Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Glaze are buttery, scrumptious cookies with a creamy lemon flavor. They feature lemon shortbread dipped in a sweet lemon and vanilla bean glaze. They are easy to make and are a definite crowd-pleaser!
Lemon shortbread cookies are our favorite cookies to make all year-round, from Easter to Christmas. We love that they are citrusy and lemony while still being sweet. They have been a big hit with our family and friends and know you and your loved ones will love them as well!
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About Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Texture - These buttery shortbread cookies have a firm exterior and crumbly interior.
- Flavor - The cookies are rich, lemony, and sweet.
- Time - It takes just 15 minutes to prepare the dough, 1 hour to chill it, about 12 minutes to bake the cookies, and just a few minutes to whisk the glaze.
- Effort - These shortbread cookies cookies require very little effort. All you need to do is mix the ingredients, chill the dough, bake the cookies, and whisk the glaze.
What is Shortbread?
Shortbread is a traditional Scottish cookie with a buttery flavor crumbly and lightly crispy texture. While we enjoy traditional shortbread, we love it with a citrusy accent or dipped in chocolate. It is also typically made with a ratio of 1 part sugar, 2 parts butter, and 3 parts flour. In our recipe, we also change the ratio slightly to have less butter since the lemon juice and zest provide moisture.
Ingredients
Shortbread Cookies
- Sugar - Sugar provides sweetness.
- Lemon zest and lemon juice - Fresh lemon juice and lemon zest add the bright and zesty lemon flavor to the cookies.
- Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract adds complexity and sweetness to the cookie dough.
- Butter - Butter provides richness. We prefer European butter because it has a higher fat content resulting in a crisper, more buttery cookie.
- All purpose flour - All purpose flour is the foundation for the cookies.
- Kosher salt - Kosher salt accentuates the rich flavor of the cookies.
Lemon Glaze
- Powdered sugar - Powdered sugar is the sweet base of the glaze.
- Lemon juice and zest - Lemon juice and zest provide the bright lemon flavoring.
- Vanilla bean paste - Vanilla bean paste adds a rich vanilla flavor to the glaze. If you don't have vanilla bean paste, use vanilla extract instead!
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions/Variations
- Lavender shortbread cookies - Add lavender syrup for a delicious floral accent. You can also add lemon curd to make Lavender Lemon Curd Cookies.
- Chocolate dipped - Dip these cookies in chocolate for an extra decadent cookie.
- Strawberry Lemonade Shortbread - Add freeze dried strawberries to this recipe for a bright and summery twist.
- Nuts - Add chopped pecans, almonds, or walnuts to the dough for a rich and hearty crunch.
- No glaze - Omit the lemon glaze for a lighter and purer shortbread cookie.
- Almond extract - Add a little almond extract for rich nuttiness.
Instructions
- Cream butter - In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer and cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Use a silicone baking spatula and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl walls to bring the butter mixture to the center of the bowl. (Photo 1 and 2)
- Combine ingredients - Reduce speed to low and add sifted flour and kosher salt and mix until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over-mix the dough. (Photo 3 and 4)
- Roll the dough (cookie cutter) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin to create a ¼-½-inch sheet of dough, then refrigerate for at least 1 an hour. (Photo 5 and 6)
- Cut dough - Use a cookie cutter of choice and cut the dough. Then form the excess dough into a ball, roll it out into a sheet again, and cut with the cookie cutter. Continue until all the dough is used. Place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. (Photo 7 and 8)
- Roll the dough (roll and slice) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough into a 1½ to 2-inch wide log, wrap tightly, and twist the ends. Then refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice into ¼-½-inch cookies and place them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Heat oven and bake - Once the cookie dough is cut and ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 10-14 minutes. The edges will be lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Whisk glaze - In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste until it forms a smooth glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar; if the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice. (Photo 9 and 10)
- Glaze cookies - Dip the tops of the lemon shortbread cookies in the glaze, allow the excess glaze to drip into the bowl, and place each cookie on a wire rack. Allow the glaze to set and dry. (Photo 11 and 12)
Note - This recipe makes 21 3-inch cookies or 40 1½-inch cookies. The number of cookies varies depending on the size of the cookie cutter. Remember that the smaller the cookie, the shorter the bake time.
Storage
Store shortbread cookies in an air-tight container and keep in a cool, dry place for up to 7 days. Be sure to cool down the cookies before you store them in a container to ensure the cookies maintain their texture while stored. The steam from hot cookies will make the cookies soggy inside of the container.
You can also freeze the cookies for up to 1 month. To freeze, let the baked cookies reach room temperature then place them in a storage bag, press out the air, and seal them. When you are ready to enjoy them again, thaw them in the fridge or on the counter.
Baking Tips
- Use an aluminum baking sheet for even heating and line the baking sheet with parchment paper to minimize sticking and cleanup time.
- Don't over-mix the dough to ensure the cookies spread evenly and have a light texture. Over mixing can make the cookies tough and dense.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour to ensure the dough solidifies and the cookies have the perfect crumbly texture.
- Bake on the middle rack for even baking. If baking more than one sheet of cookies, place the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven. Rotate the baking sheets halfway through baking to ensure the cookies bake evenly.
- Use a lower oven temperature - Shortbread is delicate and can burn easily. Bake them at a lower temperature of 350°F to ensure the cookies bake evenly and don't burn.
Recipe FAQs
First, use high-quality ingredients to ensure that the shortbread has a rich and buttery flavor. Second, don't overwork the dough or it won't have the signature crumbly texture. Finally, you need to use the proper ratio of flour, butter, and sugar so the dough isn't too dry or wet.
No, while they are similar, they are not the same. Shortbread cookies are crumbly and soft while sugar cookies tend to be firmer. Shortbread cookies also have a rich and buttery flavor while sugar cookies are sweeter.
Yes, chilling the dough helps the cookies hold their shape and give the gluten a chance to form. Also, if the dough is too warm, the butter can melt too quickly during baking resulting in an uneven texture.
Shortbread should be the perfect balance of crunchy and soft. It should be tender and crumbly, but also slightly crunchy when you bite into it.
Traditionally, shortbread was enjoyed at Christmas in Scotland and Britain. Now, shortbread is a popular gift to give during the holidays in many places.
All-purpose flour is best because it has the ideal balance of protein and starch resulting in a perfectly crumbly shortbread cookie.
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📖 Recipe
Lemon Shortbread Cookies With Lemon Glaze
Equipment
- 1 whisk
Ingredients
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- 1 cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or zest of 1 lemon
- 4 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste optional
Instructions
- Cream butter - In a large mixing bowl, use a handheld electric mixer or stand mixer and cream together butter, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Use a silicone baking spatula and scrape the sides of the mixing bowl walls to bring the butter mixture to the center of the bowl.1 cup butter, ½ cup sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon zest, or zest of 1 lemon, 4 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Combine ingredients - Reduce speed to low and add sifted flour and kosher salt and mix until the ingredients are just combined. Do not over-mix the dough.3 cups all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Roll the dough (cookie cutter) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Place a second sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough and roll with a rolling pin to create a ¼-½-inch sheet of dough, then refrigerate for at least 1 an hour. Use a cookie cutter of choice and cut the dough. Form the excess dough into a ball, roll it out into a sheet again, and cut with the cookie cutter. Continue until all the dough is used. Place the cookies onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If the cookie dough seems too soft, place in the fridge for another 10 minutes to prevent them from spreading in the oven.
- Roll the dough (roll and slice) - Transfer the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Form the dough into a 1½ to 2-inch wide log, wrap tightly, and twist the ends. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Slice into ¼-½-inch cookies and place them onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. If the cookie dough seems too soft, place in the fridge for another 10 minutes to prevent them from spreading in the oven.
- Heat oven and bake - Once the cookie dough is cut and ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 10-14 minutes. The edges will be lightly browned. Remove from the oven and let cool.
- Whisk glaze - In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla bean paste until it forms a smooth glaze. If the glaze is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar; if the glaze is too thick, add a little more lemon juice.1 cup powdered sugar, 1-2 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Glaze cookies - Dip the tops of the cookies in the glaze, allow the excess glaze to drip into the bowl, and place each cookie on a wire rack. Allow the glaze to set and dry.
Video
Notes
- This recipe makes 21 3-inch cookies or 40 1½-inch cookies. The number of cookies will vary depending on the size of the cookie cutter. The smaller the cookie, the shorter the bake time.
- Use an aluminum baking sheet for even heating and line the baking sheet with parchment paper to minimize sticking and cleanup time.
- Don't over-mix the dough or the cookies may be tough and dense.
- Chill the dough for 1 hour to ensure the dough solidifies and the cookies have the perfect crumbly texture.
- Bake on the middle rack for even baking. If baking more than one sheet of cookies, place the racks in the top and bottom thirds of the oven then rotate the baking sheets halfway through.
- Use a lower oven temperature - Bake the shortbread at a lower temperature, of 350°F to ensure the cookies bake evenly and don't burn.
- Let the cookies cool then store them in an air-tight container and keep in a cool, dry place for up to 7 days. You can also freeze the cookies for up to 1 month. To freeze, place them in a storage bag, press out the air, and seal them. When you are ready to enjoy them again, thaw them in the fridge or on the counter.
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