It’s true, stereotype even, maybe a psychological trick to think that more equals better. These lemon shortbread cookies redefine such analogies and comply with the famous catchline ”less is more”. Lemon shortbread cookies are simple and easy to make yet are conveniently delectable. They are made with only three base ingredients; butter, flour sweetener and lemons for taste. Zesty, buttery, light and crunchy; all the attributes you would want in a cookie! These lemon shortbread cookies have reduced sugar amounts but with intense lemon flavour; making them the perfect snack for a sweet tooth.
Flavouring Shortbread
The flavour is in your hands! This is because the taste of every shortbread is dominantly dependent on the butter used for the flavour, taste and texture of the cookies. Therefore, always adopt the best/ most preferred kind of butter; dairy or dairy-free. Use room-temperature butter to make mixing with the other ingredients easy. Fresh lemon zest is all that is used for the lemon flavour, therefore, go hard for a maximum flavour.
Recipe Run-Through
- Mix butter with powdered sugar and zest of lemon until combined.
- Sift all-purpose flour over the mixture and continue mixing until thick.
- Cover the dough with cling film and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until stiff and less sticky.
- Remove, from the fridge, and lightly flour the cookie dough then, sandwich it between two parchment papers.
- Roll it out then press a cookie cutter into each cookie. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake in a preheated oven until very slightly browned around the edges, remove and set aside to completely cool.
Recipe Notes
- Refrigeration is necessary. The dough will be sticky immediately after mixing it making it impossible to roll and cut into shapes. To make it less sticky, refrigerate covered with cling film then roll and cut into shapes on a lightly floured surface when set.
- Although baked with a high butter-to-flour ratio, the cookies will not spread during baking this is because of cornstarch present in the powdered sugar which inhibits spreading during baking.
- Don’t have a cookie cutter? simply use a cup, or lid to cut shapes into the cookie dough. The butter used will predominantly reflect in flavour of the cookies so use the best you can find.
- Reduced amount of sugar. The amount of sugar in these cookies is substantially reduced, making them the perfect snack for all-day indulgence. You can preferably drizzle powdered sugar or drizzle with melted white chocolate after cooling if you want to up the sweetness level.
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LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES
Course: DessertDifficulty: Easy12
servings10
minutes30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
320 gm all-purpose flour
200 gm unsalted butter
100 gms powdered sugar
zest of two large lemons
Directions
- In a medium-sized bowl, add room temperature butter, powdered sugar and zest of lemon. Mix with a spatula until combined.
- Sift all-purpose flour over the butter mixture and continue mixing until combined. The mixture will be thick but slightly sticky. Wrap it with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour until less sticky.
- Slightly coat the cookie dough with flour then roll it between two parchment papers( as shown in the pictures) until flat. Don’t roll it too thin otherwise, it may tear and may be hard to cut into shapes.
- Press a cookie cutter into the rolled dough to cut it into shapes.
- Place the cookies on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 minutes or until slightly browned around the edges.
The cookies will be soft when immediately removed from the oven but should harden as they cool. - To store; put the cookies in a tightly sealed container.
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