Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookies
These lemon shortbread sugar cookies are perfect for Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, spring, summer … or any day you’re craving a light, lemony bite of deliciousness! Bonus: they’re vegan, dairy-free and egg-free.
It’s easy to use this vegan lemon shortbread cookie recipe for any occasion. Use a heart cookie cutter for Valentine’s Day … bunny or egg for Easter … and they make a great Christmas cookie too!
I love sugar cookies. I especially love my family’s Christmas sugar cookie decorating tradition. I started icing them when I was only 2. I don’t remember, but there are stories and pictures to prove it. Mostly, I just ate the yellow, pink, green and blue homemade icing.
When my sister and I were a little older, we progressed to actually decorating the cookies. Somehow, a cookie decorating contest eventually developed, with categories that included biggest goof and ugliest so everyone was a winner. 🙂
When I had children of my own, I couldn’t wait to carry on the family tradition. Never being the dough maker or the one that rolled it out growing up, I realized why my mom sometimes muttered choice words under her breath as she worked with the dough. Some batches can be a little tricky.
I was happy to find, as I created THIS recipe for lemon shortbread sugar cookies, that it is VERY forgiving and easy to roll out! It will never take the place of my family’s traditional Christmas sugar cookie recipe, but just about any other time … these light, easy cookies are definitely going to be my go-to from now on! One, they’re easy. Two, they’re delicious. And three, they’re LEMON!
The recipe makes 18-20 cookies — a nice, small batch. If you want more, you can easily double the recipe with the same results.
I love making these for Valentine’s Day … but even more for Easter, using these cute bunny and egg cookie cutters.
Pin it/save it and make them soon! Drop me a note in the comments or via my contact form if you do (you’ll make my day!).
If you’re looking for another vegan lemon cookie, check out these vegan, gluten-free lemon almond wine cookies!
Lemon Shortbread Sugar Cookies
Ingredients
Cookies
- 1/2 cup vegan butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp almond milk
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vegan butter
- 2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Cream the butter, sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest
- Add in the dry ingredients and the 1 Tbsp of almond milk; mix well
- Roll out the dough (you can refrigerate for a little while if you like, but you don't need to)
- Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut the dough into whatever shape you'd like
- Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and then place the cookies on the sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes (9 is perfect in my oven)
- Let the cookies cool
- Mix all the icing ingredients together; if too dry, add a tiny bit of extra lemon juice ... if too think, add a little bit of extra powdered sugar
- Spread a thin layer of icing on each cookie and, if you like, add your favorite sprinkles
