This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.

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 (a total timesaver for you!). Recipe yields 24 cookies.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Save this recipe!
Just enter your email and we’ll send it straight to your inbox! Plus you’ll get new baking recipes from us weekly.

Shortbread are one of my favorite types of homemade cookies. They’re so simple to make with pantry staples and a great base for flavor variations like spice or citrus.

In this recipe, fresh lemons add bright flavor to the slice and bake shortbread cookies. A quick lemon glaze adds extra sweetness to each buttery bite.

My tried and tested tip to add natural lemon flavor to lemon desserts (without using extract!) is to pulse fresh lemon zest with granulated sugar in a food processor for about a minute. This simple step releases all the natural oils from the zest to make lemon-sugar!

Love shortbread cookies? Try cranberry orange shortbread cookies, chocolate chip shortbread cookies, or slice and bake toffee shortbread cookies next!

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

How to Make Lemon Shortbread

Combine lemon zest and granulated sugar in a food processor and pulse for 1 minute to combine. If you don’t have a food processor, mix the sugar and zest in a large mixer bowl on low speed until fully combined.

Combine softened butter, lemon-sugar, vanilla, and salt in a mixer bowl. Beat the mixture on medium speed 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 the soft dough begins to come together in large pieces.

Divide the shortbread dough in half and roll each section into a log. Wrap tightly in plastic and chill for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Once chilled, roll the shortbread logs generously in sugar to coat. Use a sharp knife to slice the 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 shortbread until golden, about 14 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies for 5 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Dip the tops of each cookie in lemon glaze (or drizzle glaze over the cookies). For an extra burst of lemon, sprinkle the tops with fresh lemon zest. Let glaze set before serving.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

More homemade cookie recipes:

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Slice and Bake)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 8 reviews
  • Author: Laura Kasavan
  • 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
Save Recipe

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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).
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.

Meet Laura

Hi, I'm Laura and I'm so happy you're here! Welcome to Tutti Dolci Baking Recipes, a baking blog celebrating all things sweet! I share approachable baking recipes and elevated classic desserts for every home baker. My goal is to inspire you to bake from scratch with kitchen-tested recipes you can count on.

You'll also love:

Leave a comment

If you love this recipe, please leave a star rating with your comment to help other bakers find my recipes online. If you have a question, I'd love to hear from you too.

As always, thanks for your feedback!

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Share your photo!Inspire others by uploading an image of your creation along with your review. The maximum upload file size: 5 MB. You can upload: image. Drop files here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

27 Comments

  1. Hello. I’m short on time. Can I make the dough, and chill it in the plastic wrap overnight?

    1. Yes, absolutely! For easier slicing the next day, let the wrapped logs stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

  2. Can these be frozen with the glaze? Or is it best to freezer them unglazed, and then glaze once defrosted? Thanks!

    1. Hi Ana, yes you can freeze the cookies with the glaze. For best results, let the glaze set completely before transferring cookies to a freezer-safe bag or container.

    1. 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!

  3. 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!!

  4. 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?

    1. 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.

      1. Thank you! I have a Meyer lemon from my tree – it’s 4” diameter- I might get away with just one!😀

  5. 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!

    1. 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!

  6. 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!

  7. 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.

  8. Lemon cookies and shortbread are my favorite, so these are the best of both worlds. Literally can’t stop eating them, so good!