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This crumbly, zesty Lemon Shortbread is so easy to make and ready in under an hour. My family can't get enough of this delicious shortbread and the white chocolate drizzle is the cherry on the top!
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Best Ever Lemon Shortbread

This crumbly, zesty Lemon Shortbread is so easy to make and ready in under an hour. My family can't get enough of this delicious shortbread and the white chocolate drizzle is the cherry on the top!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 8
Author Annie N

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sticks (170g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups (210g) plain flour
  • Zest of 1 large lemon
  • 1/2 cup (100g) caster/white sugar
  • 1 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch
  • 1- 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • Granulated sugar, to sprinkle on top, optional
  • 2 oz (56g) white chocolate, melted and poured into a small Ziploc bag

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 160C/325F and spray an 8 inch round fluted pan with cooking spray. I use Wilton Bake Easy. You can also make this in an 8x8 inch square pan.
  • Place butter, flour, lemon zest, sugar and cornflour into a large bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until you have a coarse breadcrumb texture.
  • Add in 1tbsp lemon juice and continue to mix on a medium speed. Now the dough will go through several phases. It will go into small, floury pieces, then go into larger lumps, then finally it will start to ball up into large golf sized ball pieces of dough. Stop mixing at this stage.
  • If your mixture won't ball up, add in a little more lemon juice, be careful of adding too much though, this dough is meant to be crumbly, not smooth and sticky in one large lump of dough.
  • Tip the dough into your prepared pan and press into an even layer. I use the base of a cup sprayed with cooking spray.
  • Score the dough into 8 wedges. I go halfway down, halfway across and then both ways diagonally. 
  • Use a fork to make holes in each wedge of shortbread, almost all the way through to the bottom.
  • Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until ever so lightly golden around the edges and it feels firm and set to the touch. It will also look matte in the light of the oven.
  • Leave to cool for 10 minutes before going over your scored lines with a sharp knife and cutting the shortbread into wedges. It's much easier to cut when warm, so don't leave it too long!
  • Sprinkle granulated sugar over the shortbread, if you want to (I didn't this time) and transfer to a wire rack very gently using a spatula. Leave to cool completely before snipping one corner off of the chocolate filled Ziploc bag and drizzling white chocolate over each wedge of shortbread.
  • Lemon Shortbread will keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, for 5 days.