Sweet and buttery, Lemon Shortbread Cookies are simple cookies perfect for holidays, special events or just as a treat for lemon lovers. Included are common challenges and solutions when making this American shortbread cookie.
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What Is Shortbread
Scottish Shortbread
A traditional Scottish cookie (biscuit), shortbread is made of 1 part sugar to 2 parts butter and 3 parts flour. Often you will find the traditional recipes to be made with oat flour and or a combination of oat flour and cornstarch.
American Shortbread
Here in the U.S. most shortbread recipes will be made with all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, salt and usually some sort of flavoring such as vanilla or lemon.
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh Lemons– For these cookies I used lemons from Costco which tend to run on the larger side. Depending on the size store bought lemons, it is wise to purchase 5-6 when they are smaller to ensure there is enough zest to flavor the cookies.
- Lemon Extract– This is helpful in amping up the lemon flavor.
- All Purpose Flour– This ingredient is the main difference in American shortbread cookies compared to other varieties.
- Granulated Sugar– As a fun tip, organic sugar has a tarnish color which lends in helping lemon baked goods look yellow without any food dye.
- Unsalted Butter– For consistency, buy the best quality of American style butter you can afford. Land O’ Lakes is the most common through the US. However, I love Clover, Vital Farms or Organic Valley butter.
- Salt– I use Maldon’s Sea Salt Flakes for all my cooking and baking. If using flakey salt in baking, it is crucial to grind the salt with a mortar and pestle to break down the flakes.
- Sparkling Sugar mixed with lemon zest for the top of the cookies not only makes these gorgeous, but also adds in a little extra tasty pizzaz.
How To Make
Making the Dough
- Place butter on countertop for at least 6 hours to bring to room temperature.
- Zest 2 lemons.
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Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment mix together softened butter with zest of 2 lemons making sure to scrape down sides halfway through mixing.
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Mix granulated sugar with butter just until combined and then mix in lemon extract.
- Sift together flour and salt. With stand mixer turned off, add all of the flour mixture and mix on the lowest speed until dough just comes together. This usually takes about 2 minutes. Pro Tip: Depending on the temperature of the butter, it may take longer than 2 minutes for the dough to come together. You will know the dough is done mixing when it sticks to the paddle attachment (see video for visual).
- Place dough between two layer of parchment paper.
- Using the under side of a large cookie sheet press dough to flatten. Wrap the dough with the edges of parchment and chill for 30 mins. Pro Tip: Flattening the dough with a cookie sheet and forming into a rectangle as best as possible makes for easier rolling and cutting of the cookies after chilling the dough.
Lemon Sugar
- Zest a third lemon.
- Measure Sparkling Sugar and add to zest.
- Mix with a spoon until the zest and sugar are evenly distributed.
Cutting Shortbread Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
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Roll chilled dough into 1/2 inch thickness and form into a rectangle as best as possible. Using a sharp knife cut cookies into 1 inch by 3 inch rectangles.
There are two approaches for cutting the shortbread cookies.
- Cut by hand using an approximate guess of what 1 inch by 3 inches would look like. There are no worries as the cookies do not need to be perfectly cut in those dimensions.
- Use this cookie cutter.
Baking the Cookies
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Using a spatula place cookies on 2 ungreased cookie sheets. Evenly sprinkle each cookie with sparkling sugar mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 mins or until corners turn a light golden brown, making sure to rotate cookie trays halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes and then carefully transfer with a spatula to a wired rack to completely cool.
Top Tips for Melt In Your Mouth Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Room temperature butter allows for a better texture with this particular cookie. In addition, it is easier to mix with the lemon zest.
- Properly measuring the flour will make a world of difference in creating the melt in your mouth texture. To do so, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and then level with a butter knife. This step will prevent the flour from becoming too compacted, thereby creating a dry cookie.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment will make this already easy cookie a complete breeze to make. Not sure which stand mixer is for you? You will want to check out this article.
- Don’t over mix the dough. It is also important to not over mix the butter and sugar as you do not want to add extra air into the dough. Mix the sugar and butter until just combined and then add in the flour and mix until it just comes together.
Common Challenges and Solutions
Dough is Too Crumbly
There are two possible reasons for the dough being too crumbly.
- The flour was not measured correctly thereby adding in too much flour (see video for details).
- The butter is on the colder side and dough needs to be mixed on low speed until it starts to stick to the paddle.
Shortbread Cookies Spread Too Much
If the cookies spread too much it is a sign that the butter was on the warmer side when mixed with the flour. This can happen during the warmer months of summer.
The solution with butter that is very soft is to chill the dough for 45 minutes to 1 hour before cutting and baking.
Lemon Flavor is Too Weak
When the lemon flavor is too weak it is a sign that not enough lemon zest was used. Ideally 3 tablespoons should be added to the dough and 1 1/2 tablespoons for the sparkling sugar topping.
Cookies Baked Unevenly
It is very common with ovens for them to have spots that run hot. To avoid cookies that bake unevenly simply rotate the pans halfway through baking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use salted butter for these cookies?
Yes and no. I have, in a pinch, used salted butter in baking when I did not have unsalted on hand. It does change the sweetness of these cookies slightly and it is extremely important to eliminate the salt if doing so.
Your best bet though for the highest quality of cookie will be to follow the recipe exactly, using unsalted butter.
Do these Lemon Cookies freeze well?
If placed in an airtight freezer container these cookies will stay fresh for 6-8 weeks.
What events are these cookies best for?
Easter, Christmas, baby showers, summer holidays and get togethers are all perfect times to make these lemon cookies. Also, if you love lemons, these cookies are wonderful anytime of year.
What is the best way to zest a lemon?
For these lemon cookies a fine zest will work best. This tool is my favorite for doing this.
How can I use the leftover zested lemons?
I love the question! Juice the lemons using this tool and make Simple Herbed Lemon Vinaigrette, One Pot Lemon Chicken and Rice or Mediterranean Tuna Salad.
More Spring Recipes
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 lg lemons zested *about 3 tablespoons of zest, see Note #1 below
- 3/4 lb unsalted butter *room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour *see Note # 2 below
- 1/4 tsp salt *see Note # 3 below
Cookie Topping
- 1 lg lemon zested *approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons
- 1/4 cup Sparkling Sugar *see Note # 4 below
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment mix together softened butter with zest of 2 lemons making sure to scrape down sides halfway through mixing.
- Mix granulated sugar with butter just until combined and then mix in lemon extract.
- Sift together flour and salt. With stand mixer turned off, add all of the flour mixture and mix on the lowest speed until dough just comes together, about 2 mins. See Note # 5 below.
- Place dough between two layer of parchment paper. Using the under side of a large cookie sheet press dough to flatten. Wrap the dough with the edges of parchment and chill for 30 mins. See Note # 6 below.
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Zest 3rd lemon and mix with sparkling sugar.
- Roll chilled dough into 1/2 inch thickness and form into a rectangle as best as possible. Using a sharp knife cut cookies into 1 inch by 3 inch rectangles.
- Using a spatula place cookies on 2 ungreased cookie sheets. Evenly sprinkle each cookie with sparkling sugar mixture.
- Bake for 20-25 mins or until corners turn a light golden brown, making sure to rotate cookie trays halfway through baking.
- Let cookies cool on cookie sheets for about 10 minutes and then carefully transfer with a spatula to a wired rack to completely cool.
Judy Beall says
Can this recipe be done as a bar cookie. I have never been successful with cookies that require cutting
Heather says
That is such a good question Judy. I haven’t made these cookies like that but now I am very interested in trying. If you do give a shot, please let me know how they turnout.
Sheila says
So many shortbread recipes are made into a roll then sliced. Would this work? I’d like to make the dough now and bake closer to an event in a few weeks.
Heather says
Hi Sheila.
This is such a good question. I haven’t attempted making the dough ahead of time as it only requires 30 minutes of chilling time. I am not fully sure how it will turn out and how challenging it may be to cut the dough.
I do apologize but please let me know if you get a chance to make them.
S Chick says
I thought this was too much flour. Is it an error? The dough was way to dry even with 2 cups flour like my other shortbread.
Heather says
Hi Shelley,
This recipe was adapted from Ina Garten’s 5 start rated shortbread recipe with the only changes being lemon zest, lemon extract and sparking sugar. This dough is meant to be dry and crumbly as you will see reflected in the comments on Ina’s recipe.The wrapping in plastic wrap and chilling is what brings the dough together. Please feel free to look around the comments on Ina’s recipe and let me know if there is any additional questions I can be a support with.https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/shortbread-cookies-recipe-1945855
Emma says
Wonderful recipe. Traditional consistency and crunch with a bit of a lemon flare.
Heather says
I am so glad to hear that Emma. We adore this shortbread recipe. Thank you for taking the time to make the recipe and also rate it!
Ally O'Connor says
Melt in Your Mouth Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Hi! These look so good!
I have CK Products White Sugar Crystals. Is that the same as Sparkling sugar?
Thanks! Ally-O in NJ
Heather says
Hi Ally! This is such a good question. Honestly, I am not familiar with that brand but this is what I used so hopefully seeing the product may help. https://amzn.to/3e2azwS
CC says
Just made these. Overall not bad. They spread a tad at the bottom while the top edges stayed sharp. I wonder if it’s due to the butter being room temperature instead of very cold? They also didn’t taste very lemony. I would perhaps up the lemon zest and extract. Or try a lemon glaze. I did just roll into a log that was roughly 1×3 inches and then sliced into individual cookies after chilling and it was very easy to do.
Heather says
Love hearing your thoughts. Thank you for taking the time to make then and to rate the recipe.
Sue says
this never came together. I did review Ina recipe, but with no video, I HAD NOTHING BUT CRUMBS! I tried shaping into a 1/2 inch rectangle on top of plastic wrap so I could squeeze it into submission, but after an hour, it was still not submissive.
I was always told 3 parts flour, 2 parts butter, and 1 part sugar, or 4 parts dry to 2 parts butter. This recipe is 5 parts dry to less than 1 part butter. what do I do to salvage this!
Heather says
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience with the lemon shortbread cookies. I am sorry to hear that the recipe didn’t come together as expected for you and I understand how frustrating it can be when things don’t turn out as planned.
It’s important to note that different recipes may have varying ratios of ingredients, including flour, butter, and sugar. While my recipe may differ from what you’re accustomed to, I believe it can still yield delicious results based on numerous successful outcomes. However, I apologize if the instructions or measurements weren’t clear enough to guide you through the process smoothly.
Within the video I address the main reasons why this shortbread cookie may not turn out. Usually it just comes down to letting the dough mix until it comes together. Depending on the type of mixer used, it can feel like quite a long time.
As far as salvaging the dough, there are a few options. Let the dough come to room temperature and return to the mixer until to mix until it comes together. Additional small amounts of butter may be added also until the dough comes together. Alternatively, you could try incorporating a small amount of cold water, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough reaches a more workable consistency.
If you’re still experiencing difficulties with the recipe, I’d be more than happy to help troubleshoot further. Please let me know if there’s any additional information I can provide or if you have any specific questions.
Warm regards!
Barb Gilmartin says
Great lemon shortbread cookie. This is my third time making. I now keep them in the freezer in case of company.
Heather says
I love hearing that. Thank you for giving the recipe and try and coming back to comment.
Shiloh Force says
Just made this recipe to make cutout stars for a Super Mario birthday party. The first batch held its shape pretty well, but they still spread a bit and had slightly more rounded edges than I wanted for a customer order. So on the second batch, I replaced 1/2 cup of the flour with corn starch, and that really turned the trick! Beautiful sharp edges, tender melt away crumb, and a lovely light lemon frangrance that is subtle and pairs quite well with vanilla royal icing. As others have noted, if you really want a pop of lemon flavor, pair these with a simple glaze of powdered sugar and lemon juice (I like to put a spoonful of wildflower honey in mine for shine and depth of flavor).
Heather says
Love the suggestions. Thank you!!
Jill says
Complete waste of time. The dough was so crumbly impossible to even form a shape much less roll out to cut.
Heather says
Hi Jill. I understand the frustration. It actually sounds like you were right on track as the dough for these cookies are crumbly. It is part of what makes them so unique.
I appreciate the feedback as this will help me to share more helpful information.
Hazel Sierra says
Hi Heather!
Can this recipe be made with salted butter?
Loved it when I first made it with unsalted butter! But just in case I only have salted butter on hand….can it be swapped?
Thank you!
Heather says
Hi Hazel!
This is such a good question. So if you decide to use salted butter I would definitely leave out the salt. Depending on the type of salted butter used the cookies will more than likely turn out a touch saltier. However, some may really enjoy this. I hope this helps.