These tasty Lemon Shortbread Cookies are a mix of lemon juice, zest, extract along with pantry ingredients like flour, powdered sugar and butter! Make this cookie for your next spring or summer bake sale, potluck, BBQ or picnic! They are a crowd pleaser!
Simple Lemon Shortbread Cookies
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Shortbread cookies have always been a favorite of mine!
I love the sweet, buttery taste and these ones I'm sharing today, are just too perfect with the lemon added in.
These cookies are not only delicious, but SO simple to make! These ingredients are easily found in the fridge and pantry of most kitchens and you can even make the dough a day ahead of time and refrigerate until using.
You can store these cookies in a dry, airtight container for a week, or in the refrigerator for 10 days. They can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and allowed to come back to room temperature before serving.
Lemon not your thing or want to switch it up? Try lime, grapefruit or orange instead!
What are the ingredients in this recipe?
- All Purpose Flour: It's a combination of hard and soft wheats. Bleached flour provides a softer texture. It's versatile and you can bake most anything with it!
- Butter: A dairy product consisting of approximately 80% butterfat and made from the fat and protein components of milk or cream. Most commonly made from cow's milk, but can also be made from sheep, goat, yak, or buffalo milk.
- Powdered Sugar: Also known as confectioners' sugar or icing sugar. It is finely ground by milling, and is used for frostings or dusted onto food to add sweetness or decoration. You can use store bought or also make it yourself!
- Lemon Juice
- Lemon Extract
- Lemon Zest
Scroll down to the printable recipe card for measurements and instructions!
Recipe tips:
- Start checking your cookies around the 5-minute mark. All ovens cook differently, and you can quickly burn these cookies or overcook them, if not careful.
- If there is a tad bit of a bitter taste to the cookies, it means you used too much lemon zest. Simply reduce the lemon zest next time around.
- The fork marks keep potential bubbles from forming on your cookies as they bake.
- If you want a stronger lemon flavor, add a bit more extract.
- Sprinkle granulated sugar on top before baking for an extra sweet crunchy crust.
More shortbread recipes you might like:
- Brown Sugar Chocolate Chip Walnut Shortbread
- Turtle Shortbread Bars
- Rhubarb Shortbread Bars
- Reese's Pieces Shortbread Bars
This recipe is ready in these steps:
You can add or substitute with these ingredients:
- Lime juice, extract and zest
- Chopped fresh thyme
- Orange juice, extract and zest
- Chopped fresh rosemary
- Grapefruit juice, extract and zest
- Culinary lavender
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I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!
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Simple Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Stick (½ Cup) Butter, room temperature
- ½ Cup Powdered Sugar
- 6 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
- ½ Tablespoon Lemon Zest
- ½ Teaspoon Lemon Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit and cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine your flour, powdered sugar, butter, and lemon zest. Using a fork, mix until it becomes a crumble.
- Add the lemon zest, extract, and half of the lemon juice. Mix until it starts to form a dough. Add more lemon juice, as needed, until you’re able to form a ball with the entire mixture.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on a flat surface and sprinkle with flour. Place the ball of dough on the flour and place another sheet of parchment paper over the top.
- Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until it reaches about a quarter of an inch thick.
- Using a knife, cut the dough into rectangles or squares. My cookies were 1”x2”. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet. Rework dough and cut again to use up as much of the dough as possible.
- Using a fork, poke the middle of each cookie.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown on the bottom.
- Remove from the oven and let the cookies sit on the baking sheet for about 10 minutes before removing them to a cooling rack to rest for another 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Notes:
-Start checking your cookies around the 5-minute mark. All ovens cook differently, and you can quickly burn these cookies or overcook them, if not careful.
-If there is a tad bit of a bitter taste to the cookies, it means you used too much lemon zest. Simply reduce the lemon zest next time around.
-The fork marks keep potential bubbles from forming on your cookies as they bake.
-If you want a stronger lemon flavor, add a bit more extract.
-Make a day ahead and refrigerate until baking.
-Sprinkle granulated sugar on top before baking for an extra sweet crunchy crust.
-You can store these cookies in a dry, airtight container for a week, or in the refrigerator for 10 days. They can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months and allowed to come back to room temperature before serving.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
75.11Fat (grams)
4.65Sat. Fat (grams)
2.91Carbs (grams)
7.81Fiber (grams)
0.22Net carbs
7.59Sugar (grams)
2.80Protein (grams)
0.72Sodium (milligrams)
37.62Cholesterol (grams)
12.15
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