Honey Lemon Shortbread Cookies

You’ll enjoy the rich buttery goodness of honey lemon shortbread cookies. Honey and lemon are a match made in heaven.

Don’t you love shortbread cookies? When you bite into a shortbread cookie, they seem to melt in your mouth. They are packed with buttery flavor and aren’t overly sweet. In fact, you may know them as a biscuit.

Shortbread has been around for centuries and originated in Scotland. The ingredients are simple: flour, butter, sugar. Today, there are many variations and shortbread cookies remain popular today.

Honey lemon shortbread cookies are a delicious twist on the original recipe. I love the combination of tart lemon and sweet honey in this buttery cookie. Give them a try today. They go perfectly with a cup of tea or coffee!

Why You’ll Love Shortbread Cookies

They’re easy to make: These lemon shortbread cookies are slice and bake cookies. The cookie dough is rolled into a simple log shape, wrapped, and frozen until you’re ready to bake cookies. You can bake all the cookie dough in one baking session or simply bake a portion of the dough, as needed.

They’re freezable: Keep a log (or two) of shortbread cookie dough in your freezer and you’ll always be ready for that emergency occasion when you are called upon to bring a dozen cookies or when unexpected guests drop in. Of course, there’s also that other emergency occasion when you’re just craving something crisp, sweet, and buttery, and nothing but a freshly baked cookie will do.

If you’re loving the idea of cookies that you can slice and bake whenever you want, check out my list of 10+ Slice and Bake Cookies. You’re gonna want to try them all!

Ingredient Notes

• All-Purpose Flour: Measure the flour carefully; using too much flour will make your cookies hard and dry. When you measure the flour, lightly scoop the flour into a measuring cup, using a flat edge to level it off.
• Butter: Unsalted stick butter is the best choice for these buttery cookies. Allow the butter to soften at room temperature for at least an hour or two. If you only have salted butter, reduce the amount of salt in the recipe to ¼ teaspoon.
• Brown Sugar: The cookies are sweetened with brown sugar and honey. Pack the brown sugar firmly into the measuring cup.
• Honey: If your honey is too stiff or crystallized, warm it gently in the microwave at low power in 15 second intervals until it loosens up.
• Lemon: You’ll need one lemon. Zest it first, using a fine zester or microplane; then squeeze the lemon for the juice. The zest will be flavoring the cookie dough and the lemon juice goes into the puckery sweet/tart glaze.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder is a leavening agent often used in baked goods. It is not the same as baking soda.
• Salt: Finely textured table salt, as compared to coarse kosher salt, is preferable for baking cookies because it disperses more evenly into the dough.
• Powdered Sugar: Aka confectioner’s sugar, this fine sugar makes a smooth glaze that’s drizzled over the cookies.

How To Make These Slice & Bake Cookies

You’ll need a stand mixer or a heavy duty hand mixer to make the cookie dough. It can be also stirred by hand but it will take a little elbow grease.

Combine dry ingredients. Begin by measuring the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl; mix well. Set the bowl aside for a moment.

Beat butter and sugar. In the bowl of your stand mixer or another large bowl, combine the butter and brown sugar. Blend the two ingredients together until the mixture is light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, about 3 minutes. This step is important because it ensures that the cookies will be light and crisp.

Add the lemon zest and honey to the bowl. Beat until the honey is blended into the butter/sugar mixture.

Add dry ingredients. Slowly add the flour mixture to the bowl, beating at low speed, until it’s just incorporated into the butter mixture. The dough will be quite stiff.

Shape dough. Divide the cookie dough in half. On a sheet of parchment paper or waxed paper, form each half into a log, about 2 inches in diameter. If you prefer shorter logs to fit into your freezer, it’s okay to divide the dough into 3 or 4 rolls. That’s totally up to you.

Freeze the dough. After wrapping the cookie dough logs securely, freeze the dough overnight or for at least a few hours, until it firms up.

Preheat oven. When you’re ready to bake the cookies, preheat your oven to 350°F. It’s important that the oven is completely preheated before baking any type of cookie.

Slice and bake. Remove a cookie dough log from the the freezer and slice it into quarter-inch slices. If it’s too difficult to slice, let it set out at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Place the slices on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or Silpat.

Bake the cookies until they are golden brown. They’ll fill your house with the most tantalizing aroma!

Add icing, if desired. The cookies are wonderful just as they are and I don’t blame you a bit for eating one warm out of the oven, but a drizzle of icing made with confectioner’s sugar, honey, and a squeeze of lemon juice really takes them to a new level.

FAQ

Make Ahead Ideas

Freeze the dough. One of the features I love best about shortbread cookies is that you can make the dough ahead and freeze it to bake later. Wrap the dough logs in an airtight freezer safe container and it will keep for up to 3 months.

Storage Tips

Cool completely. Make sure the glaze on the cookies has set before storing them. If the glaze is still sticky and soft, the cookies will stick together. It’s always a good idea to put a sheet of parchment or waxed paper between layers of cookies, especially frosted ones.

Store baked cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. For longer storage, put the cookies in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.

Have Extra Lemons?

Sweet treats: Both my lemon bread or lemon poppy seed bread are easy quick bread recipes that are delightfully delicious. Lemon sugar cookies and lemon brownies are popular, too. Try 3 ingredient lemon pudding made with lemon juice, heavy cream, and sugar, or lemon cake filling (which can also be served as a pudding). Frost your favorite cake with lemon cream cheese frosting.

Savory recipes: Creamy lemon orzo with greens is an amazing side dish. I make lemon salmon with dill so frequently, it’s my hubby’s favorite (and it’s super easy). Lemon pepper shrimp is a quick entrée and goes well with pasta and vegetables.