Tangy-sweet and buttery, these cut-out lemon shortbread cookies are a ray of sunshine on a plate. The feel strikes a beautiful steadiness of crumbly, crunchy, gentle, and tender. Roll out the dough and lower into your alternative of shapes. Take pleasure in plain, topped with glowing sugar, or dipped in a simple lemon icing that units.
Amongst all the vacation cookies, from spiced (molasses cookies) to wealthy (crinkle cookies) to candy (Christmas sugar cookies), it’s so refreshing to have a burst of citrus within the combine.
It’s why I like these lemon crinkle cookies and these cranberry orange icebox cookies on the holidays. (Although after all you possibly can—and will!—make these sunny lemon treats 12 months spherical!!)
Lemon Shortbread Cookies Recipe Snapshot
- Style: Like all shortbread cookies, the flavour is buttery and never overly candy. Utilizing recent lemon zest and juice in these cookies offers them pure lemon taste.
- Texture: As a result of shortbread doesn’t require leavener or egg, the feel is uniquely crisp, but gentle and tender. That is an egg-free baking recipe.
- Ease: You solely want 7 primary components to make the dough. An electrical mixer, a rolling pin, and cookie cutters are the principle instruments to have available. A meals processor, blender, or mini chopper is vital for combining the sugar and lemon zest.
- Time: The gentle dough wants to relax for 3 hours earlier than you possibly can lower it into shapes and bake the cookies.
A few of my favourite shortbread recipes embody these shortbread wedge cookies (customizable with totally different add-ins); candy & salty chocolate pistachio shortbread; and slice-and-bake-style pecan shortbread & brown sugar shortbread. At this time’s recipe is virtually the identical as my beloved shortbread cookies, that are baked in spherical cake pans.
For right this moment’s model, we’re flavoring it with oodles of lemon and slicing it into shapes with cookie cutters, identical to we do with sugar cookies and gingerbread cookies.
7-Ingredient Lemon Shortbread Cookie Dough:
Conventional shortbread recipes are made with a 3-2-1 ratio: 3 elements flour, 2 elements butter, and 1 half sugar. Typically there’s vanilla and salt, too, however there’s no egg and no leavening agent. As I’ve examined many, many shortbread cookie recipes through the years, I’ve performed round quite a bit with the components, so that you’ll discover the ratio I exploit is just not the precise 3-2-1 of conventional shortbread.
Right here’s what you want for this lemon shortbread recipe:
- Granulated Sugar: You’ll begin by pulsing the sugar along with the lemon zest in a meals processor, which breaks it down right into a finer texture and helps infuse extra taste into the dough.
- Lemons: You want 2 recent lemons for this shortbread recipe—we’re utilizing each the zest and the juice.
- Unsalted Butter: As the bottom of almost all shortbread recipes, butter provides these traditional cookies with taste, and offers them that uniquely buttery, melt-in-your-mouth high quality. Ensure you use room-temperature butter that’s nonetheless cool to the contact. If it’s too heat, the butter and sugar can’t correctly cream and the cookies will overspread and style dense.
- Vanilla Extract: We’re utilizing lower than in these common shortbread wedge cookies, as a result of we wish the lemon taste to shine by means of.
- Flour: All-purpose flour gives construction and produces sturdy, but terrifically tender shortbread cookies.
- Cornstarch: Cornstarch actually is the “secret” to texture success right here. It retains the cookies additional gentle, tender, and light-weight, identical to it does in peppermint meltaway cookies. I like including a small quantity to chocolate chip cookies too.
- Salt: A pinch of salt retains the flavour balanced.
Methods to Make Minimize-Out Shortbread Cookies
Begin by pulsing the sugar and lemon zest collectively in a meals processor. (I use and love this one.) This step at the start is vital to those lemon shortbread cookies, as a result of it 1) breaks down the sugar granules and lemon zest right into a finer consistency, 2) extracts a few of the oil from the lemon peel, which moistens the sugar, and three) infuses extra taste into the dough as a result of it’s then creamed with butter (fats carries taste).
Superbly infused lemon sugar:
After you have your lemon sugar, from right here on you’re making a simple 1-bowl cookie dough. Cream the butter and lemon sugar collectively, after which add the lemon juice and vanilla.
Lastly, combine within the dry components. Beat on low velocity to start bringing all the components collectively. The dough can be crumbly at first, however then clump up as you enhance the mixer velocity.
Roll Out the Dough Earlier than Chilling
This is identical order of steps as my sugar cookies recipe, and we do it this manner as a result of after chilling, the dough can be fairly stiff and rather more troublesome to roll out.
With a floured rolling pin, roll out the gentle dough onto a floured piece of parchment paper or silicone baking mat. We need to maintain these shortbread cookies on the thicker aspect, so don’t roll it too skinny. Slightly below 1/2 an inch is nice.
Decide up the parchment/baking mat with the rolled-out dough on it and place the entire thing on a baking sheet and refrigerate it. This dough wants to relax for not less than 3 hours earlier than you narrow it into shapes and bake it.
The variety of cookies you get out of this dough will depend upon the scale of your cookie cutters. The cookie cutter I used right here is 2.25 inches in diameter, and I used to be capable of get 38 cookies after re-rolling the scraps. I exploit a fluted-edge cookie cutter from this set.
Use a fork to softly poke indents (not holes, don’t push all over) within the tops of the cookies earlier than baking. Why? That is actually only for appears to be like! Be at liberty to skip, particularly when you plan to cowl them in icing.
Non-compulsory Toppings
These lemon shortbread cookies style nice as is, however you’ll particularly love them topped with a creamy, dreamy lemon icing. You possibly can merely dip the tops of the cooled cookies in it—no piping luggage or ideas required. If you wish to pipe intricate designs on the cookies, use royal icing and see my learn how to enhance sugar cookies tutorial for inspiration. You might additionally use cookie adorning buttercream, or lemon buttercream. See frosting recipes for extra choices.
A sprinkle of recent lemon zest over the icing provides a bit additional zing and is the proper final touch on the iced cookies. The icing units after about 1 to 2 hours, or you possibly can velocity it up a bit by putting the iced cookies within the fridge.
OR… when you don’t plan to ice these cookies, you possibly can add a sprinkle of coarse sugar or sanding sugar sprinkles earlier than baking, which supplies the shortbread a shiny crunch. I often attain for white glowing sugar offered as sprinkles within the baking aisle.
Can I Make These With Orange or Lime As a substitute of Lemon?
Sure! Merely change the lemon juice and zest with both recent lime or orange.
Sally’s Cookie Palooza
This recipe is a part of my annual cookie countdown known as Sally’s Cookie Palooza. It’s the largest, most scrumptious occasion of the 12 months! Browse dozens of cookie recipes over on the Sally’s Cookie Palooza web page together with:
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Prep Time: 3 hours, half-hour (contains chilling)
Prepare dinner Time: 14 minutes
Complete Time: 3 hours, 45 minutes
Yield: 36-38 2.25-inch cookies
Class: Cookies
Methodology: Baking
Delicacies: American
Description
Zesty, buttery, and tangy-sweet, these cut-out lemon shortbread cookies are merely sunshine on a plate. Take pleasure in plain, topped with glowing sugar, or dipped in a simple creamy lemon icing. The variety of cookies this recipe yields is dependent upon the scale of the cookie cutter you employ. Remember to refrigerate the rolled-out dough for not less than 3 hours.
Directions
- Make the cookies: Place the sugar and lemon zest in a small meals processor, and pulse a number of instances (about 12–15 instances) till the sugar is moistened and lemon zest is finely chopped. This step is crucial and shouldn’t be skipped.
- In a big bowl utilizing a handheld or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the lemon sugar and butter collectively on excessive velocity till creamy, about 2–3 minutes. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl as wanted. Add the lemon juice and vanilla, and beat till mixed. Scrape down the edges and backside of the bowl as wanted. Add the flour, cornstarch, and salt and beat on low velocity for 1 minute because the combination begins to mix. Flip the mixer as much as medium velocity and beat till the dough clumps collectively, about 1–3 minutes. The dough can be thick but gentle.
- Mud a bit of parchment paper or silicone baking mat generously with flour. Utilizing a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2-inch thickness (or simply beneath). Use extra flour if the dough appears too sticky. The rolled-out dough could be any form, so long as it’s evenly thick. Switch the rolled-out dough (nonetheless on the parchment/baking mat) to a baking sheet. Cowl and refrigerate for not less than 3 hours, or as much as 2 days.
- As soon as chilled, preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line giant baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Utilizing a cookie cutter, lower the dough into shapes. Re-roll the dough scraps and proceed slicing till all is used. *Work rapidly. If the dough sits out for too lengthy and the cookies really feel room-temperature or gentle to the contact, refrigerate the formed cookies for quarter-hour earlier than baking.* If desired, use a fork to softly poke holes within the tops of the cookies (don’t push all over). If utilizing (as a substitute of icing), flippantly sprinkle coarse glowing sugar on prime of the cookies. It received’t stick at first, however it’ll because the cookies bake.
- Bake for 14–quarter-hour, till the perimeters are set and simply beginning to flip golden. In case your cookies are lower smaller than 2 inches, keep watch over them after the 10-minute mark. In case your cookies are bigger than 2 inches, they could take longer to bake. Enable cookies to chill on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then switch to a cooling rack to chill fully.
- For the icing: In a small bowl, whisk the confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, milk/cream, and vanilla collectively till easy. Dip the tops of the cooled cookies within the icing, and let any extra drip off over the bowl earlier than putting the cookies on a cooling rack or baking sheet to dry. Be at liberty to prime every with recent lemon zest whereas icing remains to be moist. The icing units after about 1 to 2 hours, so you possibly can simply retailer, stack, and transport the cookies.
- Take pleasure in cookies instantly or wait till the icing units to serve them. As soon as the icing has set, these cookies could be stacked. Cowl and retailer iced cookies at room temperature for as much as 3 days, or within the fridge for as much as 5 days. Cowl and retailer plain cookies at room temperature for as much as 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Directions: Plain or iced cookies freeze effectively for as much as 3 months. Watch for the icing to set fully earlier than layering between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container. To thaw, thaw within the fridge or at room temperature. You may as well freeze the cookie dough for as much as 3 months earlier than rolling it out. Put together the dough by means of step 2, then flatten right into a disc as we do with pie crust, wrap in plastic wrap, then freeze. To thaw, thaw the disc within the fridge, then convey to room temperature for about 1 hour. Roll out the dough as directed in step 3, then chill rolled-out dough within the fridge for 45 minutes–1 hour earlier than slicing into shapes and baking. See this publish on learn how to freeze cookie dough for a video tutorial.
- Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): Zester | Meals Processor | Citrus Juicer | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer) | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Rolling Pin or Adjustable Rolling Pin | Baking Sheets | 2–2.5-inch Cookie Cutter (Spherical or Fluted) | Cooling Rack | Whisk
- Yield: The variety of cookies this recipe yields is dependent upon the scale of the cookie cutter you employ. I often use a cookie cutter that’s 2 and 1/4 inches in diameter. Be at liberty to make your cookies bigger or smaller, utilizing any form cookie cutter.
- Pulsing Lemon Zest + Sugar in Step 1: This step is vital for 3 causes as a result of it: 1) breaks down the sugar granules and lemon zest right into a finer consistency, 2) extracts a few of the oil from the lemon peel, which moistens the sugar, and three) infuses extra taste into the dough as a result of it’s then creamed with butter (fats carries taste). Should you don’t have a meals processor or a blender, you possibly can crush the lemon zest into the sugar with a mortar and pestle, or skip this step altogether. Should you skip it, anticipate to lose some taste.
- Sugar on High of the Cookies: If you don’t plan to ice these cookies, you possibly can add a sprinkle of coarse sugar or sanding sugar sprinkles earlier than baking, which supplies the shortbread a shiny crunch. That is optionally available. I often attain for white glowing sugar offered as sprinkles within the baking aisle.
- Can I Make These Cookies With Different Citrus? Sure. Merely change the lemon juice and zest with both recent lime or orange.
- Can I Double the Recipe? Sure. Merely double all the components.
- Extra Frosting/Icing Choices: If you wish to pipe intricate designs on the cookies, use royal icing and see my learn how to enhance sugar cookies tutorial for inspiration. You might additionally use cookie adorning buttercream, or lemon buttercream. See frosting recipes for extra choices.
- Remember to take a look at my prime 5 cookie baking ideas AND these are my 10 must-have cookie baking instruments.