Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Lemon Shortbread Cookies are the ideal blend of zesty and buttery flavors, offering a delicious treat for those who love citrus flavors. With just 6 main ingredients, these cookies are simple to prepare, making them perfect for special occasions or everyday sugar cravings.
❤️ You’ll Love This Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Flavor & Texture:
- A perfect balance of zesty lemon and sweetness.
- Rich, buttery.
- Crisp texture yet dissolves in your mouth.
- The lemon glaze on top adds a more citrusy zesty flavor.
Easy to Prepare: With uncomplicated steps and everyday ingredients, these cookies are a breeze, even for beginners.
Perfect for any holiday: These lemon shortbread cookies are perfect as a springtime treat. But sure you can include it in your Christmas cookie box for a change. Or simply make it during Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day, or any other celebration.
Versatile: Including lemon zest gives the cookies a refreshing touch, ideal for a light dessert. They are good for a teatime snack, as a gift, or to impress guests at gatherings.
🧾 Ingredient Notes
- Unsalted Butter: I prefer to use unsalted butter in my baking so I can control the salt intake. But if you have salted available, you can use that. It is fine.
- The butter has to be softened at room temperature (not chilled, cold, or not too soft like it is melted). Softened butter will cream really well with sugar and it helps to get uniform texture in cookies.
- Sugar: White sugar is used.
- Lemon Zest: It is the outer bright yellow layer of the lemon rind. Use the Microplane zester to get the zest. Make sure not to grate the inner white part of the rind, just grate the yellow part. The white part is bitter and makes the baked goods slightly bitter.
- Tip: It is much easier to zest the lemon before juicing.
- Cornstarch: This ingredient provides the cookies with their characteristic melt-in-the-mouth texture.
- Flour: You’ll need plain all purpose flour. I prefer to use unbleached flour.
- Powdered Sugar & Lemon juice: Use powdered sugar and freshly squeezed lemon juice for the glaze.
- Pistachio: It is used as a garnishing. Pistachios add a delightful crunch and a touch of color when sprinkled on top of the glaze.
👩🍳 How To Make Lemon Shortbread Cookies? (Pics)
1) Add softened butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl.
2) Use the paddle attachment and beat until smooth and creamy.
3) Add cornstarch and lemon zest.
4) Beat again until mixed.
5, 6) Add flour and beat on low until the dough comes together like a crumbly mixture.
7) Lay a plastic wrap on your work surface and dump the crumbled dough on the wrap.
8) Using the edges of the plastic wrap gather the dough and make a flattened disc. Wrap it in plastic, and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour or until chill enough to roll the dough.
9) Lightly flour the work surface (I prefer to use a silicone mat for easy clean up. Once chilled, roll out the dough into ¼ inch thickness.
10) Cut using a round cookie cutter or desired-shaped cookie cutter. I have used a 2-inch diameter round cookie cutter.
11) Use a flat spatula to transfer the cutout cookies to the cookie tray (lined with parchment paper). Gather the remaining dough, roll again, and cut. If you feel that the dough has softened then chill again for some time and then roll.
Chill the cookie tray in the refrigerator for around 10 minutes. This prevents cookies from spreading while baking.
13) Also, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake for 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool down in the tray itself for 5 minutes. Then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.
Repeat the baking for the remaining cookies.
1, 2) For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and runny yet thick.
3) Spread around a teaspoon of frosting in the center of the cookie and let it flow itself. Don’t add too much frosting otherwise, it will start to drip from the sides.
4) Sprinkle with ground pistachio while the frosting is still wet. Let the frosting dry for a few hours before storing them in a container.
💭 Expert Tips For Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Always use fresh lemons instead of bottled lemon juice or pre-packaged zest to ensure the bright lemon flavor.
- Never skip the chilling steps. 1st Chill the dough and 2nd chill the cutout cookies. Chilled dough ensures the cookies hold their shape during baking and yield the perfect texture.
- When rolling, aim for consistent thickness across the dough to ensure even baking.
- Oven temperatures can vary. It is advisable to keep an eye on the cookies to avoid over-baking, which can make them too crispy.
- If your glaze is too thick, add a few more drops of lemon juice.
- If your glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar to achieve the desired consistency.
- While pistachios work well, you can also use other finely chopped nuts, lemon zest, or even edible flowers for a decorative touch.
🥣 Storage Instructions
Storing Baked Cookies:
- At room temperature, Store these lemon shortbread cookies in an airtight container, and keep the parchment paper between the layers to prevent sticking, especially if frosted. They stay good for 4-5 days depending on the weather/climate where you live.
- To refrigerate, store them in an air-tight container (as mentioned above) for up to a week.
- To freeze, place unfrosted cookies on a baking tray and flash freeze for 4 hours. Place them in a zip lock bag or wrap them tightly in Clingfilm to prevent freezer burn. Defrost in the refrigerator before bringing it to room temperature and frosting.
Storing Cookie Dough & Unbaked Cookies:
- In the refrigerator, lemon shortbread cookie dough can be stored for up to 2-3 days.
- I do not recommend freezing cookie dough, as it starts to become dry and crumbly once the butter gets too cold. It will be hard to roll defrosted shortbread cookie dough and it will crumble, crack, or fall apart as you roll.
- Freeze cutout cookies (not baked) in the tray until frozen. Then transfer to a freeze-safe container. Place parchment paper between the layers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Bake frozen cookies as directed + a couple more minutes since they are frozen.
Check Out Other Shortbread Cookies
- Strawberry shortbread cookies (Coming soon)
- Chocolate shortbread cookies (Coming soon)
- Shortbread thumbprint cookies
- Chocolate covered shortbread cookies
- Christmas shortbread bites
Did you try this lemon shortbread cookies recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Leave a review in the comment section below.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
US measuring cups are used (1 cup = 240 ml)
Ingredients
For Cookies:
- ½ cup Unsalted butter, 1 stick softened at room temperature
- ¼ cup White sugar
- 1 tablespoon Corn flour (corn starch)
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest, from 1 lemon. Zest the lemon before juicing
- 1 ¼ cup All purpose flour (Maida)
For The Glaze:
- ½ cup Powdered sugar (Confectioner’s sugar or icing sugar)
- 1 tablespoon Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
- 1 tablespoon Pistachios, crushed into powder for garnishing
Instructions
- Make Cookie Dough: Add softened butter and sugar in a stand mixer bowl. Use the paddle attachment and beat until smooth and creamy.
- Add cornstarch and lemon zest. Beat again until mixed.
- Add flour and beat on low until the dough comes together like a crumbly mixture.
- Lay a plastic wrap on your work surface and dump the crumbled dough on the wrap.
- Using the edges of the plastic wrap gather the dough and make a flattened disc. Wrap it in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to 1 hour or until chill enough to roll the dough.
- Roll, Cut & Bake: Lightly flour the work surface (I prefer to use a silicone mat for easy clean up. Once chilled, roll out the dough into ¼ inch thickness.
- Cut using a round cookie cutter or desired-shaped cookie cutter. I have used a 2-inch diameter round cookie cutter.
- Use a flat spatula to transfer the cutout cookies to the cookie tray (lined with parchment paper). Gather the remaining dough, roll again, and cut. If you feel that the dough has softened then chill again for some time and then roll.
- Chill the cookie tray in the refrigerator for around 10 minutes. This prevents cookies from spreading while baking.
- Also, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Bake for 10-13 minutes. Let the cookies cool down in the tray itself for 5 minutes.
- Then transfer them to a cooling rack and let them cool down completely.
- Repeat the baking for the remaining cookies.
- For the glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth and runny yet thick.
- Spread around a teaspoon of frosting in the center of the cookie and let it flow itself. Don’t add too much frosting otherwise, it will start to drip from the sides.
- Sprinkle with ground pistachio while the frosting is still wet. Let the frosting dry for a few hours before storing them in a container.
Notes
- Never skip the chilling steps. Chilled dough ensures the lemon shortbread cookies hold their shape during baking and yield the perfect texture.
- When rolling, aim for consistent thickness across the dough to ensure even baking.
- Oven temperatures can vary. It is advisable to keep an eye on the cookies to avoid over-baking, which can make them too crispy.
- If your glaze is too thick, add a few more drops of lemon juice.
- If your glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar to achieve the desired consistency.
