This unusual Scottish lemon shortbread is made with my fabulous lemon sugar ~ the citrus flavor really pops! Make these classic shortbread bars for afternoon tea or everyday snacking.
lemon shortbread is a new favorite
I’m in love with this lemon shortbread. It’s a new technique for me, a new flavor, and a soft melting texture that is indescribable. And that’s coming from someone who’s made about a gazillion shortbread cookies and crusts on this blog…but this one brings me back to why I fell in love with shortbread in the first place.
the shortbread ‘formula’
Shortbread is a very old Scottish recipe renowned for its simplicity. The original formula is one part sugar, two parts butter, three parts flour, by weight.
If you’ve ever bought packaged shortbread, including the classic Girl Scout ‘Trefoils’, you might associate it with a rather bland, crisp biscuit-y cookie. It can be that, but it can also have a softer, more tender texture, which is the way I like it best. This dough is patted into a baking pan, pricked all over with a fork, and baked just until it sets, but is still pale. It’s cut into ‘fingers’ while still warm, and it melts on the tongue. If you like it more on the crisp side, you only have to bake it longer.
what you’ll need
- unsalted butter
- granulated sugar
- all purpose flour
- oat flour
- oat flour adds flavor and texture to this shortbread. Look for it in the flour section of your supermarket, and it is super easy to make at home in a food processor or a high speed blender. Check out my post on how to make your own oat flour for all the details.
- cornstarch
- cornstarch tenderizes the shortbread.
- lemon zest
the lemon sugar difference
Lemon sugar gives this shortbread a surprisingly clear citrus flavor. I use a serrated peeler (the sharp ‘teeth’ make peeling a breeze, even soft fruit like ripe peaches) to peel the zest off of a large lemon. Then I process it with the sugar until the zest is completely incorporated, It only takes a minute. The result is a slightly damp, terrifically fragrant sugar, ready for baking.
recipes using lemon sugar
- Lemon Sugar Crumb Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Breakfast Cake
- Buttermilk Lemon Bread
- Mary Berry’s Lemon Drizzle Cake
The inspiration for this lemon shortbread came from a blog I discovered recently from the remote Shetland Islands, off the coast of Scotland. I set out to make their Shetland Shortbread out of curiosity, knowing it would be completely authentic, and to see how it differed from my usual recipe. Interestingly, their recipe uses melted butter, which is great because it’s so easy. I made a couple of adjustments, and of course used the lemon sugar, and I’m thrilled with the result.
If you’ve fallen in love with this shortbread like I have, you might want to try some of my other shortbread recipes, like my Butter Pecan Shortbread, or my Bittersweet Chocolate Chip Shortbread, for starters.
Scottish Lemon Shortbread
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup lemon sugar, (recipe below)
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup oat flour
- 5 Tbsp cornstarch
lemon sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- zest of 1 lemon, peeled with a vegetable peeler (just the yellow part, not the bitter white)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F
- First make the lemon sugar. Put the sugar into the bowl of a small food processor, along with the zest. Process, scraping down the sides if necessary, for about a minute or so, until the zest is completely incorporated into the sugar.
- Put the sugar into a mixing bowl and add the flour, oat flour, and cornstarch. Whisk to combine well.
- Pour the melted butter into the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
- Pat the dough into an 8 inch square baking pan, smoothing it flat with your fingers. I line the pan with parchment paper and leave the ends long so I can pull it out for cleaner cutting later. Press the dough gently, but flatten it as best you can.
- Prick all over with the tines of a fork. Some people like to sprinkle the top with a little sugar, I didn’t.
- Bake for about 22 minutes, or until it is just beginning to turn pale golden around the edges. It will still be quite pale overall. If you bake it longer, it will be crisper, but I like the soft melting texture I get after about 22 minutes.
- Let the shortbread cool for a few minutes, and then use a sharp knife to cut it into squares, or ‘fingers’. Cutting the shortbread while still warm makes a cleaner cut.
Notes
Nutrition
You are the shortbread queen! Hands down – this looks delightful. Love the lemon peel addition.
I was all set to give this a try this afternoon as I thought I’d have everything handy. But I don’t have oat flour so I will have to put it off for another afternoon. But I will try this. GREG
Love love love lemon. In anything. Rarely have had it in shortbread — but that will change. Really good stuff — thanks.
I think real citrus flavor is difficult to get into cakes and cookies, etc. The lemon sugar really does the trick 🙂
I’m mesmerized by the lemon sugar! Sounds perfect here and such an interesting recipe with the melted butter. It looks divine and I’m guessing that touch of cornstarch brings a bit of textural magic to these cookies. Lovely!
The cornstarch really does add nice texture. The original recipes uses even more, but I found that the smaller amount was enough, and the oat flour adds flavor and texture of its own.
Dear Sue, These look beautiful and sounds marvelous…I love the fresh burst of lemon. What an elegant treat. xo, Catherine
I have a question on the recipe. I am in the Caribbean and there are not many specialty flours we can purchase. For the Oat flour, could I use Oatmeal and whiz in in a spice mill or something to make a flour? I love shortbread and this sounds wonderful. I am so enjoying reading these blogs and getting some wonderful recipes.
Yes, you can make oat flour that way, Cathy. You can also follow the original Shetland recipe and use 3 oz cornstarch in place of the cornstarch and oat flour in my recipe.
Thank you! Hoping I can find time to make this today for my friends coming tomorrow.
I made these this morning, minus the oat flour since there was not enough time to whiz our oatmeal into a flour. They were delicious, everyone loved them. They got into them before the main course:-)
I look forward to making them with the oat flour next time.
I think I might get stuck just standing there smelling the intoxicating sugar and perhaps never get to making the cookies although they sound awesome!
I am totally hooked on the sugar, and it really does keep the flavor and scent even after baking. I’m going to try other citrus, too. It’s a great way to infuse citrus into baking – even better than using extracts!
This looks truly incredible! I love the addition of lemon. I can still remember my Grandmas special tin she always kept shortbread in!
Scottish Shortbread is one of my favourite treats. Can’t wait to try your lemon version (and I too love when recipes have melted butter! Never have to remember to take butter out to soften ahead 🙂
I know, right? Melted butter rocks.
I am certain you have another sure for shortbread winner here.
We’re lucky you love to experiment and take pics.