by Nicole 34 Comments
This morning my Aunt Kathy and I woke up early to make lemon shortbread. I’ve never made shortbread before, but it’s always been one of my favorite cookies. And I loved the idea of adding lemon zest to my aunt’s standard shortbread recipe.
When we dug out the recipe this morning, I saw that it’s made with brown sugar rather than white sugar. I wasn’t sure if I would like the combination of brown sugar and lemon in the shortbread, so we decided to do an experiment. We made two batches of shortbread, one with brown sugar and one with white sugar. We also used two different types of lemons to see which zest would impart the best flavor. To the brown sugar batch we added the zest of a meyer lemon and to the white sugar batch we added regular lemon zest.
The results of our experiment were this: we prefer regular lemon zest over meyer lemon zest in the cookies and we prefer lemon-flavored shortbread to be made with white sugar. However, I liked the flavor of the brown sugar shortbread so much that it will definitely become my standard non-lemon shortbread recipe.
Lemon Shortbread
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add lemon zest and blend well. By hand, stir in flour a little at a time. Dough will be crumbly, so dump it out onto a counter top or pastry board and work it together by hand until smooth. Pat or roll dough out into a rectangle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into small squares, rectangles or diamonds (whichever you prefer). Arrange cookies on ungreased baking sheet (I use parchment paper for easy cleanup) and bake 20-25 minutes in a preheated 325 degree oven until the bottom edges are just starting to brown.
Here is the recipe for the Brown Sugar Shortbread.
The dough will be crumbly, but just work it together by hand until it’s smooth and holds together.
We shaped the first batch into a circle, but ended up with some tiny funny shaped pieces (they turned out to be good ‘sample’ pieces). Shaping the second batch into a rectangle worked better.
My aunt cut the first batch into diamonds but they were larger than we planned. We ended up cutting them in half and turning them into smaller triangles instead!
We placed the triangles on a parchment lined sheet and ended up baking them for 25 minutes because they were rather thick.
For the second batch, I managed to shape the dough into a rectangle.
I’m not good at cutting diamonds so I just cut the second batch of shortbread into simple squares. I need to practice before trying to cut any other shapes!
The thinner squares baked for 20 minutes at 325 degrees. We removed them when the bottom edges were just starting to color.
The cookies on the left were made with white sugar and the ones on the right were made with brown sugar. Both had lemon zest, but next time I won’t add lemon zest to the brown sugar shortbread.
Overall, we really enjoyed both types of shortbread. The light-colored ones had a delicate buttery lemon flavor while the brown sugar shortbread was richer and slightly more intense. I recommend trying them both!
Here is the recipe for Brown Sugar Shortbread.
Related Recipes:
- Lemon Curd
- Giant Lemon Sugar Cookies
- Easy Lemon Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Cupcakes
Around the Web:
- Hearst Castle Shortbread Cookies from 101 Cookbooks
- Twice-Baked Shortbread from Smitten Kitchen
- Shortbread Cookies from Simply Recipes
- Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread from Butter Sugar Flour
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Reader Interactions
Comments
Vanessa says
I found myself suffering from a brutal shortbread craving yesterday, so I thought these might just do the trick, and I was absolutely right! I made part of a batch of each kind, and I loved them both! One change I made was to add just a pinch of cinnamon to the brown sugar shortbread, and it was delicious! I also made both batches with soft whole wheat flour and non-hydrogenated margarine in place of the butter. Thank you so much for the yummy recipe!
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Lady Jess says
WOW! Those look REALLY good! I am SO bookmarking this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
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Rachel says
I'm so glad I stumbled upon your recipe. I made these with the white sugar and they were delicious! I added a lemon glaze to the top and they looked so very Martha-Stewart-ish in my glass cookie jar. Thanks!
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Erica Fields says
I just finished baking this shortbread. I cut the recipe in half...adding an extra Tbsp. to the halved flour measurement...hope that makes sense. I also added a tsp. more juice, as I'm a freak for lemon. I baked these in two 8 1/2 inch round cake pans. and pricked them repeatedly so that they wouldn't buckle. After removing from the oven (exactly 32 mins.), I let them rest for 5 mins., then using a pizza cutter, cut them into 12 wedge shapes. I let them rest another 15 mins., then removed to a cookie platter. They smell heavenly taste wonderful. I just finished a few with a cup of herbal tea. Shortbread is a good cookie to bake for people who have egg allergies.
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Maruska says
Your pic is here, but not your name! cavoloverde.it/public/articoli/cibo/668-preparando-gli-shortbreads-all-irlandese.asp
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muppy says
Just popped some in the oven! thanks for the recipe :)
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muppy says
it was delicious!!
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moriah says
i made these put dipped the bottoms in a lemon icing, it was delicious! Here is the icing recipe I usedMakes About 1/2 Cup Lemon Icing Prep Time: 5 minutesTotal Time: 5 minutesIngredients:•1 cup powdered sugar•1 tbsp fresh lemon juice•2 tsp grated lemon zest•1 tbsp milk•1 small drop food coloring, optionalPreparation:Combine ingredients in a small bowl and stir until smooth.
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LSP says
When I made this shortbread the first time, it turned out amazing! The only thing I changed was to mix the zest and sugar together with my fingers before creaming with the butter. Since then, I've found if you use ginger instead of lemon, or rosemary and a sprinkle of salt.... this recipe is awesome no matter what. Thanks!
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lovin' cookin' says
My husband, Tim, loves lemon desserts and was craving a sweet late last night. This was a very easy recipe and the best short bread I've ever tasted. I usually bake Gluten Free. I used Pamela's baking mix with white sugar, and of course, lemon zest. It was perfect and had a crumbly but slightly chewy, almost caramel-like flavor. I topped off my big cut squares and put a small sprinkling of sugar and a few grains of ground celtic sea salt on top. Sugar, butter, lemon and a touch of salt took care of that sweet tooth of Sir Timmy. Next time I'm gong to add that 1/4 tsp salt to the recipe and compare the brown sugar recipe with the one I tried last night. My stock is dwindling due to four that hitched a ride in someone's packed lunch today... I wonder who that could be?
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cheryl says
easy recipe, not too sweet - tried it with Oliveena margarine and still good consistency - Purrfect for middle of nite baking!
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Kristy says
I am planning on making this recipe this weekend for a baby shower tea party we are hosting. Can this dough be made ahead of time? If so, how soon, so I freeze, and does it change the consistency, etc?
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amaryllis says
thank you! this is perfect!!!
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