Lemon Shortbread Cookies

5 from 12 votes

Lemon shortbread cookies are easy to make in a food processor and very versatile: emboss them or leave them plain-cut. This recipe can easily be adapted to make Christmas shortbread cookies with sprinkles in the dough too.

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Chilling2

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Worldwide

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 71kcal

Author: Jane Coupland

Ingredients

Base Shortbread Cookie

350 g Plain flour all-purpose
200 g Butter
50 g Cornflour cornstarch
120 g Icing sugar
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 Egg medium, free range

Additions for Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Zest 1 lemon
1½ teaspoon Lemon juice

Additions for Christmas Shortbread Cookie

1½ teaspoon Vanilla extract
2½ tablespoon Christmas sprinkles hundreds and thousands are best

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Lemon Shortbread Cookies

Put the flours, sugar, lemon zest, salt and icing sugar into the base of a food processor. Pulse briefly 10-12 times to break up the zest and ensure all ingredients are smooth and lump-free. Add the cubed butter then continue to pulse until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs
Add the egg and lemon juice and give a few short pulses to combine the ingredients until it has a slightly lumpier consistency, similar to crumble mix
Tip onto a worktop and use your hands to press the dough together. Split into 2 and flatten into discs. Wrap in clingfilm, then chill for 1 hour
Use a normal rolling pin to roll one disc of dough out on a lightly floured worktop to around 3mm thickness (approx the depth of a £1 coin). If using an embossing rolling pin lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and spread it out with your hands. Roll the embossing pin across the dough, pressing down firmly and evenly as you go . Repeat with the other disc of dough
Cut out the cookies using cookie cutters – mine were approx 6cm and 3½cm in diameter. Scrape up leftovers and press them together firmly to expel any trapped air and re-roll and cut more (the dough can be rolled 3 times in total)
Lay the cookies on lined baking sheets 1cm apart and chill for 1 hour before baking for 12-14 minutes in a preheated oven (160C/ 320F/ GM 2½) until golden
Let cool on the baking sheet then wrap in foil and store in an airtight container for up to 5 days

Christmas Shortbread Cookies Adaptation

Follow the instructions above for step 1-2 but omit the lemon zest from step 1 and the lemon juice from step 2. Instead add the vanilla extract with the egg in step 2
Before tipping onto a worktop, stir through the sprinkles at the end of step 2
Continue with the remainder of the steps listed above

Notes

Do not over-process the ingredients otherwise the cookies will end up tough. Use the pulse function and process until just resembling breadcrumbs (step 1) and then, when mixing in the egg, processing until the mix resembles uncooked crumble – slightly clumpy, but not overly so
Chilling of the cookie dough twice is non-negotiable for this recipe. It needs to be chilled once freshly made to ensure that it is firm enough to roll and emboss easily. Then, once rolled and cut, the dough must be chilled again to ensure the embossed print is preserved during the bake
When rolling out, keep the worktop lightly floured and keep the dough moving – turn it slightly after each roll
Do not make these cookies too thick – roll to the depth of a £1 coin (approx 3mm)
If using an embossing rolling pin, then give the dough a very light dusting of flour once rolled out and use your hand to delicately spread it out. This will reduce the risk of the pin sticking
When ready to emboss, start at one end and press & roll the pin down firmly and evenly right along the length of the rolled out dough. If this is your first time using an embossing pin, you may be surprised how firmly you need to press to get a good print
When cutting out, use a variety of shapes and sizes of cutters to maximise the number of cookies obtained. Think carefully about which part of the embossing you want to include in certain cookies and cut the rest in accordance with this
If you need to reroll the dough, ensure you give a few firm presses with the back of your hand once the scraps of dough have been scooped together. This dispels any trapped air that may otherwise lead to an uneven surface once baked

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