Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

Lemon Shortbread Biscuits! Two layers of melt in your mouth shortbread biscuits filled with a zesty lemon cream. The biscuit dough is created in one bowl then cut into small rectangles and baked. The lemon filling is made with four ingredients and one bowl. Sandwich the biscuits together to create your scrumptious lemon shortbread biscuits. 

What Are Lemon Shortbread Biscuits?

Shortbread biscuits are traditionally created with flour, butter and sugar. These ingredients make a super soft, melt in your mouth textured biscuit. They tend to crumble and break apart smoothly. The biscuits in this particular recipe are slightly different so they can hold their shape a bit better. They’re able to stick to the filling well without breaking when you’re assembling them.

The easy lemon cream filling is similar to buttercream but with less work to create it. It’s creamy, soft and zesty.  The mouth-feel of the shortbreads paired with the creamy filling is so dreamy! 

I was inspired to create this recipe from the classic Arnotts Shortbread Creams. Although they’re plain in flavour, I decided to make these lemon to set them apart. Many sandwiched biscuits aren’t made with shortbread, so you’re in for a real treat with this recipe. With added lemon zest in the shortbreads themselves as well as in the cream filling, you will certainly know they’re lemon. Enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee. Perfect to share with loved ones for morning or afternoon tea. 

Key Ingredients

Shortbread Biscuits 

Unsalted butter is the basis to these biscuits and creates that melt in your mouth texture. 

Icing/powdered sugar adds sweetness and helps to create a soft texture. 

Lemon zest for that zingy lemon flavour. 

Egg yolk for structure and flavour. 

Plain all purpose flour as the foundation of your biscuits.  

Arrowroot flour or Cornflour contributes to the soft shortbread mouth-feel. 

Lemon Cream

Icing sugar/powdered sugar as the foundation to your icing and to add sweetness. 

Lemon zest & Juice for that iconic lemon flavour. 

Unsalted butter creates structure for the lemon cream. 

Equipment

Rectangle cookie cutter or pastry/pizza wheel to cut your your biscuits.

How To Make Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

Biscuits 

• Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF). Line a large baking tray baking/parchment paper then set aside. In a large mixing bowl, using electric hand beaters, or using the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, add your softened butter to the bowl. Beat butter for a few seconds to break it up. This prevents the mixture from flying out of your bowl when you add the sugar. Because beating blocks/cubes of butter and then the sugar together, the speed from your beater can make the ingredients fly out of the bowl. 
• Add the sugar and lemon zest. Beat with the butter for 1 minute until pale and creamy. Scraping down the sides as needed. Add egg yolk and beat until incorporated, about 10 seconds. 

• Sift over flour and arrowroot flour (or cornflour if using). Beat until incorporated and it begins to form a soft crumbly dough. Turn off your beaters and using your hands or a wooden spoon/spatula, bring the dough together. 
• Lightly flour your bench top or a large board. Transfer the dough onto your floured surface and lightly knead to bring it together. You don’t have to continue to knead it, just until all the loose crumbly bits are smoothed back into your dough. Flatten it out slightly into a thick round disc. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 

• Remove dough from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes so it’s easier for you to roll out. 
• Lightly dust a rolling pin with flour then roll out dough into a large circle, which is 5mm (0.5cm) in thickness. Take a rectangle cookie cutter and cut out biscuits. If you don’t have a rectangle cookie cutter, simply use a pizza/pastry wheel, cut out rectangles as the same measurements as the cookie cutter. Place on lined tray, leaving a small gap between each biscuit. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling any excess to cut out more biscuits.

• Bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly golden around the edges. Check them at 12 minutes as some biscuits can bake faster than others. Remove from oven and allow to cool on tray for 10 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Lemon Cream Filling

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, add icing sugar, lemon zest + juice and melted butter. Use a whisk to mix it altogether until well combined, it will turn thick. Continue to whisk until smooth and no lumps of sugar remain. Prepare a piping bag fitted with a small-medium round tip. Spoon cream into piping bag. You can also spoon the cream onto the biscuits instead of piping.  

• Dollop or pipe cream onto the underside of one biscuit. Take another biscuit and gently press down on the cream and sandwich the biscuits together, ensuring the cream does not ooze out but has spread out evenly. Place back on the wire rack or a large tray/board. Repeat with remaining biscuits. 
• Serve and enjoy!
• Your shortbread creams will store in an airtight container, in a dark dry pantry for 5 days - 1 week. Store in the refrigerator if pantry is too warm, you don’t want the cream filling to melt. 

Recipe Tips For Perfect Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

For your shortbread biscuits, ensure your butter and egg yolk are at room temperature before you begin to make your biscuits. Having the butter softened to room temperature is what helps it cream together with the sugar. If it’s too cold, it won’t blend with the sugar properly. If your butter is too warm and nearly melting, you won’t be able to create those much needed air pockets. 

Ensure that you chill your shortbread dough before rolling it out, as it is quite soft and won’t roll easily before refrigerating. It needs to chill for 1 hour. When you take it out, you can leave it to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften slightly, making it easier for you to roll out. 

When piping the lemon cream filling, you can either use a piping bag or spoon it on and spread it out. Refer to the images I’ve shared in this post to see how my filling looks before I sandwiched the biscuits together. I used a piping bag to achieve this, fitted with a small-medium round size tip. 

Looking for more easy biscuit recipes? Here are some favourites:

Iced Vovo Biscuits

Homemade Gingernut Biscuits

Vegan & Gluten Free Anzac Biscuits

Florentines

If you make this recipe please be sure to let me know how you go in the comments below and tag me on Instagram with your delicious photos & video! I love to see what you guys are making from the blog and enjoying with your loved ones. 

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