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Classic all-butter shortbread cookies get a burst of fresh, zesty lemon flavor in these lemon shortbread cookies! With a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture, glazed lemon shortbread are the perfect cookie for lemon lovers. The slice and bake method means there’s no dough rolling or cookie cutters required! Recipe yields 24 cookies.
Shortbread are one of my favorite types of homemade cookies. They’re simple to make with pantry staples and a great base for flavor variations like spice or citrus.
In this recipe, fresh lemons give slice and bake shortbread cookies a burst of lemon flavor. For ease, you can use regular lemons or Meyer lemons to flavor the shortbread dough (if you’re a longtime reader, you know I’m a huge fan of baking with Meyer lemons).
My tip for maximum lemon flavor is to pulse fresh lemon zest with granulated sugar in a food processor for 1 minute. This quick step releases the natural oils from the zest to make lemon-sugar (and works well with other citrus fruit too).
I make lemon sugar to infuse many of my favorite lemon recipes with natural lemon flavor, no lemon extract required! A quick lemon glaze adds extra sweetness to each buttery bite.
Love shortbread cookies? Try cranberry orange shortbread cookies, chocolate chip shortbread cookies, or slice and bake toffee shortbread cookies next!
Key Ingredients
- Sugar – Granulated sugar sweetens the cookies. You’ll also roll the logs of shortbread dough in granulated sugar before slicing into rounds.
- Fresh lemon zest – Infuses the shortbread dough with lemon flavor.
- Butter – Use softened, unsalted butter. Softened butter is easy to cream with the lemon-sugar, which gives the cookies a nice and light texture. Do not use European-style butter – the higher fat content will cause the cookies to overspread.
- Vanilla extract – A 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract complements the lemon flavor.
- Salt – Adds balance to the sweetness.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is perfect to use for shortbread cookies.
- Lemon glaze – Made with melted butter, a pinch of salt, lemon zest, powdered sugar (confectioners’ sugar), lemon juice, and milk.
How to Make Lemon Shortbread
Make lemon sugar: Combine lemon zest and granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute. If you don’t have a food processor, beat sugar and lemon zest in a large mixer bowl on low speed until well mixed.
Make shortbread dough: Combine softened butter, lemon-sugar, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat mixture until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Turn off the mixer and add all of the flour. Mix in on low speed just until incorporated and dough begins to come together in large pieces.
Chill dough: Divide shortbread dough in half and roll each section into a log. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.
Slice cookies: Roll shortbread logs generously in sugar to coat. Use a sharp knife to slice logs into 1/2-inch thick rounds.
Place rounds two inches apart on baking sheets and chill for 20 minutes. While cookies chill, preheat the oven.
Bake cookies for 14 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Make glaze: Combine melted butter, salt, lemon zest, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth.
Dip the tops of each cookie in lemon glaze (or drizzle glaze over the cookies). If desired, sprinkle the tops with fresh lemon zest. Let glaze set before serving.
Make Ahead Tips
Shortbread cookie dough is perfect to make ahead. Chill logs of dough until firm, then slice logs into rounds and place cookies on baking sheets. Freeze for 1 hour, then transfer to freezer bags and store for up to 2 months.
When you’re ready to bake, bake the cookies directly from the freezer (do not thaw), adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
More favorite cookie recipes:
Did you try this Lemon Shortbread Cookie Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
Print
Zesty Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Prep Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 24 cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Classic all-butter shortbread cookies get a burst of fresh, zesty lemon flavor in these lemon shortbread cookies! With a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth texture, glazed lemon shortbread are the perfect cookie for lemon lovers.
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2/3 cup (133 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp (6 g) fresh lemon zest
- 3/4 cup (168 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 tsp (2 g) vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 3/4 cups (245 g) all-purpose flour
For Rolling
- 1/3 cup (67 g) granulated sugar
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp (14 g) unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 3/4 cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tsp (10 g) fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp (10 g) milk
Instructions
- Make lemon sugar: Combine sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute, until zest is finely ground. If you don’t have a food processor, beat sugar and lemon zest in a large mixer bowl on low speed until well mixed.
- Make shortbread dough: Beat butter, lemon-sugar, vanilla, and salt in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low and mix in flour just until incorporated and dough begins to come together in large pieces. Finished dough will be somewhat crumbly but will hold together when pressed.
- Chill dough: Divide the dough in half and turn out each half onto a piece of plastic wrap. Roll each half into a 6 1/2-inch log, using the plastic wrap to help shape the soft dough. Wrap logs tightly in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator (see note below).
- Slice cookies: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place granulated sugar on a large plate and roll the logs of dough to coat generously with sugar. Using a sharp knife, cut logs into 1/2-inch rounds. Place rounds 2 inches apart on baking sheets. If desired, gently press rounds with the bottom of a measuring cup to make them perfectly level. Chill for 20 minutes in the refrigerator while preheating oven to 350°F.
- Bake cookies for 14 to 15 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until light golden and edges are set. Cool for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make glaze: Whisk together melted butter, salt, lemon zest, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and milk until smooth. Dips the tops of cookies in lemon glaze (or drizzle with glaze) and let set before serving.
- Store cookies at room temperature in an airtight container.
Notes
Butter: Do not use European-style butter. The higher fat content will cause the cookies to overspread.
Chilling tip: For uniformly round slice-and-bake cookies, cut two empty paper towel rolls in half lengthwise. Chill logs of dough inside the center of each cardboard roll until firm.
Storage tips: Store shortbread cookies in an airtight container, placing parchment paper between the layers. Cookies stay fresh at room temperature for up to 5 days. Shortbread can also be wrapped well and frozen for up to 2 months.
Make ahead: Chill logs of dough until firm, then slice logs into rounds and place rounds on baking sheets. Freeze for 1 hour, then transfer to freezer bags and store for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to bake, bake the cookies directly from the freezer (do not thaw), adding 1 to 2 minutes to the baking time.
Could I roll these shortbread cookies in lavender sugar?
Hi Susan, yes – you can pulse the granulated sugar (for rolling) with dried culinary lavender. If you want even more lavender flavor, you could also add some into the shortbread dough (pulse with the sugar and lemon zest in Step 1). Happy baking!
Wonderful idea! Thanks and I will let you know how they come out
Buttery and perfect. Great cookie for lemon lovers.
These were the very best lemon cookies I have ever made or tasted! Thank you so much. I think I just about ate them all myself!!
That’s great to hear, thank you Teresa! 🙂
So good! I’m making them again, after a lemon fell off my tree today. For zest, I used a vegetable peeler to peel the skin, and put the peelings in my spice grinder. Now, what to do with all the extra juice?
Thanks so much, Shirley! You may like this lemon poppy seed loaf cake which gets brushed with a warm lemon syrup after baking.
How many lemons does one need for this recipe?
Hi Shirley, you’ll use at least 2 medium-sized lemons for these cookies. If your lemons are on the smaller side, I recommend using 3 so that you’ll have enough zest to really infuse them with flavor.
Thank you! I have a Meyer lemon from my tree – it’s 4” diameter- I might get away with just one!😀
Oh perfect, happy baking! 🙂
These are seriously amazing. I’ve made lemon shortbread before – these are the best! I think the difference was infusing the lemon zest in the sugar. The glaze is also really good. I loved that I could use just the lemons from our tree and end up with such a great lemony flavor. The only problem I had was the cookies came out too flaky out of the fridge and I had to mold them into shape – not sure why- maybe I didn’t combine the butter well enough as I hand mixed. Didn’t affect the taste at all though… any tips? I topped them with a tiny amount of dried flowers and they were adorable too!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Traci! Were the logs of dough flaky? Or the sliced shortbread rounds? It sounds like the dough may have been slightly undermixed. If you run into this in the future, you can also press the dough into a cake pan and bake like I do with my chocolate chip shortbread. Hope this helps for future!
Made a double batch of these for a cookie exchange and it was easy to do (thanks for providing grams). Love the fresh lemon flavor!
That’s great to hear, thanks Erin!
Great recipe, it turned out nice.
I didn’t use a food processor to make the lemon sugar though, I just zested the lemon with a grater and added the zest, alot easier and less dishes.
Thanks for your feedback, Leanne!
Lemon cookies and shortbread are my favorite, so these are the best of both worlds. Literally can’t stop eating them, so good!
Hi Lisa, that’s so nice to hear. 🙂 Thanks for trying this recipe!
Incredibly tender!!!