Lemon Shortbread Cookies: An Archival Recipe
Hello, everyone! Here is a simple classic lemon shortbread recipe.
Ingredients
Makes 14–16 medium cookies.
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 180 g chilled butter, cut into small cubes
- 100 g sugar
- 1 egg
- Finely grated yellow zest of 2 washed and dried lemons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla sugar
Make the crumbs
Put the flour, sugar, and chilled butter into a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed for 1–2 minutes, until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Keep hands and utensils away from moving beaters, and stop the mixer before scraping the bowl.
Without a mixer, work the ingredients into crumbs quickly by hand, with a fork, or with a pastry cutter so the butter stays cold.
Mix and chill the dough
Add the lemon zest and vanilla sugar, then add the egg. Mix just until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 1–2 minutes. Do not taste raw dough: raw flour and eggs can contain harmful bacteria. Wash hands, utensils, bowls, and work surfaces after handling them.
Gather the dough into a ball, wrap it, and refrigerate for 1–1½ hours so it is firm enough to roll.
Roll and cut
Lightly flour the work surface and roll the chilled dough to about 5 mm thick.
Cut out the cookies with cookie cutters or a sturdy, smooth-rimmed glass. Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper or a silicone baking mat.
Gather the scraps into a ball, wrap them, and refrigerate while the first batch bakes. Roll and cut the chilled scraps for the next batch.
Bake and cool
Preheat the oven to 180°C (356°F). Bake for 12–15 minutes, watching closely so the cookies do not burn. Oven times vary; remove them when the edges are lightly golden. Use oven mitts for the hot tray, transfer the cookies carefully, and let them cool completely. Dust lightly with powdered sugar if desired.
The cookies are crisp and crumbly, with light lemon and vanilla notes. Serve them with tea, coffee, milk, or kefir—or enjoy them on their own 😛
Why make holes in the cookies? If you leave them solid, there is less waste and they are much quicker to make. If you want circles in the center, you can score them lightly and leave them in place, or put a piece of walnut in the center.
I rarely make round cookies. I use a fluted pastry wheel to cut rolled dough.
I recently found a rolling cutter that cuts circles. I am thinking of buying one because I often make potato varenyky; it would be useful for cutting rounds without dirtying glasses or cookie cutters.
Editor’s note: The source included two external product images, but both links are no longer reliable, so they have been omitted.