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Lemon Brownies

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Mostly sweet but a little tart, these Lemon Brownies are bursting with real lemon flavor!

They’re certainly different from my traditional brownie recipe that you might be used to, but they’re every bit as chewy, rich, and moist as the classic chocolate version! I love topping mine off with a simple lemon glaze! 

Lemon brownie with lemon glaze on white marble

Lemon Brownies

Confession: Summertime is my least favorite time of the year for baking. Like, by far. When it’s nearly 90 degrees outside and humidity is through the roof, the last thing I want to do is turn on the oven.

Unless I’m making something refreshing and bright and maybe a little tart. Today’s lemon brownie recipe is exactly that, and maybe you’ve noticed there have been a few lemony recipes around here recently (like my lemonade and lemon curd), for exactly that reason. You can expect a few more coming down the pipe as well (and lots of strawberry recipes coming soon, too!).

While these lemon brownies do require you to turn on the oven, other than that the process is very simple and very summertime friendly. No electric mixer required (we’re melting our butter so everything can be mixed up by hand), no waiting for dough to chill, no scooping, none of that. Just mix everything together, pour it into a pan, and done.

And, when you’re finished, your house is going to smell like fresh lemons 🍋💜

Ingredients for lemon brownies

Ingredients for Lemon Brownies

We’re keeping things simple today with just a handful of pantry staples:

  • Butter! You’ll need two sticks (or 1 cup, or 226 grams) of unsalted butter. You’ll want to melt this and let it cool a bit before mixing everything together.
  • Sugar, just granulated (no brown sugar today) to let the lemon flavor fully shine through. I found that when I added brown sugar it really bullied the lemon flavor into submission.
  • Eggs, one whole egg then one yolk only
  • Lemon juice and lemon extract. More below on why I opted to use lemon extract instead of just natural lemon flavors.
  • Vanilla extract, just a bit for depth of flavor.
  • Flour
  • Cornstarch (to make these lemon brownies soft and chewy!)
  • Baking soda
  • Salt

How to make lemon brownies: mixing batter in glass bowl

Tips for Making Lemon Brownies

  • As with my chocolate chip cookies, we’re making today’s recipe with melted butter. The good news: No electric mixer required. The not-so-good: you need a little patience, the butter will need to cool for 10-15 minutes before you add your sugar so the sugar doesn’t melt.
  • Always zest your lemons before juicing them! Much easier this way rather than trying to zest the skin from a hollow rind (and you’re much less likely to grate your knuckles that way… ask me how I know…)
  • This recipe uses fresh lemon zest and juice as well as lemon extract. I tried (multiple times) to make these lemon brownies without extract, but found the flavor just wasn’t as bold as I wanted it to be. You can leave the extract out, but the lemon taste of the “brownies” will be a bit more subtle (you will get a lot of tart lemon flavor from the glaze, though!).

All things considered, today’s recipe is actually a very simple one, but these tips should help you along the way!

Lemon brownie square on white marble

Enjoy!

More Recipes You Might Like:

Be sure to check out my Lemon Brownie video at the bottom of the recipe! If you enjoy watching, make sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 150 recipe videos that you can watch for free!

Lemon Brownies

Mostly sweet but a little tart, these Lemon Brownies are bursting with real lemon flavor! They're certainly different from traditional brownies that you might be used to, but they're every bit as chewy, rich, and moist as the classic chocolate version!
Be sure to check out the how-to VIDEO just below the recipe!
4.8 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: brownies
Cuisine: American
Keyword: lemon bars, lemon brownies, lemon recipe
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 16 bars
Calories: 225kcal
Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter melted and cooled to room temperature 226g
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 300g
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon zest avoid the pith
  • 1 large egg room temperature
  • 1 large egg yolk room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 310g
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt

LEMON GLAZE

  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar 95g
  • 1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour a 9x9 baking pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large bowl, combine melted butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Stir well.
  • Add egg and egg yolk, lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract. Stir again until well-combined.
  • In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt.
  • Stir dry ingredients into wet until completely combined. Pour into prepared 9x9 pan and transfer to 350F (175C) oven. Bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Allow to cool completely before covering with glaze.

LEMON GLAZE

  • Once lemon brownies have cooled, prepare glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and lemon zest until well-combined. If mixture is too stiff, add remaining lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached (when you lift a spoon or whisk out of the mixture, the glaze that drizzles off the spoon and falls back into the bowl should hold its ribbon shape for a few seconds before fading back into the rest of the glaze).
  • Pour glaze over lemon brownies, use a spatula to smooth evenly over the surface.
  • Allow glaze to harden (about 15-30 minutes) before slicing and serving lemon brownies.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1bar | Calories: 225kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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Comments

  1. Theresa says

    June 16, 2019 at 11:50 am

    How would I pack these brownies to ship? I would live to send these to my sister who loves lemon but is unable to bake any longer. Thanks.

    Reply

    • Sam says

      June 17, 2019 at 1:21 pm

      Hi Theresa! You could probably individually wrap them in cling wrap and then stick them in a bag and put them in a box to ship. I hope she loves them! 🙂

      Reply

      • robert raymond says

        June 10, 2019 at 11:54 pm

        You are using the equivalent of baking powder. Why not just use the baking powder?

      • Sam says

        June 11, 2019 at 5:31 pm

        Are you suggesting leaving out the baking soda and the lemon juice (I’m guessing you mean to reduce it, not leave it out?) and using baking powder instead? I don’t recommend it. We’re relying on the lemon juice for flavor here as well. Feel free to experiment if you would like, though! 🙂

      • robert raymond says

        June 12, 2019 at 1:40 am

        No! You call for baking soda, salt, and corn starch. That’s the equivalent of two teaspoons of baking powder. That would be much simpler for most people.

      • Sam says

        June 12, 2019 at 11:03 am

        I’m sorry Robert but I do not recommend that substitution here. However if you want to give it a try feel free to do so.

      • Pilar says

        June 16, 2019 at 12:48 pm

        I actually misread the recipe and used baking powder instead of baking soda! So definitely not a good idea, it didn’t work at all!
        I’ll be trying it again today with the right ingredients!! I’m sure it’ll be as lovely as all your other recipes.

  3. Verna says

    June 8, 2019 at 7:24 pm

    Made these today and my sweetie of 38 plus years says they are delicious He helped with the zesting.
    My lemon extract had completely evaporated, so I added extra zest, but they are still lemony. Thank you so much.

    Reply

  4. Cynthia Ann Shields says

    June 7, 2019 at 6:18 pm

    YOUR LEMON BROWNIES WERE A BIG HIT IN OUR HOUSE. MY GRANDDAUGHTER WAS CONFUSED THOUGH THAT IT WAS NOT CHOCOLATE COLOR BUT SHE THOUGHT THEY WERE YUMMY ANYWAY INCLUDING HER MOTHER WHO LOVES LEMON. Thanks again for all your recipes….I have made many as I told you before.

    Reply

  5. Naomi says

    May 29, 2019 at 10:48 pm

    I’m sure I could google this, but I’d love to know more from you about the zest. What is it? (I’m guessing the peel? Do you actually eat the peeling??) What kind of a tool do you use to make it? This looks delicious…we have lots of lemon lovers here…I’ll have to make this before it gets hot. 🙂

    Reply

    • Sam says

      May 30, 2019 at 10:12 am

      Hi Naomi! Yes you would actually be eating pieces of the peel. You need to wash the lemons thoroughly, before zesting. You need a zester to accomplish this. You can find a zester pretty much at any store that sells kitchen utensils. 🙂

      Reply

  7. Sarah says

    May 29, 2019 at 7:49 pm


    So good! Just made these. I always seem to be multitasking when cooking/baking, so I forgot the starch but are still delicious! I haven’t even put the glaze on yet because they are still cooling but I’m sure they will be good with that! Excellent without as well! Thanks, Sam!

    Reply

    • Sam says

      May 29, 2019 at 10:08 pm

      Thank you so much Sarah! I am definitely guilty of forgetting some ingredients from time to time. WHOOPS! I’m glad they still turned out. I hope you love the glaze too. 🙂

      Reply

  8. Milly Beth says

    May 29, 2019 at 5:14 pm


    Amazing recipe. I’ve tried a few of your recipes. Being in the UK I have had to slightly adapt recipes due to ingredients available in the UK. Love these brownies. One of your best ❤️

    Reply

  10. Judith says

    May 29, 2019 at 11:46 am

    Hi Sam,

    I have a question regarding the lemon brownies… can I cut back on the amount of sugar to perhaps 3/4 or 1 cup?

    Thanks

    I love your recipes!

    Reply

  11. Lauren V Korman says

    May 29, 2019 at 11:24 am


    I love this recipe. I served them at a picnic and I made a little strawberry coulis and there wasn’t a crumb left! I have made many of your recipes and they are awesome keep them coming.

    Reply

  12. Ruth says

    May 29, 2019 at 11:17 am


    I cannot wait to try these out! They look sooo fabulous and I absolutely love baked goods with a scent of lemon in it! They are so delightful! ^_^

    One question: Do you have to have lemon extract in this recipe?

    Thank you very much!

    Reply

    • Sam says

      May 29, 2019 at 1:48 pm

      Hi Ruth! Check out my “tips” section above the recipe, it talks a bit about why I chose to use lemon extract. If you leave it out the taste won’t be quite as lemon-y, but they’ll still be good! I hope that helps 🙂

      Reply

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