Crumbly and fragrant, these vegan lemon shortbread cookies literally melt in your mouth and are really easy to make.
Questa ricetta è disponibile anche in italiano
These lemon flavoured cookies are perfect any time of year, especially during the holidays. Their zesty and slightly tangy flavour makes a perfect addition to a rich and varied cookie platter!
What are shortbread cookies?
Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit with a crumbly texture and rich butter flavour. They do not contain any leavening agent, such as baking powder or baking soda, and they are really simple and straightforward to make, as long as you keep in mind a few key points:
- The magic of these cookies is in how you work the dough and butter. When making shortbread cookie dough, you don’t want to overwork the dough, so that the gluten does not develop. Technique used here is similar to these whipped cookies, however, this time we will shape the dough into a sausage and slice it into cookies (after it has been left to harden in the fridge). This results in a cookie that just melts in your mouth when you take a bite. The crumbly texture is why it’s called shortbread – the ratio of butter to flour creates the crumbly texture, which is also called “short.” Hence the name!
- Another key step in this preparation is chilling time. For best results it is vital to properly chill the dough, both once it’s ready, and when the cookies are shaped, especially if the temperature of your house is quite warm.
- Baking time. The last thing to keep in mind, is that upon baking the cookies should slightly darken around the edges but still be soft to the touch when taken out of the oven. This way, they will retain enough humidity that will result in the gorgeous melt-in-the-mouth feel, whilst also gaining a soft but slightly firm bite for their iconic crumbly texture.
How to make lemon flavoured shortbread biscuits that are also vegan
- Cream the vegan butter* and powdered sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer or food processer.
- Add the salt, lemon zest and juice and mix until smooth and fluffy.
- Sift in the flour and vanilla sugar and keep whisking or blending the dough until it reaches a crumbly but spreadable texture. Please note, if you’re making a larger batch, add the flour a bit at a time and mix each batch until it’s well absorbed into the dough before adding other flour.
- Transfer the dough over a sheet of cling film and shape it into a 16-20 cm long sausage.
- Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight. Don’t skip this step because it allows the dough to rest, and chilling it will also allow the flavours to develop fully.
- Cut the sausage into a ½ cm (¼ inch) slices and arrange the cookies in a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone matt.
- Preheat the oven and bake until the cookies are light golden brown around the edges and still soft to the touch.
- Take the cookies out of the oven, wait a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer over a cooling rack until they reach room temperature.
*I strongly recommend to use vegan butter and not margarine for this recipe, as margarine has higher water content and it won't give the best results.
FAQs about Shortbread Cookies
How do you know when shortbread is cooked?
The easiest way to tell when the shortbread cookies are done is to check the edges. They should be lightly golden around the edges whilst still soft to the touch.
Can you use vegan salted butter in the recipe?
Yes, just omit the added salt in the recipe.
Can you freeze shortbread cookies?
Shortbread freezes great! Allow the cookies to cool and then store them in a freezer-safe container. They will keep in the freezer for up to three months. Alternatively, you can prepare a big batch of these cookies and freeze the dough already shaped into sausages. This way it will be ready to be sliced and bake straight away when you're craving these lemon cookies! 
Vegan Lemon Shortbread Cookies Recipe
Ingredients:
90 g Vegan Butter (salted or unsalted, see notes)
80 g Caster Sugar
1 Lemon Zest
1 pinch Salt
20 g Lemon Juice
150 g All Purpose Flour
3 g Vanilla Sugar
Method:
1. Cream the vegan butter (previously softened outside of the fridge for 1 hour) and powdered sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer.
2. Add the salt, lemon zest and juice and mix until smooth and fluffy.
3. Sift in the flour and vanilla sugar, and keep whisking or blending the dough until it reaches a crumbly but spreadable texture. Please note, if you’re making a larger batch, add the flour a bit at a time and mix each batch until it’s well absorbed into the dough before adding other flour.
4. Transfer the dough over a sheet of cling film and shape it into a 16/20 cm long sausage.
5. Chill the dough for at least two hours or overnight. Don’t skip this step because it allows the dough to rest, and chilling it will also allow the flavours to develop fully. To speed up the process you can freeze it for 30 minutes.
6. Cut the sausage into a ½ cm (¼ inch) slices and arrange the cookies in a baking tray lined with parchment paper or a silicone matt. Please note: if the temperature of your home is warm, place the cookies back in the fridge for at least another 15 minutes before baking.
7. Preheat the oven at 180°C (355°F) and bake until the cookies are light golden brown around the edges and still soft to the touch.
8. Take the cookies out of the oven, wait a couple of minutes, then carefully transfer over a cooling rack until they reach room temperature.
Obsessed with cookies?
Also try these:
- Vegan Canestrelli (Italian style Shortbread Cookies)
- Vegan Whipped Cookies
- Grandma 's Greek Cookies
- Vegan Raspberry Linzer Cookies
- Cocoa and Ginger Cookies
- Castagnelle
- American Style Oat Cookies
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