These cookies are sandy and crumbly, tart and lemony, and definitely addicting, especially if you’re a fan of lemon desserts.
I made these cookies to take to a party and loved them so much, I made another batch the next day. I love the rich buttery cookie, the crumbly sandy texture, and the tart lemon glaze. I dressed them up with a little sparkling yellow sugar.
They’re quickly to put together and easy to roll out. The dough does need to be chilled so it’s not sticky.
I like to roll out cookie dough on a Silpat. I also cover the dough with plastic wrap so I don’t have to add additional flour, which results in a really tender, totally scrumptious cookie. Give this one a try and let me know what you think.
Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Servings: 2 dozen cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Icing
- 1 ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- yellow food coloring optional
- yellow sanding sugar optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch and salt and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in vanilla and lemon zest. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until well blended.
- Shape the dough in to a flat disk. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough in to desired shapes. Place the cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets or cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
- Bake until lightly browned on the bottom about 10-12 minutes. Don't over bake. Cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet and then remove to a wire rack to cool.
- Icing
- Whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and food coloring if using to create a thin glaze. Spread the glaze on each cookie and sprinkle with yellow sanding sugar before the icing dries, if using.
Kitchen Belleicious
cute, beautiful and they look so delicious. Refreshing and full of vibrant summer flavor
My Inner Chick
Yummm.
the only thing better than butter is “Lemon and butter!!!”
Xx
Tammi
These look amazing. Can’t wait to try them.
Mila
Davvero adorabile!!! Bravissima
Angie@Angie's Recipes
Delightful! I want to dip them into a glass of cold milk!
Sue {munchkin munchies}
Homemade shortbread cookies are the best, and I bet these are even better with the lemon glaze!
Peggy Clyde
My son will love these. His favorite foods are those with lemon flavor. Have you ever tried to roll out cookies with a little powdered sugar? I use powdered sugar with every cookie I roll out. The dough never gets too stiff like it does with flour. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Emily
These look divine!
Melissa B
Love these! =)
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
I’ve got just enough lemons to make these today! I love the shape you’ve used. Normally I’m pretty lazy and just cut mine into rectangles. 🙂
Delishhh
These are sooo cute! Love them.
Nessa
They look so light and delicious! Also very pretty 🙂
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
These are so cute!! Lovely recipe!
Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen
Adorable little cookies!
Rocky Mountain Woman
lemon desserts are a favorite – I’m taking these to a barbecue next week!
kelley {mountain mama cooks}
Yum!! I love anything lemony and these cookies look delicious!!
Rosa
Pretty and tempting cookies! Lemon flavored shortbread is irresistible.
Cheers,
Rosa
Amanda
I would like to try this recipe, but I am confused about the dried cranberries. It doesn’t say anything about them in the instructions, and it doesn’t look like the cookies have red spots in them.
Barbara Schieving
Thanks for catching that. Just a mistake. I made a 4th of July version with the cranberries. I hope you enjoy them.
2sistersrecipes
Barbara you always seem to amaze me! These look so adorable, my grandkids would g bonkers for these!
Maria
These are too cute!