Lemon Biscuits

These easy lemon biscuits with zesty lemon icing are ready in 20 minutes, and are a fun, easy recipe for kids to help make! Melt in the mouth with crisp edges, they are a biscuit recipe you will come back to time and time again.

Full of lemon flavour from the lemon shortbread biscuit base, to the lemon icing, enjoy these biscuits for afternoon tea with bourbon biscuits, cheese and onion scones and lime drizzle cake or raspberry and white chocolate loaf cake.

Ingredients

• Sugar – I use granulated sugar in these shortbread biscuits: not only does it make the biscuits crunchy, but it’s cheaper than caster sugar.
• Butter – I often use unsalted butter in this biscuit recipe, but I have also made them with margarine, and both turn out well. Use soft, room temperature butter to make it easier to beat with the sugar.
• Wholemeal plain flour – This adds a slightly nutty flavour to the biscuit, and it contains more fibre than just using white flour, but you can make these biscuits using just white plain flour if you prefer.
• White plain flour – If you are in America, use all-purpose flour.
• Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice – The zest is mixed in to the biscuit dough whilst the lemon zest adds a lovely sharp burst of lemon flavour to the icing.
• Icing sugar – also known as confectioners sugar.

How to make this recipe

(For full recipe with detailed instructions see recipe card at bottom of the post)

1. In a mixing bowl combine the butter, sugar and lemon zest.
2. Beat them together with a spoon (or use a stand mixer) until soft and fluffy.
3. Stir in the wholemeal flour and plain flour.
4. Using your hands, bring the mixture together to form a dough.
5. Place between 2 sheets of baking parchment / baking paper.
6. Roll out with a rolling pin.
7. Cut out cookies with your favourite cutters – take care with intricate designs as the dough can be a little fragile.
8. Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
9. Bake in a preheated oven until lightly golden.
10. Cool on a wire rack.
11. When the lemon shortbread biscuits are fully cold, ice them with lemon icing.

FAQ

My Recipe Tips

• If the dough is a little crumbly when you roll it out, knead it a little more.
• The wholemeal flour makes the biscuits brown slightly more than just using white flour. It also gives them slightly rougher edge when cutting out, so if you are wanting biscuits with super sharp edges then use all white flour.
• Rolling the dough between two sheets of baking paper means the soft dough won’t stick to your rolling pin.
• Preheat the oven to the temperature before placing the shortbread biscuits in to cook.
• Don’t overcook the biscuits as they will lose that crumbly melt in the mouth texture – they should only have the slightest tinge of golden brown around the edges. They will firm up as they cool.

Kid friendly Easter Bunnies

To make these cute Easter bunny biscuits, cut Easter bunnies out from the rolled dough and bake (they may take 1-2 minutes less time to bake, depending on the size of your cookie cutter). Once cool, dip the end of a white mini marshmallow in the lemon icing then dip it in desiccated coconut. Put a blob of icing on the other end of the marshmallow and place on the cookie. Leave to set.

Storing shortbread biscuits

• Un-iced – in an airtight tin for up to 1 week. Or freeze for up to 2 months (any longer than this and they can take on strong flavours from your freezer.)
• Iced – in an airtight tin for 3 days, they will become soft over time.

Variations

• If you like your lemon biscuits with filling – cut them slightly smaller and cook for a little less time, then sandwich them together with a little lemon curd (or mandarin curd), or a spoon full of raspberry jam.
• Icing/glaze – I make my icing thinner to drizzle, more like a glaze. If you want a thicker icing use a little less lemon juice.
• White chocolate – dip the cooled lemon cookies in a little melted white chocolate, or drizzle white chocolate over instead of the icing.
• For these lemon shortbread biscuits, I have sprinkled over edible flower petals, which you can buy in most supermarkets.

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