Small Batch Glazed Lemon Shortbread Cookies

There’s no shortage of citrus in these lemon shortbread cookies. A whole lemon’s worth of zest and a generous splash of juice flavor the tender, buttery, and easy small batch of cookies. With just 15 minutes of prep and a quick chill in the fridge, the cookies are ready in under an hour. The finishing touch — a simple powdered sugar glaze brightened with fresh lemon juice.

Fresh Lemon Makes The Best Shortbread

These cookies are among the first recipes I ever posted on the blog. And I go back to them often when I have a sweet craving.

My secret to tender lemon shortbread? Powdered sugar instead of granulated. It’s a simple swap with a noticeable difference — powdered sugar lightens the texture and produces a cookie so soft it practically dissolves on your tongue. Similar to my lemon snowball cookies, it’s what puts these firmly in melt-in-your-mouth territory.

The rest of the recipe is refreshingly unfussy. No eggs, no baking powder, no complicated steps. Everything comes together in one bowl, then the dough chills briefly before you slice and bake. That chill time is worth every minute — it firms the dough so the cookies hold their shape and bake up with clean edges.

Then there’s the lemon. Fresh lemon, always — both the zest and the juice go into the dough for genuine citrus flavor that you can actually taste. And if that wasn’t enough, the simple powdered sugar glaze takes it further. Fresh-squeezed lemon juice stands in as the liquid, doing double duty: flavoring the glaze and cutting through the sweetness for a bright, balanced finish.

My love for these delicate cookies runs deep. Good thing there are only 12 of them.

How To Make Lemon Shortbread

Before you start on the shortbread dough, prep the lemon. Zest first, then juice — in that order. It’s nearly impossible to zest a lemon that’s already been squeezed. I speak from experience.

Add the powdered sugar to the mixing bowl with the fresh lemon zest, then use your fingers to massage the zest into the sugar. This releases the bright oils and deepens the lemon flavor before other ingredients are added.

Then add the butter and beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Sprinkle the remaining dry ingredients, along with the lemon juice, over the creamed butter.

Mix the dough until no flour streaks remain, scraping the bowl as needed. Shortbread dough tends to be thick and will want to cling to the sides of the bowl — that’s normal.

Transfer the dough to a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a log about 4 to 4.5 inches long. Use the plastic wrap to do the shaping so you’re not warming the dough directly with your hands. Chill the log for at least 30 minutes to firm the butter and make clean slicing easier.

Slice the chilled dough into discs about 1/4 inch thick. If a few edges go a little ragged, gently press them back into rounds with your hands.

Shortbread doesn’t spread much in the oven, but I still like to place the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. They bake quickly — 10 to 11 minutes — and are done when the bottom edges are just barely golden.

While the cookies cool, make the lemon glaze. It’s the same one I use on my lemon drop almond flour cookies and lemon matcha cookies.

One thing I like to do is glaze half the batch and dust the other half with powdered sugar — you get both finishes out of one small batch. But if you want a bright punch of lemon flavor, go for the glaze.

Erin’s Small Batch Shortbread Tips

• Cornstarch is one of my must-haves. Combined with the powdered sugar, it’s a one-two punch for tenderness. The cornstarch inhibits gluten development just enough to keep the cookies delicate.
• Butter quality matters more in shortbread. With so few ingredients, good quality butter with higher fat content delivers noticeably richer flavor. It’s worth it.
• Make sure the butter is at room temperature. Cold butter won’t combine properly, and that affects both the texture of the dough and the final cookie. To speed things up, cut it into small cubes and let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes.
• Keep the dough log round during chilling by standing it upright in a tall glass. It saves you from slicing lopsided cookies.
• Prefer cut-out cookies over slice and bake? Shape the chilled dough into a disc instead of a log, roll it a 1/4 inch thick, and use your favorite cookie or biscuit cutters. The bake time stays the same.
• Want more cookies? These lemon shortbread cookies are among the favorites in my small batch cookies roundup — a collection worth bookmarking.

Lemon Shortbread Cookies With Lemon Glaze

4.8 from 10 reviews

These small batch lemon shortbread cookies take 15 minutes to prepare and are made simply with powdered sugar, butter, flour, and a whole lemon's worth of zest. The bright citrus cookies are finished with a lemon glaze or a simple dusting of powdered sugar.

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by Erin Cernich

Yield12 Cookies

Prep15 minutes minutes

ChillChill30 minutes minutes

Cook11 minutes minutes

Total Time56 minutes minutes

Equipment

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  Baking Sheet Lined with Parchment Paper
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  Stand Mixer
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  3-Quart Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

Lemon Shortbread

• ▢ ¼ cup powdered sugar (plus more for dusting)
• ▢ zest of a medium lemon (reserve 1/4 teaspoon for glaze)
• ▢ 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 tablespoons cornstarch
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze

• ▢ ⅓ cup powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 pinch salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon lemon zest
• ▢ 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

Lemon Shortbread

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  Use a stand mixer with a small mixing bowl (linked above) or a medium mixing bowl with a hand mixer.
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  Zest the entire lemon, then juice it. I use a regular medium-sized lemon. Reserve 1/4 teaspoon of the zest for the glaze.
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  Add the powdered sugar and lemon zest to the mixing bowl. Massage the zest into the sugar to infuse it with the oils and flavor of the lemon. Add the butter. Beat on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Tip – Perfuming the sugar with the zest is optional, but recommended for strong flavor.
  1/4 cup powdered sugar, zest of a medium lemon, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
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  Sift the flour, cornstarch, and salt over the top of the wet ingredients. Add the lemon juice and vanilla. Mix on medium speed until the dough is well combined and smooth.
  3/4 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoons cornstarch, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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  Pour the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a rough log. Wrap it up loosely in the plastic. With your hands, roll and shape the dough into a 4 to 4.5-inch log. Twist the ends of the plastic wrap closed and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or even overnight.
To keep the roll shape, place the dough log in a glass so it stands upright.
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  Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
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  Slice the chilled dough into 12, 1/4-inch cookies. I don't recommend slicing thinner than 1/4-inch. Place them on the prepared baking sheet. Since these are shortbread cookies, they will not spread much.
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  If the cookies aren't perfectly round, you can gently shape them between your hands (like you're turning a wheel). If the dough has gotten too warm while slicing, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to chill the dough.
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  Bake the cookies for 11 minutes. The bottom edges will look slightly golden. Transfer the baked cookies immediately to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar, or glaze with the recipe below.

Lemon Glaze

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  Add the powdered sugar, salt, the reserved lemon zest, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice to a mixing bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add more lemon juice – a splash at a time – to reach your desired consistency. Use a spoon to swirl the glaze on top of the cookies. Note – The glaze is pretty zingy with the lemon juice. You can swap in water or milk.
  1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest, 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 pinch salt
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  Store the cookies covered at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

• Serving Size – This is a small batch recipe that is easily doubled. As written, the recipe yields 12 cookies. This can increase or decrease depending on how large you roll and slice the dough.
• Lemon – I like a lot of zest. If the whole lemon seems like a lot, use as much or little as you like.
• You can roll out the dough – Instead of slice and bake, shape the dough into a disc to chill, then roll a 1/4-inch thick. Cut out with cookie or biscuit cutters.
• Use different citrus – Swap the fresh lemon with fresh orange or lime. 
• Freezing – Baked glazed and/or sugar-dusted cookies can be placed in a freezer bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition Estimates

Calories: 75kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 30mg | Potassium: 10mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 140IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 2mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is calculated by a third-party and should only be considered an estimate and not a guarantee.