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Home » Desserts » Cookies & Bars » Lemon Shortbread Cookies + 5 More Must Bake Shortbread Recipes

Lemon Shortbread Cookies + 5 More Must Bake Shortbread Recipes

Last Updated September 13, 2021. Published November 18, 2018 By Rosemary 149 Comments

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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!

lemon shortbread cookies on a wooden board

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.

lemon shortbread cookies how to make making the dough to rolling out and cutting out

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.

lemon shortbread cookies one on top of another

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.

lemon shortbread cookies on a white paper

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.

up close lemon shortbread cookies

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.

lemon shortbread cookies stacked

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.

lemon shortbread cookies on a wire rack

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!

lemon shortbread

  • 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!

shortbread lemon cookies on a wooden board

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up close lemon shortbread cookies
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4.94 from 89 votes

Lemon Shortbread Cookies + 5 More Must Bake Shortbread Recipes

Shortbread Cookies are a must and these Lemon Shortbread are the perfect Lemon Lovers melt in your mouth Cookie.
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Course Christmas Cookies, Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Chilling Time 2 hours
Total Time 22 minutes
Servings 24 cookies
Calories 93kcal
Author Rosemary Molloy

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
US Customary - Metric

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.  

Notes

If the dough is too hard out of the fridge, then you can either let it warm up a bit on the counter or cut the dough into two parts and warm it a bit by gently kneading, to make it easier to roll.

Nutrition

Calories: 93kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 11mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 6mg | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 125IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @anitalianinmykitchen or tag #anitalianinmykitchen!

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    Filed Under: Chocolate, Christmas, Christmas Cookies, Cookies & Bars, Desserts, Most Posts, Nuts, Recipe Collections

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    1. Deb says

      December 13, 2021 at 3:20 am

      Hi Dee, can this dough be frozen?
      Thanks! Deb

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 13, 2021 at 2:56 pm

        Hi Deb, yes it can be frozen. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2 months.

        Reply
    2. Zee says

      December 10, 2021 at 4:55 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 10, 2021 at 6:14 pm

        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.

        Reply
    3. Francesca says

      September 11, 2021 at 6:28 am

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        September 13, 2021 at 6:43 pm

        Hi Francesca, thanks so much, so glad you like them. Have a great week.

        Reply
    4. Janet says

      June 26, 2021 at 5:46 am

      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

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        June 26, 2021 at 7:07 pm

        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.

        Reply
    5. Susan Lucas says

      June 13, 2021 at 8:39 am

      I must have missed the baking temperature!

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        June 13, 2021 at 11:01 am

        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.

        Reply
    6. Bobbie says

      December 23, 2020 at 10:33 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 24, 2020 at 12:03 pm

        Hi Bobbie thanks glad you enjoyed them. Merry Christmas.

        Reply
    7. Kristie says

      December 20, 2020 at 9:59 pm

      Hi. Because there is cream in the glaze, should they be stored in the fridge?

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 21, 2020 at 7:03 pm

        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. 🙂

        Reply
        • Laurie says

          December 13, 2021 at 5:53 pm

          Wondering if these would be successful, using gluten-free flour? I use King Arthur GF flour.

        • Rosemary says

          December 13, 2021 at 7:05 pm

          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.

    8. Dee says

      December 20, 2020 at 9:45 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 21, 2020 at 8:24 am

        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.

        Reply
      • Mary says

        October 6, 2021 at 2:08 am

        If the dough was not Chilled enough that is many times the issue as well ..

        Reply
        • Dee says

          October 13, 2021 at 6:36 pm

          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

          October 13, 2021 at 6:50 pm

          Hi Dee, I’m sure it was your flour, it should be a higher content protein, from 11% +.

    9. Barbara says

      December 17, 2020 at 9:33 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 18, 2020 at 11:27 am

        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.

        Reply
    10. Eva says

      December 17, 2020 at 5:54 pm

      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?

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 17, 2020 at 6:10 pm

        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.

        Reply
    11. DAWN ROSE says

      December 16, 2020 at 6:44 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 16, 2020 at 6:46 pm

        Hi Dawn, thanks so much, and thanks for letting me know about the Swerve, interesting. Take care.

        Reply
    12. Jodi Sebastiano says

      December 12, 2020 at 5:20 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 12, 2020 at 6:16 pm

        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. 🙂

        Reply
    13. Ann Palik says

      December 7, 2020 at 11:36 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 8, 2020 at 5:05 pm

        Hi Ann, thanks so much, so glad your granddaughter liked them. Take care.

        Reply
    14. Annie says

      December 7, 2020 at 10:36 pm

      Hi i was just wondering, would it be possible to add lemon zest after i’ve refrigerated the dough?

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 8, 2020 at 5:09 pm

        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.

        Reply
    15. Jodi Sebastiano says

      December 7, 2020 at 2:59 pm

      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

      Reply
      • Rosemary says

        December 7, 2020 at 8:36 pm

        Hi Jodi, yes you can, I would add it when the dough is starting to come together. Let me know how it goes.

        Reply
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