Lemon Shortbread Cookies
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This lemon shortbread is all about delicious, buttery cookies that melt in the mouth with a fresh, lemony flavor.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
If you love buttery shortbread and lemon, chances are you will love these lemon shortbread cookies. They melt in the mouth with buttery crumbs and refreshing lemon flavor.
Just the cookies that you won’t be able to resist.
It’s such a good twist on the ever-popular traditional shortbread cookies.
And if you need more ideas to use up your lemons, you can try this small batch lemon bars recipe by Homemade In The Kitchen, mini lemon tarts recipe by All You Need Is Brunch.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fresh lemon zest does the heavy lifting when it comes to flavor. Zest carries the fragrant, aromatic oils from the lemon skin — the part that actually tastes like lemon rather than just sour. Working it into the dough directly means the citrus flavor is baked into every bite, not just sitting on the surface.
- The texture is properly short — not cakey, not chewy. True shortbread relies on a high butter-to-flour ratio and minimal handling. This recipe respects that balance, which gives you a biscuit that crumbles cleanly and dissolves on the tongue the way good shortbread should.
- Butter quality makes a noticeable difference here. Because the ingredient list is short, each one carries more weight. A good quality unsalted butter — higher fat content, less water — produces a noticeably richer, more flavourful result than standard supermarket blocks.
- No eggs, no leavening, no complicated steps. Shortbread is one of the few recipes where less genuinely means more. Fewer ingredients mean fewer variables, and once you understand the dough, it’s consistently repeatable without second-guessing.
- They hold their shape cleanly when cut. The dough is firm enough to roll and cut into neat rounds or fingers without spreading in the oven, which matters if you want a tidy result without chilling the dough for hours first.
- They store exceptionally well. Shortbread keeps its texture and flavor in an airtight tin for up to a week — longer than most cookies. The low moisture content means they don’t soften or stale quickly, making them ideal for baking ahead.
- The lemon keeps them from feeling too rich. Shortbread on its own can be one-note after a few bites. The citrus cuts through the butter just enough to make each cookie feel fresh rather than heavy, which is exactly why you keep reaching for another one.
- They work for any occasion without modification. Plain enough for an everyday biscuit with tea, considered enough to box up as a gift, and simple enough that making a double batch takes almost no extra effort.
The Key Ingredients
Though you will see eight items in the ingredient list, you will only need seven. Because from the lemon, you will get the juice and zest.
So those seven items are butter, caster sugar, egg yolk, lemon, all-purpose flour (plain flour), ground almonds, and cornstarch (corn flour).
I suggest you use salted butter. The reason is that the small amount of salt in the butter will enhance the flavor of your cookies.
Now, if you have a nut allergy or are not keen on using nuts in your cookies, you can substitute ground almonds with rice flour or semolina flour.
Equipment You Need
- Mixing bowl.
- Spatula.
- Handheld mixer.
- Parchment paper.
- Baking sheets.
- Saran wrap/ cling film.
How to Make Lemon Shortbread Cookies
The method of making these cookies is rather old-fashioned but very easy.
Firstly, cream the salted butter and caster sugar until you get a nice, pale, creamy mixture. Then you beat in the egg yolk, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Though I use a handheld mixer, you can always use a hand whisk or a stand mixer.
Once the mixture is well stirred and blended, add the remaining ingredients: flour, ground almonds, and cornstarch.
Using a spatula or wooden spoon, mix everything until everything is combined and you get a soft dough. Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30-60 minutes.
When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 180℃/356℉ (gas mark 4) and line your baking sheets with parchment paper.
Then, take the dough out of the refrigerator. Divide, shape, and roll the dough into cherry tomato-sized balls. Place them on the lined baking sheets, well spaced apart.
Note that you can always shape and roll the dough into a giant sausage, then cut it into thick slices. So you can save time.
Using your thumb or the back of a spoon, gently press the cookie dough to slightly flatten it, leaving a small indentation in the center. It’s a thumbprint cookie shape.
Bake the cookies at the gas mark 4/180℃/356℉ for about 25 minutes, or until golden and firm to the touch.
Before transferring the cookies to a wire cooling rack, leave them on the baking sheet for a few minutes.
Variations of Shortbread Cookies
This lemon shortbread cookie recipe can be easily modified into other variations.
If you like a vanilla flavor, you can replace the lemon zest with vanilla seeds and the lemon juice with vanilla extract.
And if you like the herbaceous fragrance in your cookies, you can add half a teaspoon of dried thyme when you add the lemon zest to the dough. Other herbs like rosemary or lavender can be good choices, too. In fact, the latter one is quite popular these days.
How Long Can You Keep the Cookies
The ready-baked cookies keep well in a tight-lidded cookie jar for up to two weeks.
And the dough itself freezes well for up to two months.
So you can prepare the dough in bulk and keep it in the freezer if you need to make a big batch of cookies for your busy festive seasons. Take the dough out the day before you plan to bake, and leave it in the fridge to thaw overnight.
The top tip for preparing a big batch to freeze is to shape the dough into a large cylinder. Cover it tightly with Saran Wrap before freezing. When you want to bake the cookies, you can just cut the dough into thick slices. This way, you will save loads of time in shaping and rolling.
Bear in mind that once it has thawed, you must not refreeze the dough. And the thawed dough should be cooked and used within a few days.
More Cookie Recipes
Thank you for checking this lemon shortbread cookie recipe. I hope you will try it soon. When you do, please let me know what you think about it in the comments below (leave a reply). I really appreciate it.
And before you go, don’t forget to check out my other easy cookie recipes that you may like.
- Kue Putri Salju – Snow White Butter Cookies
- Chocolate chip cookies with coconut oil.
- White Chocolate And Cranberry Cookies.
- Chocolate Smarties Cookies.
- Snickerdoodles Without Cream Of Tartar.
Lastly, please follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. To sneak a peek at what’s cooking in my kitchen.
Take care and all the best.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Equipment
- Spatula
- Parchment paper
- Baking trays
- Saran wrap/ cling film
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp salted butter.
- ⅓ cup caster sugar.
- 1 large egg yolk.
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice.
- Zest 1 lemon.
- 2 cups all-purpose flour/ plain flour.
- 7 tablespoons ground almonds.
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch/ cornflour.
Instructions
- Cream the butter and caster sugar in a mixing bowl until pale in color. You can use a wooden spoon or a handheld mixer.
- Add in the egg yolk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat again and mix well.
- Fold in the plain flour, cornstarch, and ground almonds. Stir until all is combined and it comes to a dough. Refrigerate for about 30-60 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃/ 356℉ at gas mark 4 when ready to bake the cookies.
- Line a few baking sheets with parchment paper/ greaseproof paper.
- Take a small piece of the dough or about the size of a cherry tomato, and roll it into a small ball. Then place the dough ball onto the lined baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough is finished. Make sure you leave enough space between the dough balls.
- Bake them for about 25 minutes until they are golden in color and firm to the touch.
- Once you take the cookies out of the oven, leave them on the sheet for a few minutes before transferring them onto a cooling rack.
Notes
- You can prepare the dough and keep it in the fridge for up to 72 hours before cooking.
- You can always shape the dough into a giant sausage and cut it into thick slices. So you can save time.
Nutrition
Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.
Delicious! These were perfect with cardamom tea.
Yes, I agree with you. Cardamom tea will be the best companion for this lemon shortbread cookie.