Lemon Shortbread Recipe (Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread)

An easy lemon shortbread recipe made with real lemon zest and lemon oil. These citrus-y lemon poppyseed shortbread cookies taste great plain, or drizzled in melted white chocolate.

Why Make This Lemon Shortbread Recipe?

I’ve always loved making homemade shortbread cookies, but since moving to the UK a few years ago, I’m now much better acquainted with this iconic British bake

Made from a handful of ingredients (the simplest shortbread recipes contain just butter, flour, and sugar), this buttery, crumbly biscuit tastes great all alone, or when used as a base for other recipes, like lemon bars or millionaire’s shortbread. I especially love experimenting with fancy shortbread recipes with fun add-in ingredients or toppings, such as Earl Grey shortbread, rainbow funfetti shortbread, and chocolate-dipped orange shortbread. And now I’m adding these lemon poppyseed cookies to the list!

There are different methods for preparing homemade shortbread dough—some bakers bake it in a pan then cut it into squares, and others use a rolling pin and cookie cutter. I’ve kept this lemon shortbread recipe super easy, designing it “slice and bake” style, so you don’t even need special tools to make these—just form a log, chill, slice, and bake!

Ingredients for Making Lemon Poppyseed Shortbread

To make this lemon shortbread recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• All Purpose Flour – Paired with butter, all purpose flour or plain flour creates the base for these cookies. I test my recipes with Gold Medal or Pillsbury in the US, and McDougalls in the UK.
• Granulated Sugar – I tested this lemon shortbread recipe with granulated sugar, but caster sugar (measured by weight rather than volume) will also work.
  
• Lemon Zest – Freshly zested lemon gives the dough a bright, citrusy flavor. For best results, use a Microplane to finely zest the lemon. Do not use a box grater.
  

• Lemon Oil – I recommend a pure lemon oil, rather than an extract. I prefer the LorAnn Oils brand.
• Unsalted Butter – Choose a good-quality (and good-tasting!) unsalted butter.
• Poppyseeds – To make lemon poppyseed shortbread, you’ll need poppyseeds, of course! This recipe only requires about 2 tablespoons, so save the rest to make my lemon poppyseed muffin recipe or a loaf of everything bagel bread.
• Kosher Salt – I tested this recipe with Diamond Crystal kosher salt. You can also use fine sea salt.

Chilling and Slicing the Shortbread Dough

When making “slice and bake” style shortbread cookies, it’s important to keep the butter cold. Otherwise, the cookies will over-spread as they bake.

This lemon shortbread recipe includes two chilling steps. First, you’ll chill the entire log—this makes it easier to slice cleanly through the dough, with no jagged edges. In the second step, you’ll freeze the sliced cookies on the tray for ten minutes.

If your tray doesn’t fit in the freezer, you can stack the slices between squares of parchment and freeze the stacks instead.

Tips, Tricks, and Adaptations

Use a sharp chef’s knife. A sharp chef’s knife allows you to slice cleanly through the shortbread dough, while a dull knife will produce jagged, uneven slices.

Keep the dough cold. When in doubt, chill! Cold shortbread dough allows these cookies to retain their round shape, and prevents them from spreading too much as they bake.

Add chocolate. If you’re a chocolate lover like me, you can dunk the baked and cooled cookies in melted white or dark chocolate, or finish with a drizzle of white chocolate and an extra sprinkling of poppyseeds.

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

These lemon poppyseed shortbread cookies taste best on the day they are made, but leftovers will keep for four or five days. Layer cookies between sheets of parchment or wax paper and store in an airtight container at room temperature.

To freeze: Layer baked and cooled shortbread cookies between sheets of parchment and freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.

Make-ahead option: Prepare the shortbread dough up to 24 hours in advance. Form a log, wrap in clingfilm/plastic wrap, and refrigerate until ready to slice and bake.

Other shortbread cookie recipes you might enjoy:

Earl Grey Shortbread
Chocolate Orange Shortbread
Shortbread with Edible Flowers
Funfetti Shortbread

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

Print