These homemade gluten-free lemon shortbread cookies are topped with lemon icing and make a tasty treat. This shortbread is made with simple ingredients including gluten free flour, sugar, lemon, and butter. Top with a tangy lemon icing. Whether you are an experienced baker or new to the kitchen, these cookies will surely be a hit at any gathering.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our Disclosure Policy.
❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: If you are looking for a buttery shortbread cookie with sweet, tart lemon flavor, this is an excellent recipe to make. It is made with just a few simple ingredients, including gluten free flour, sugar, lemon, and butter. The gluten free lemon shortbread dough holds up to cookie cutters, or you can make these slice and bake cookies. Drizzle lemonade icing over the tops.
Delicious, made these for my daughter as a treat on returning from holiday. Definitely making them again soon.”
Jane, Blog comment
I have been on a shortbread cookie roll lately, and this recipe is near and dear to my heart. We are lucky to have a lemon tree in our backyard, and I get to use the lemon in so many of my recipes. There are no fancy tools are needed; use your favorite cookie cutters or make these in a slice-and-bake roll of cookie dough.
I tested this recipe using King Arthur Measure for Measure. It is the blend I use in my Gluten-Free Shortbread and Gluten-Free Maple Shortbread Cookie recipes. I know this blend works, and with a simple rest of the batter, the rice flour softens, giving these buttery shortbread cookies a silky texture without any grit. I also trialed using dairy-free butter, Earth Balance, which worked very well. You have to chill the dough a little longer with the dairy-free butter.
I have 100s of easy, homemade gluten-free cookie recipes to try, including these Gluten Free Lemon Crinkle Cookies.
Ingredient Notes:
For the full list of ingredients and amounts, please go to the recipe card below.
- Gluten-Free Flour Blend – I tested this recipe with only one flour blend, King Arthur Measure for Measure. It is one of my favorites for making gluten free cookies. Others should also work, but you may need to tweak the moisture levels depending on the starch-to-grain ratio. Read Why Gluten-Free Flour Blends Vary” to learn more.
- Binder – Binders are what hold gluten free baked goods together. If your flour blend does not contain a binder, you will need to add either 3/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum or guar gum. Read “Why Binders Are Important in Gluten Free Baking” to learn more.
- Sugar – Use white cane sugar and not turbinado.
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter because it gives me more control over the salt level. If you use salted butter, do not add more salt.
- Vanilla Extract – I recommend using pure vanilla extract.
Substitutions:
- If you are dairy-free, swap vegan butter for the regular butter. I tested this recipe using Earth Balance as well. If you use dairy-free butter, chill the dough 10-15 minutes longer.
- If you do not have access to fresh lemons, you can use 1 teaspoon of lemon extract or lemon emulsion, such as Lore Anne, in place of vanilla extract.
- To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
How to Make Gluten Free Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Step-By-Step)
Email This Recipe To Me!
I will email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 1: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and sugar in a large
Step 2: Partially melt the butter in the microwave for 35 seconds. Combine the softened butter and lemon juice and whisk.
Step 3: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a large wooden spoon to mix them into your shortbread cookie dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes.
🔑 Sandi says: You can also mix your dough in a stand mixer if you prefer. Use a paddle attachment.
Step 4: Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Place the dough on a silicone mat and roll it out to 1/2-inch thickness. If your dough is sticky, it is a good idea to dust the mat with a little flour.
Step 5: Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut shapes from the cookie dough. Remove the cookies and place them onto a parchment paper-lined
Step 6: Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. The actual baking time will vary depending on the size of your cookies and the thickness of the dough. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. For best results, slide the parchment paper gently off the baking sheet onto a wire cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool.
Important Cookie Tip:
If you have to use your cookie sheet for another batch, let it cool before putting the cookie dough on it. If you put your cookie dough on a hot baking sheet, it starts baking immediately, which can cause it to spread.
Icing the Gluten Free Shortbread Cookies:
While the cookies are cooling, prepare the lemonade glaze. Add the powdered sugar and lemon juice to a small bowl. Use a whisk to whip it. You can make the icing as thick as you like. When the cookies have cooled, drizzle the icing over them. Top with lemon zest.
If you want to try another shortbread recipe, see my Gluten-Free Cranberry Pistachio Shortbread Cookie recipe. For more baking help, see my Gluten-Free Cookie Troubleshooting Guide.
More Gluten Free Cookie Recipes:
Check out all of my popular gluten-free cookie recipes in my Gluten-Free Cookie Guide.
- Easy Gluten-Free Skillet Cookie
- These Gluten-Free Animal Cookies are a kid’s favorite!
- Gluten-Free Spritz Cookies
- Mr. Fearless Dining’s favorite Gluten-Free Crumbl Cookie flavor (snickerdoodle!)
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. Please include which flour blend you used. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Buttery Gluten-Free Lemon Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free flour blend * see notes
- ½ cup cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Optional lemon zest
Method
- Combine the 2 cups gluten free flour blend, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ½ cup cane sugar to a large mixing bowl. Add the lemon zest. Mix the dry ingredients with a whisk.
- Partially melt 1 cup unsalted butter in the microwave for 35 seconds. Combine the softened butter, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest and whisk.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a large wooden spoon to mix them into your shortbread cookie dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill the dough in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and unwrap it from the plastic wrap. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Place the dough onto a silicone mat and use a rolling pin to roll the dough to ½ inch thickness. If your dough is sticky, it is a good idea to dust the mat with a little flour.
- Take your favorite cookie cutter and cut out shapes from the cookie dough. Remove the cookies and place them onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Take the dough scraps and repeat step 4, rolling the dough again and using cookie cutters. Repeat until you have no more cookie dough.
- Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes. The actual baking time will vary depending on the size of your cookies and how thick the dough is. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. For best results, slide the parchment paper gently off the baking sheet onto a wire cooling rack and allow the cookies to cool.
- While the cookies are cooling, prepare the lemonade glaze. Add the ¾ cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons lemon juice, and 2 teaspoons Optional lemon zest to a small bowl. Use a whisk to whip it. You can make the icing as thick as you like. When the cookies are cooled, drizzle the icing over the cooled cookies. Top with lemon zest.
Nutrition
Notes
- I tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure. Other blends should also work, but you may need to tweak the liquid and dry ingredient ratios. Every flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio and varies slightly.
- If your flour blend doesn’t contain a binder, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum.
- If you want your icing to be thicker, use less lemon juice.
- These lemon cookies will keep fresh for up to four days in an airtight container. I always recommend freezing the cookies if you don’t eat them within two days. Freeze in a freezer-safe zipper bag.
- If you are dairy-free, swap vegan butter for the regular butter.
- If you don’t have access to fresh lemons, you can use 1 teaspoon of lemon extract in place of vanilla extract.
- To make this recipe gum-free, use my DIY Gluten-Free Flour Blend. It uses psyllium husk instead of xanthan or guar gum.
Private Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
I am about to make this recipe again to share with friends I’m staying. It is my favorite lemon cookie recipe.
I am so glad you love these cookies. Thank you so much!
The cookies are wonderful. The icing was not what I was hoping. I used the recipe amounts and it was way too runny. After adding another CUP of powdered sugar… still too runny…
Overall a great recipe
I am so glad you loved these shortbread cookies. I find people all have different icing thickness preferences. I am glad you were able to adjust it as you like.
Love this recipe!!!!!!!
I am so glad you loved these cookies. Thank you!
These were a big hit with our neighbors today!
We used Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 baking flour — and Plugra butter, which is apparently higher in butterfat — and these came out wonderfully tender. A few caveats about our experience:
* They did turn out to be too squishy to roll, even after a couple of hours in the fridge. But since you suggested using a silicone mat (thank you for that, it was brilliant!), I gave up and just started shaping the dough on the mat with my hands. Then I measured out roughly equal amounts with a small cookie cutter, made them into balls in my hands, and patted them down into somewhat flattened rounded cookies on the parchment paper.
* Our oven is pretty true to temperature, and it took 18-20 minutes for each batch (I made four).
* I was glad I’d chosen a small cookie cutter to divide the dough, because there was a fair bit of spread.
* Because the tops of the baked cookies weren’t flat, my spouse said frosting them was a challenge because the icing ran downhill, but it all worked out. 🙂 They came out pretty *and* tasty!
Thank you for your detailed note to help other readers. I love Pluagra and I wonder with the high fat content maybe an extra 1-2 TBSP of additional gluten-free flour would have helped hold them together better.
I think your recipe at the end is missing the 1/3 cup powdered sugar. I puzzled over it for a while and made it as written and it was too wet, then referenced back to the shortbread recipe you mentioned. I am gently folding in the powdered sugar now and will chill and see how that goes. fingers crossed, as I am bringing them as refreshments to a gathering tomorrow morning.
Hi Janet, what flour blend did you use? Powdered sugar is used for the icing. Please know that every gluten-free flour blend has a different starch-to-grain ratio. The brand of gluten-free flour you use will affect the moisture of the batter. If your cookie dough is too runny, add more flour, and if it is too thick, add more liquids.
Why is sugar listed twice in the cookie recipe? ( not including the icing) is this a mistake?
Hi Mary, that was odd. I corrected this typo. I appreciate your bringing this to my attention.
Delicious, made these for my daughter as a treat on returning from holiday.
Definitely making them again soon
I am so glad your daughter and everyone loved these lemon cookies. Thank you!
This was a delicious recipe. I also made the traditional shortbread and we enjoyed that batch, too.
I am so glad you had a chance to make these shortbread cookies. Thank you for coming back to tell me you loved them!
how much baking soda is needed please? because it is not listed in the ingredients’ list
Hi Caroline, I am not sure where you see baking soda. I don’t use it in this recipe.