These Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Lemon Icing are such a delightful change to the classic shortbread cookie. Bright, citrusy, and flavorful, you’ll love making and then enjoying a batch of these lemon shortbread cookies.
1cuppowdered sugarmore if thicker consistency icing desired
2teaspoonheavy whipping creamcan be substitute with milk
juice from 1 large lemon
zest from 1 lemon to garnish
Instructions
For the Shortbread
Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
Preheat oven to 375F.
In a bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment on beat together butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and lemon zest. Do so on medium speed for about 5 minutes. Scrape the bowl a few times during the process.
In a separate bowl whisk together all-purpose flour and salt.
Add lemon juice and mix to incorporate. Turn the mixer to its lowest speed and gradually start adding the flour/salt to the beaten butter/vanilla/ powdered sugar/lemon zest mixture. Let it incorporate.
Sprinkle your working surface with some flour. Dust your rolling pin with some flour as well. Transfer the dough onto your working surface. With your hands lightly dusted in flour carefully knead the dough together to form one big ball.
Roll it out to about 1/8” thick. Thicker if desired.
Using round 2.5” cutter cut as many circle shapes as you can.
Transfer them onto your prepared baking sheet about 1 inch apart.
Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden.
Let cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes and then transfer into a cooling rack.
Let cool completely.
Re-roll the scraps and repeat the process of cutting out round shapes and baking the cookies. If the dough becomes too soft you can roll it out onto some parchment paper and refrigerate for 10 minutes. This would make the process of cutting out circle shapes and transferring them onto baking sheet easier.
For the Lemon Icing
Sift your powdered sugar.
In medium bowl whisk together powdered sugar, lemon juice and heavy whipping cream.
Add more powdered sugar if you want thicker consistency.
Halfway dip the cookies one by one into the icing.
Or spoon about a teaspoon onto the center of each cookie and spread it to sides just a little bit.
Sprinkle with some lemon zest on top and let cookies with icing set air open for about 2-3 hours or overnight.
Do not close cookies in an airtight container until they set. Once the icing sets and becomes hard you can store cookies in an air tight container or a Ziplock bag.
Enjoy these for up to 5 days.
Notes
Be sure to use unsalted butter as salted butter will make the cookies too salty.
Be sure to transfer the cookies to a cooling rack as the sheet pan will still be retaining heat and might continue to cook your cookies as it cools.
Bake the cookies on a sheet lined with parchment paper, for easy removal and clean up.
Milk can be used in place of heavy cream for the lemon icing.