Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

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Looking for a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth treat? Look no further than our irresistible lemon shortbread biscuits! Perfectly balanced with just the right amount of zesty lemon flavour, these cookies are sure to satisfy your sweet tooth. Don’t miss out on this heavenly treat!

I’d never made shortbread until recently. 

I’m not that bothered about it if I’m honest. If there’s a shortbread biscuit offered, I can take it or leave it, and I’d certainly never buy them. 

So the only shortbread I’d ever made was the base of a millionaire shortbread recipe. 

This lemon biscuits recipe basically came about because I had a couple of spare lemons that needed eating, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Apparently, while I’m not bothered about store-bought shortbread, I’m absolutely addicted to homemade and easy lemon biscuits are always delicious.

This lemon shortbread is honestly one of my favourite things ever! I’ve made lemon shortbread cookies so many times since that first day, and have started to experiment with different flavours!

Why You’ll Love This Easy Lemon Shortbread Recipe

This easy lemon shortbread biscuit recipe is everything! I love it because:

• Shortbread is great for baking with the kids. 
• Lemon biscuits are easy and cheap. 
• Shortbread makes a fantastic gift!
• You can easily adjust the amount of lemon and the strength of the flavour. 
• They look cool drizzled with lemon icing made with fresh lemon juice for a bit of a tang.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies Ingredients

You only need 4 ingredients to make lemon shortbread!

Butter – Some recipes use margarine, but I find it too sloppy. The cookies might spread, and you won’t get the same buttery flavour. Room-temperature butter is ideal. 

Caster Sugar

Plain Flour

Lemons 

For the Lemon Glaze

For the lemon glaze, I just use a simple mix of lemon juice and icing sugar. 

How to Get a Great Lemon Flavour

To get a gorgeous lemon shortbread I zest my lemons into the caster sugar and stir them together before I start to mix any other ingredients. 

I find that this flavours the sugar, and it’s the easiest time to add the zest. It would be much harder to mix in evenly later on. 

I add the zest of two lemons. You could just use one, but I find two are perfect without being too strong a flavour. 

Then, the drizzle of lemon icing just finishes them off nicely. This is a stronger flavour, but by drizzling instead of dipping or covering it doesn’t overwhelm the shortbread with lemon. 

What Equipment Do I Need to Make Lemon Shortbread Biscuits?

I use a large mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a microplane-style grater, a rolling pin, and a baking tray with reusable baking paper. 

I think that’s it. 

How to Make Easy Lemon Shortbread Biscuits – Step-by-Step

It’s so easy! You can get full quantities and instructions in the card at the bottom of this post too. 

Step One 

Take the butter out of the fridge at least an hour before baking, so that it’s not rock hard. 

Step Two

Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, grate in the lemon zest and stir well. You can do this in advance, or right before you start mixing. 

Step Three

Cut the butter into cubes and add to the sugar. 

Step Four

Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. I do this with a wooden spoon, and it takes a while, as butter is still quite hard even when it’s room temperature. 

You can also use an electric whisk or stand mixer. 

Step Five

Add the flour and continue to mix until it looks fairly breadcrumby. Don’t try to mix until it comes together in a ball, this might never happen. 

Step Six

Squeeze together with your hands. You can tip it out to do this, but I do it in the bowl, it’s less messy. 

Keep squeezing any bits that crumble out back in until you’ve got a ball of dough that you can work with. 

Step Seven

Place the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Longer is fine. 

Step Eight

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a baking tray with baking paper. 

Lightly dust a surface with flour and roll the dough to about 5mm. 

It’s normal for the dough to crumble a little, so just push bits back together with your fingers.

Step Nine – Cutting the Shortbread

You can use a cutter, but I just cut the lemon shortbread dough into fingers by hand, with a sharp knife. 

I cut one, and then use that as a template to cut around for the others, so they are evenish. 

This recipe makes between 10 and 12 fairly large and thick fingers. 

Step Ten

Carefully move the lemon shortbread fingers onto the baking tray. 

They will spread very slightly as they bake but shouldn’t go too far. Leave a cm or two between them. 

Step Eleven

Bake for 12-15 minutes until the tops are lightly golden. 

Step Twelve

Remove from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool. This only takes around 15-20 minutes. 

Step Thirteen

Mix the icing sugar with some lemon juice in a small bowl. 

I start with 100g of icing sugar, and a good squeeze of lemon. Add more of either until you have a thick, but pipeable glaze. It wants to be fairly stiff so that it doesn’t just roll off the biscuit, so add more icing sugar if you need to. 

Step Fourteen

Use a piping bag or spoon to roughly drizzle over the cooled cookies. 

You can add a bit more lemon zest now too, but this is optional. 

Leave to set for a few minutes before eating. If you can. Maybe just try one!

Should Shortbread Dough be Kneaded?

Not really. 

You work it with your hands, to get it to a nice ball, but you are really just pressing it all together. You don’t have to actively knead for any period of time. 

Does Shortbread Spread When It Bakes?

I find that shortbread spreads a tiny tiny bit. Nothing like chocolate chip cookies. 

If yours is spreading a lot, try using a little less butter, or leaving it in the fridge for longer next time.

How Can You Tell When Shortbread is Cooked?

Shortbread biscuits don’t take long to cook, usually between 12 and 15 minutes. You’ll know they are ready when they are firm, and the tops just starting to brown. You don’t want it to get too dark, just a nice light golden colour. 

How Long Does Homemade Shortbread Last?

These lemon shortbread biscuits will last in a sealed tub for probably 4-5 days. 

How to Store These Shortbread Cookies

I store mine in an airtight tub, or even a covered cake stand. 

Can I Freeze Lemon Shortbread Biscuits?

You can freeze lemon shortbread, but I’d do it before adding the icing. 

Just place them in an airtight tub, with a sheet of baking paper between them so that they don’t stick together and freeze for up to two months. 

Thaw in the fridge.

Shortbread Biscuit Variations

You can make so many different shortbread flavours. 

Chocolate chip and other fruits like orange would be fantastic!

Other Lemon Treats

If you like lemon treats as much as I do, you might also want to try:

• Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
• Raspberry and Lemon Cake
• Lemon Traybake with Lemon Cream Cheese
• Lemon Curd Muffins
• No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Shortbread

Author NameAuthor: Donna

Get ready to indulge in the zesty and buttery goodness of our lemon shortbread biscuits. Perfectly baked and oh-so-delicious, these treats are a must-try!

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Prep Time 45 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Snacks, Sweets

Cuisine British

Servings 10 Biscuits

Calories 158 kcal

Ingredients

  

• 50 g Caster Sugar
• 2 Lemons
• 100 g Butter (Room Temperature and Cubed)
• 150 g Plain Flour (+ Extra to dust the surface)
• 100 g Icing Sugar

Instructions

 

• Place the sugar in a large mixing bowl and grate in the zest of two lemons (retain the lemons for later).
• Mix well.
• Add the cubed butter and cream together, until smooth. I use a wooden spoon, but you could use an electric whisk.
• Add the flour and keep mixing until it starts to look like breadcrumbs.
• Use your hands to press this together into a ball of dough, re-adding any bits that crumble away until you’ve got a smooth, workable ball.
• Place in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C (fan-assisted) and line a baking tray with baking paper.
• Remove the dough from the fridge and lightly dust a surface with flour.
• Roll the dough out to around 5mm, pressing back in any bits that crumble off.
• Use a cutter or knife to cut 10-12 even fingers (or any shape you like).
• Carefully lift and place on the tray, leaving a little room between each biscuit.
• Bake for around 12-15 minutes, until the top is a light golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and leave to cool fully on a wire rack.
• Mix the icing sugar with a squeeze of lemon juice, adding more juice or sugar until you have a stiff drizzle.
• Use a piping bag or spoon to drizzle onto the biscuits and add a sprinkle more zest if desired.

Notes

• Read the post above for more tips and advice.

Any nutritional information is given as a general guide only and may not be accurate. The information is provided using an online calculator and is specific to my ingredients. Please make your own calculations if you want precise information.

Keyword lemon shortbread, lemon shortbread biscuits, lemon shortbread cookies, shortbread

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