Name: Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Ingredients: 1¼ cups + 3 tablespoons all purpose flour (at least 11% protein or higher); ½ cup + 3 tablespoons butter (softened)*; ½ cup + 2 tablespoons powdered / icing sugar; zest 1 lemon; 1¼ cups powdered / icing sugar; 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 tablespoon whole / whipping cream or milk

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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.

Recipe ingredients

Butter
Powdered Sugar – also known as confectioners or icing sugar
Lemon zest
Flour – all purpose at least 11% protein or higher
Salt

Lemon glaze

Powdered sugar
Lemon juice
Cream or milk

lemon shortbread cookies one on top of another

Why use powdered/icing sugar?

Powdered sugar will help keep the cookies soft for longer and it helps to keep the cookies from spreading while baking.

How to make Lemon Shortbread Cookies

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 move to a flat surface and knead into a compact ball.

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.

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

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 while the oven is pre-heating. Pre-heat oven to 350F (180C).

Bake cookies for approximately 12 minutes. Let cool completely before drizzling with glaze.

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.

lemon shortbread cookies on a white paper

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.

With this Shortbread dough you can actually just roll the dough into a log shape, then slice it and bake on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. I would probably refrigerate the log (before cutting) for about 30 minutes. Or you can roll it out and cut with your favorite cookie cutters.

Can this Shortbread Recipe be made with a stand mixer?

If you can’t or don’t want to knead the dough by hand, then yes a stand up mixer using the paddle attachment will work just fine.

I would only knead up to a point, when the dough just starts to come together (or even better, very coarse crumb mixture) and then knead the dough by hand.

How to keep cookies from spreading

To keep the cookies from spreading it is best to beat the butter and sugar just until combined and not creamed (of course this also depends on the type of cookie), for some cookies including some icing sugar in the mixture also keeps the cookies from spreading.

And probably most important of all, is to use a higher protein flour with at least 11.5- 12% protein count.

And don’t forget to chill the dough for at least 1 hour and again the cut out cookies before baking while the oven is pre-heating. 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 Store Shortbread Cookies

The baked cookies should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. I sometimes store mine in the fridge because I like cold cookies. They will last up to 10 days by storing them in the fridge.

How to Freeze Shortbread Cookies

To freeze the shortbread cookies, place parchment paper in between the layers of the completely cooled cookies this prevents them from sticking together when they are in the containers for freezing, or you can also place the baked cooled cookies on a cookie sheet and freeze them, then move the frozen cookies to either airtight bags or containers. Baked Shortbread Cookies will last up to 6 months in the freezer.

The unbaked cookie dough can also be frozen. Place in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the dough for 1-2 hours in the fridge.

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!

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!