Lemon Shortbread with a lemon sugar glaze

I have been craving lemon shortbread cookies now for a little while. When I worked at Starbucks there were these little lemon shortbread flower cookies with a glaze on them and for some reason I just can't stop thinking about them lately. So Adam and I gave it a shot. The recipe we used as a base was from the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook for plain shortbread, and then we changed it up a bit.

The Shortbread:

2 1/4 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
1/2 tsp. salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
6 tsp. lemon juice

The Glaze:

confectioner's sugar
lemon juice
Mix together equal parts until desired thickness.



1. Whisk flour and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and confectioner's sugar together in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 min., scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. Slowly add the lemon juice and mix well. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 sec.

2. Using your hands, press the dough into a ball in the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured counter and knead until it is very smooth, about 3 min. Press the dough into a round disk, then place it on top of a large piece of parchment and roll out into a 9" circle, about 1/2" thick, using a rolling pin.

3. Transfer the dough and parchment to a parchment lined baking sheet. Crimp the edges, then poke all over with a fork, and score into 16 wedges. Refrigerate the dough for 20 min.

4. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 300 degrees. Bake until the shortbread is pale golden brown, 40-45 min, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.

5. Pour glaze over shortbread making sure the entire cookie is covered. Transfer the baking sheet to a wire rack and using a sharp knife, cut through the scored marks to separate the wedges. Let cool on the baking sheet for 1 hour before serving.




Yes some are missing. We just had to try them last night before they cooled!