lemon Cheese Cake Bars or my personal favourites Coconut Jam Squares. All you need are three ingredients, butter, sugar and flour to make the perfect Shortbread base for a Bar Cookie.
5 Must Bake Shortbread Cookies
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without shortbread so here are another five recipes that should definitely be on your baking list! Fast, easy and melt in your mouth perfection!
- Almond Crescent Cookies
- The Best Simple Two Way Shortbread Cookies
- Easy Chocolate Chip Whipped Shortbread
- Shortbread Cookies One Dough Two Ways
- Chocolate Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
- Chocolate Shortbread Cookies
So if Shortbread Cookies are a must on your Holiday Baking List, then I hope you give one or even all of these a try, and let me know how you like them. Enjoy!
CLICK HERE TO SAVE THIS RECIPE TO MAKE LATER!
Lemon Shortbread Cookies + 5 More Must Bake Shortbread Recipes
Ingredients
FOR THE SHORTBREAD
- 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons butter (softened) (I use salted) (137.5 grams)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons powdered / icing sugar (75 grams)
- zest 1 lemon
- 1 1/4 cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (170 grams)
- 1 pinch salt
LEMON GLAZE
- 1 1/4 cups powdered / icing sugar (150 grams)
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon whole / whipping cream or milk
Instructions
- Sift together the flour and salt.
- In a large bowl with a wooden spoon mix together the butter, sugar and zest. Add the sifted flour mixture a little at a time, stirring between additions. Once the dough starts to come together (even if you haven't add all the flour), move to a flat surface and knead into a compact ball. (If you need extra flour add one tablespoon at a time, if the dough is too crumbly add more butter, a little at a time).
- Shape the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate 2 hours. You can also shape the dough into a log or two, refrigerate then slice and bake.
- On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut out cookies. Place cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.
- Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C).
- Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes. Let cool completely before drizzling with glaze. Enjoy.
LEMON GLAZE
- In a small bowl combine powdered sugar, lemon juice and cream, if too thin add more sugar too thick add either more lemon juice or cream.
Deb says
Hi Dee, can this dough be frozen?
Thanks! Deb
Rosemary says
Hi Deb, yes it can be frozen. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Zee says
I wonder how much lemon juice I should add to this recipe to have a nice tinge of lemon but not too sour? Got all the ingredients and excited to try it out!
Rosemary says
Hi Zee, I would add more zest then juice, zest makes it more lemony without making it sour. So if you want a more lemony taste maybe zest from 1 1/2 -2 lemons. Let me know how it goes.
Francesca says
Just found the best way to use extra lemons. I’m not a baker but this is so easy to make and so yummy that this is the 3rd batch I’m making in a week! I just left out the icing and reduced the sugar, adding a little lemon juice to the mix as well.
Rosemary says
Hi Francesca, thanks so much, so glad you like them. Have a great week.
Janet says
Have some lemons to use, so these cookies like a delicious way to use them! I would like to form into a log or 2, then slice – just wondered about the size of the logs diagonally (How thick should the log be) & how thick to slice them? 1/4″, 1/2″? Thank you very much1
Rosemary says
Hi Janet well it depends on how big you want the cookies to be, maybe 2 inches across, and I cut 1/4 inch, or even 1/3 inch, I think 1/2 would be too thick. Let me know how it goes.
Susan Lucas says
I must have missed the baking temperature!
Rosemary says
Hi Susan, yes it is written in the recipe card (bottom of the post). Pre-heat the oven to 350F (180C). I hope like them.
Bobbie says
Hello Dee, I just took my second batch of cookies out of the oven. For some reason the first batch disappeared quickly…lol. They are delicious. Merry Christmas.
Rosemary says
Hi Bobbie thanks glad you enjoyed them. Merry Christmas.
Kristie says
Hi. Because there is cream in the glaze, should they be stored in the fridge?
Rosemary says
Hi Kristie they can be stored at room temperature for about 4 days but if your house is quite warm they are better stored in the fridge. And yes with the glaze fridge is best. 🙂
Laurie says
Wondering if these would be successful, using gluten-free flour? I use King Arthur GF flour.
Rosemary says
Hi Laurie, I really can’t say as I have never made them with gluten free flour. If the protein count isn’t around 11% they could spread. Let me know how it goes.
Dee says
Hi! The recipe tastes great! I added a tablespoon of lemon juice bc I love lemon flavor! My only issue is that the cookies spread while baking. Any idea why? I added more flour than you have listed here, bc the dough was too sticky… but other than that, I followed the directions to the T. If I add corn starch, would it help prevent the spread?
Rosemary says
Hi Dee could be that the flour was a lower protein count, a higher protein (around 11.5- 12% and higher) helps keep cookies from spreading. Let me know.
Mary says
If the dough was not Chilled enough that is many times the issue as well ..
Dee says
I definitely chilled the dough…even chilled the cut cookies again before putting in the oven to see if that helped, but alas, it did not.
Rosemary says
Hi Dee, I’m sure it was your flour, it should be a higher content protein, from 11% +.
Barbara says
Hi Rosemary, I bought your cookbook (just received it today) because they were amazing. One question: I’ve seen some versions that call for juice in the dough and the cookbook version does not. The juice adds stronger lemon flavor which we love, but exactly how much juice do you consider to be in one lemon? Thank you for answering my question. Your book is worth buying for the photos: it’s beautiful. Barbara
Rosemary says
Hi Barbara, actually the only difference between zest and juice is that juice will also give the cookie a sour flavour, if you like that then by all means you can add it. Apparently 1 lemon will give 2-3 tablespoons of juice. Thanks so much so glad you like the book. Take care and Merry Christmas.
Eva says
Hi, this recipe looks so good and would love to try it for my Christmas cookie boxes. Can I substitute the lemon juice and zest for lemon extract?
Rosemary says
Hi Eva yes Im sure you could substitute with lemon extract. Because extract is much strong use 1/2 the amount, so since there is roughly 1 tablespoon of zest in a lemon use 1/2 tablespoon of extract. Let me know how it goes. Unless of course you want it a lot stronger.
DAWN ROSE says
I substituted Swerve confectioners erythritol sugar (zero calories and no impact on blood sugar) because we have diabetes in the family. These turned out fantastic. They were so good that I will make them this way all the time. The Swerve made the lemon icing very cooling to the taste. A very refreshing treat! Thanks.
Rosemary says
Hi Dawn, thanks so much, and thanks for letting me know about the Swerve, interesting. Take care.
Jodi Sebastiano says
Can these be baked, then frozen (without the glaze) ? I’m considering baking the cookies then adding the glaze once I pull them out of the freezer and thawing
Rosemary says
Hi Jodi, yes they can be frozen, once they are completely chilled place them in a freezer safe container and freeze. And as you say glaze when thawed. 🙂
Ann Palik says
My granddaughter is allergic to eggs so I’m always on the lookout for new recipes for her. These were a huge hit! She loved them (and so did my husband!). Very simple to make…will definitely be making these again during the Christmas season. Thank you for sharing.
Rosemary says
Hi Ann, thanks so much, so glad your granddaughter liked them. Take care.
Annie says
Hi i was just wondering, would it be possible to add lemon zest after i’ve refrigerated the dough?
Rosemary says
Hi Annie, well you would have to knead it in, the problem would be that the cookies won’t be as tender when they are baked because you are working the dough too much. Maybe you could sprinkle some on top of the cut out cookies before baking. Let me know how it goes.
Jodi Sebastiano says
I’m going to be making these in the next couple of weeks, can I add a little bit of yellow food coloring to give them a slight “lemony” look? Thank you
Rosemary says
Hi Jodi, yes you can, I would add it when the dough is starting to come together. Let me know how it goes.