These lemon shortbread cookies are tender and crumbly, and they melt in your mouth with every bite. They have a delicate texture and a very present butter and lemon flavor. I decorated them with lemon royal icing with simple yet beautiful Christmas designs.

Decorated sugar cookies are mandatory every year in my Christmas baking. This year, I want to share a more delicious recipe, lemon shortbread cookies, with easy decorations made with simple royal icing. No egg whites or meringue powder is required!

If you’re interested in Christmas baking recipes, don’t miss out on my Panettone recipe!

How to make lemon shortbread cookies?

Follow these steps to make this recipe:

Beat the soft butter with the powdered sugar and lemon zest.
Add the dry ingredients and continue beating until combined.
Form a ball with the dough.
Roll the dough between parchment paper and chill.
Cut and bake the cookies.
Prepare the royal icing by beating all the ingredients together.
Place the icing in a piping bag with a small round tip and decorate the cookies.
Let dry before storing.

What butter should I use for lemon shortbread cookies?

Choose a good quality butter for these cookies, as it is one of the main ingredients of this recipe, and its flavor is very present. I use unsalted butter since the salt we add later is the right amount this recipe needs. You can use salted butter as well. Just make sure to omit the salt added at the end.

Flavor substitution

You can replace the lemon with any citrus of your choice: oranges, mandarines, lime, etc. You can also replace the zest with vanilla extract or cinnamon.

How to make royal icing without egg whites?

For simple decorations, it is not necessary to use meringue powder or egg white powder, which helps the icing to be thick and stable. We also wouldn’t want to use raw egg whites in the icing. This time, we’re making a simple icing without egg whites or meringue powder. We’ll use icing sugar, lemon juice, and light corn syrup. This glaze is very similar to the one we make with egg whites or meringue. It’s stable and perfect for decorating our cookies.

How to make royal icing whiter?

There are a couple of secrets for making a super white royal icing:

Beating: The glaze must be beaten with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer. Adding air to the icing will make it whiter, silkier, and full-bodied.
Use of edible color: If you want your icing to be even whiter you can add white coloring in small quantities until the icing gets to the shade you’d like.

What is the consistency of cookie decorating icing?

Here I show you how to make a medium-consistency icing (not so liquid and not so firm) that will be useful for flooding and piping on your cookies. Follow the recipe to make the icing and test the consistency by drizzling some icing inside the bowl. The drizzle line should disappear over the rest of the icing within 25 to 30 seconds. If it fades before that time, add a teaspoon of powdered sugar and combine. If it disappears after that time, add a teaspoon of water and mix. Repeat the process until you reach the 25-30 second consistency.

Lemon shortbread cookies conservation

Store these cookies at room temperature in an airtight container for up to two weeks. Do not store in the fridge or freezer once decorated. The dough can be frozen before baking. For leftover icing, place it in a sealed bag, and store it in the fridge for two weeks or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Baker’s tips

Freeze cookies before baking

To make the cutting process neater, chill the dough before cooking. Freeze it for 10-15 minutes. If the dough gets too cold, let it sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting.

Cover the royal icing

The icing can begin to dry within just a few minutes. To avoid this, cover it with plastic wrap or a damp cloth until you’re ready to use it.

Print Recipe

No ratings yet

Lemon Shortbread Cookies with Christmas Decorations

Decorated cookies are one of the best holiday snacks. These cookies have a unique butter and lemon flavor and are finished with a delicate lemon royal icing decoration. I’ll teach you how to make cookies and frosting with all their tricks!

Prep Time1 20

Cook Time12

Total Time1 32

Course: Snack

Cuisine: British

Keyword: buttery, cookie decorating, lemon cookies, lemon icing, royal icing, shortbread

Servings: medium-sized cookies

Calories: 147kcal

Author: Lucia Paula Acevedo

Equipment

Christmas cookie cutters
Piping bag
Coupler
Round piping tip (#2 or 3)

Ingredients

Cookies:

160 g Unsalted butter soft
60 g Powdered sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
220 g All purpose flour
¼ tsp Salt

Lemon royal icing:

250 g powdered sugar
50 g extra powder sugar for consistency
1 tsp light corn syrup or glucose syrup optional
40 ml lemon juice approx. 1 lemon
white food color optional

Decorations:

Sprinkles or sugar pearls
Sanding sugar

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

Cookies

Beat the soft butter with the powdered sugar and lemon zest until pale and creamy. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer.
Add the flour and salt and continue mixing on low speed until combined.
Transfer the dough onto the counter and form a ball with your hands without kneading it.
Roll the dough between two pieces of parchment paper to a ¼- inch thickness. Place it on a tray and freeze for 10-15 minutes until the dough is firm.
Remove from the freezer and cut with the cookie cutters. If the dough is too hard, wait about 5 minutes before cutting.
Place on a tray lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (180°C) for 10-14 minutes. The time depends on the size and thickness of the cookies. They will be ready when the base and the edges are just starting to get golden brown. Let cool before decorating.

Royal Icing and decoration

In a bowl sift the powdered sugar and add the light corn syrup and lemon juice. Use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a handheld mixer. First, stir lightly, without turning on the mixer. Then turn on the mixer at medium speed and beat for 3 minutes.
To check the consistency of the icing, lift the whisk and drop a drizzle of icing. The drizzle should take 25 to 30 seconds to disappear. If it takes longer, add a teaspoon of water and mix. If the drizzle fades before that time, add a teaspoon of powdered sugar and mix. Repeat until you get a 25 to 30 seconds consistency.
To decorate the cookies, set a piping bag with an adapter and a small round tip (#2 or #3).
Decorate the cookies by drawing lines and dots or filling them.
To flood the cookies with icing, pipe the outline, and then fill the inside using more pressure with the piping bag.
Add sprinkles, sanding sugar, or edible pearls while the icing is wet.
Let dry completely at room temperaturefor 8 to 12 hours before covering .