Lemon Shortbread Cookies

5 from 1 vote

Buttery, rich and crumbly. Lemon shortbread cookies are made with a handful of ingredients and flavored with fresh lemon zest.

Prep Time10

Cook Time35

Total Time45

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Scottish

Servings:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Use a fine grater to zest lemon over sugar. Rub lemon zest into the sugar to extract as much flavor as possible. Set aside.
In the bowl of stand mixer (or using an electric hand mixer), beat butter until smooth. Add lemon sugar. Beat on medium speed until creamy and smooth. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed to ensure thorough mixing.
Whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt. (If cornstarch is clumpy, sift before adding to flour.)
Add flour mixture to mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until dough starts to form. Increase to medium speed and continue to mix until large clumps form and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Dump dough clumps onto a 9-inch fluted tart shell pan with removable bottom. Use your fingers or the flat bottom of a drinking glass or measuring cup to press dough into an even layer.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the edges of the shortbread begin to color. It is better to err on the side of under-baked versus over-baked. Cool on wire rack for 5-10 minutes.
Carefully unmold from tart shell pan. Place on cutting board. Use a sharp knife to divide shortbread into 12 wedges. *For clean slices, be sure to cut while shortbread is still WARM!

Combine powdered sugar, lemon juice, and hot water in a medium bowl. Stir until mixture is smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle glaze over sliced lemon shortbread cookies.

This recipe works with all citrus fruits. Try lime zest, orange zest, or grapefruit zest. Or, use a mixture of different citrus zest!
This recipe was made using Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal = 3/8 teaspoon Morton kosher salt = 1/4 teaspoon table salt
To achieve clean slices, it is important to cut while the shortbread is still warm! If you wait too long, the shortbread will cool and firm up. Room temperature shortbread will likely crumble and fall apart when you try to slice it.

Tools: Use a 9-inch fluted tart shell with removable bottom. This is sometimes called a loose bottom quiche pan.

Storage and Leftovers: Keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.