Bright and citrusy lemon meltaway cookies will truly melt in your mouth! My recipe is simple yet so flavorful. Just seven ingredients! Recipe includes a how-to video!
Classic & Simple Lemon Meltaways
This is a super simple shortbread recipe made with just seven ingredients (including the icing!). Don’t let its simplicity fool you though; these lemon meltaway cookies are bursting with flavor and taste so good, especially considering how few ingredients are needed. Plus, there’s no chilling required!
Fresh lemons are a must here. The lemon flavor is bright and perfectly balanced; it’s present in the cookie but really pops in the lemon icing (which is just two ingredients!).
This recipe is very similar to my whipped shortbread cookies, which is another simple, yet so flavorful cookie recipe (and requires no chilling as well). So many of you loved that recipe, so I have a feeling you will love this one too 💛
What You Need
We’ll use just seven ingredients for these lemon meltaway cookies (for both the cookies and the icing!).
- Flour. As with all of my recipes, it is very important to measure your flour properly. It can be very easy to over-measure your flour, which can cause your cookie dough to be dry and crumbly.
- Butter. When making recipes with so few ingredients, it’s helpful to use good quality ingredients. While not mandatory, a pricier, European butter works especially well with this recipe to elevate the flavor even further. If you only have salted butter available to you, you can use that and skip the salt (note that this doesn’t work for all recipes; read my post on salted vs. unsalted butter to learn more).
- Lemons. Fresh lemons are essential here! We’ll be using both the zest and the juice from our lemons. Make sure to zest your lemons before juicing them; I typically need two lemons here, but this will vary depending on the exact size of yours.
- Sugar. We’ll use regular granulated sugar in the cookies themselves and powdered sugar in the lemon icing.
- Cornstarch. This is key to the melt-in-your-mouth texture that is characteristic to lemon meltaway cookies (and also in my snowball cookies)!
SAM’S TIP: Do not add vanilla extract! Vanilla doesn’t always pair well with fresh fruit flavor (which is why I also don’t use it in my orange cranberry cookies or lemon muffins) and can in fact bully the fresh flavor, so I leave it out here.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Make the Cookie Dough
- Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together with an electric mixer.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then gradually add them to the wet ingredients until completely combined.
- Scoop and roll into balls between your palms. I keep these cookies small, bite or two-bite sized. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake.
- Gently flatten the cookies with the bottom of a measuring cup or glass immediately after baking. This will give you a flat surface for adding the icing, and slightly compressing the cookie like this makes for a super soft, melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Lemon Icing
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Check for the proper consistency: the icing should ribbon off the whisk and hold its shape in the bowl for several seconds before dissolving.
- Spread the icing over the cooled cookies and garnish with lemon zest. Once the glaze has set, enjoy!
SAM’S TIP: Add more sugar if your icing is too thin or add more juice if the icing is too thick. It’s impossible to mess it up!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! You can skip the lemon zest in the dough and use a splash of vanilla instead (same with the icing too!). Peppermint would be a fun flavor (maybe sprinkle some crushed peppermint candies on top of the icing?) and almond would be tasty too. I’d love to hear what you come up with!
Yes you can! I would freeze the cookies before adding the icing, though, to help keep it from becoming sticky as it thaws. They should keep for several months in an airtight container in the freezer.
These cookies are called lemon meltaways because they truly melt in your mouth! They are incredibly tender and light, so the name is very fitting.
If you love lemon, consider trying my lemon tart or lemon meringue pie next!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! Subscribe to my newsletter to be notified of all the newest recipes, and find all of my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
Lemon Meltaway Cookies
Ingredients
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter softened
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
Lemon Icing
- 1 ¾ cups (220 g) powdered sugar
- 2 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- Lemon zest for garnish optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar, and lemon zest and use an electric mixer to cream until light and fluffy.1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- In a separate, medium sized bowl, whisk together flour, cornstarch, and salt.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, stirring until completely combined.
- Scoop dough into 1 Tablespoon-sized balls, rolling gently between your palms to create a smooth ball. Place on baking sheet, spacing cookies at least 2 inches apart.
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 8-10 minutes.
- When cookies are finished baking, immediately use a clean, flat surface to lightly flatten the surface of each cookie (a measuring cup or glass works well). Allow cookies to cool completely before adding lemon icing.
Lemon Icing
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until completely combined and smooth. Mixture should be slightly thick and, when the whisk is lifted, should ribbon back into the bowl and hold its shape for several seconds before dissolving back into the bowl. If your icing is too thick, add more lemon juice. If it’s too thin, add more sugar.1 ¾ cups (220 g) powdered sugar, 2 Tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
- Spoon a small amount of glaze onto the completely cooled cookie, and use the back of the spoon to spread evenly over the top. If desired, garnish with lemon zest.Lemon zest for garnish
- Allow cookies to sit until glaze is firm before enjoying.
Notes
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Janet Long
I have made this recipe twice with great results. I did bake the cookies for 10 minutes and followed the recipe exactly as advised on the video. My daughter and family gave this cookie 10 out of 10 rating.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy the recipe is a hit for you, Janet! Thanks for the review 🩷
Jules
Hi Sam. I just recently tried a different lemon cookie recipe, it was before I saw yours of course. It called for baking soda and baking powder. Does it make a difference since I noticed you don’t use any in yours? Thanks so much
Sam
Hi Jules! It will certainly make a difference. My method is what I found to be best. 🙂
Cheryl Menefee
These cookies are sooooo delicious! Honestly the best cookie ever.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Cheryl! 🙂
Sonia K Saldana
Hi Sam, I love your recipes and use them often. I notice when you say you can use a stand mixer, your video pans over to your stand mixer on your counter! 🤣 R U like me and it’s too heavy to lift? (My hubby lifts mine!) I laugh every time one of your videos does that! So cute! 👩🏻🍳
Sam
Hi Sonia! I’m so glad you enjoy everything so much! It’s not that it’s too heavy, I just like to make my recipes approachable and sometimes if you use different equipment it can turn people away from a recipe. The running joke on my YouTube channel is that I never use it so it’s sad and lonely back there. 🙂
Cece
Baking these today. I found that two TBSP of zest was either two large lemons, or four small ones. Also half a tsp of salt was 2 grams for me.
Question- have you ever tried freezing them? If not, which day do they taste the best when storing in an air tight container?
Sam
Hi Cece! I hope you love them! I have not personally frozen them, but others have with success. Of course, fresh is always best, but they should be good in an air tight container for about 5 days. 🙂
Ivy
I love how she is super sweet. I made these and they were so good.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you liked them, Ivy! 🥰
Christa Willits
Can I make the dough and freeze it?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Christa! You sure can. Just follow the instructions in our how to freeze cookie dough post 😊
Rachel
These were so tender and yummy! I love your classic lemon cookies and make them every summer, but the meltaways were fun to try for the first time. One question – are they supposed to snap/crumble/have a “bite” to them like a more traditional shortbread? Mine were more on the soft side and they were delicious, but just wondering if I got it exactly right (should they have baked longer?)
Sam
Hi Rachel! These are a soft more melt in your mouth kind of cookie. It sounds like they were perfect. I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much! 🙂
Sherri Huff
These cookies are delicious! So easy to make and are yummmmmmmmmy!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sherri! 🙂
Allie
Easy and delicious! I didn’t have any more lemon zest to sprinkle on top so I sprinkled granulated sugar on each and they are so cute!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Allie! 🙂
Ann
Thank you so much! I had to make cookies that were chocolate and egg allergy friendly and this cookie worked so well. I thinned the icing with a bit of milk and no one could tell what was missing.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them so much, Ann! 🙂
Debra Fish
Made this recipe for Christmas and the cookies has robust flavors. very delicious and easy to make.
Sam
Thank you so much for trying my recipe and letting me know how it turned out for you, Debra, I really appreciate it!
Christine
love this receipe! 😋 so good!!! However, the cookies seem to spread too much, any suggestions?
Sam
I’m so sorry to hear that, Christine! The most likely culprits on this are the butter being too softened or there may have needed just a bit more flour. 🙁
Sam
My cookies spread. This keeps happening to other cookies as well, such as the chocolate chip snowball cookie. Am I letting my butter get too warm?
Love all your recipes despite my flaws. They are still very tasty. 🙂
Sam
Hi Sam! It’s possible the butter may be getting too warm. Are you making any other substitutions? Are you weighing your flour?
Ana
I noticed in your video you mentioned European butter. Is that what you used here? Is kerrygold an example of that? Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Ana! Yes, we do prefer a European butter (like Kerrygold!) in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Dayla
I applaud you for putting the ingredients in the directions!! I’ve been saying this is what is needed for years, I hate scrolling back up to the recipe with ingredients on my fingers haha👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Kim
I agree! It’s a wonderful addition and much appreciated.
Fran
I’m celiac and would love to try these with all-purpose gluten free flour. Do you know if this would be an issue?
Sam
Hi Fran! I have not tried it so I can’t say for sure how it would turn out. Please let me know how it goes if you do try it. 🙂
Crystal Tidwell
could you use oranges instead of lemons and do the recipe the same way?
Sam
I think it’s worth a try, but it’s worth noting that oranges are sweeter than lemons and I typically find you need more juice/zest from the orange than you would from the lemon in order to get the same flavor to shine through. Also, orange zest is much wetter than lemon so sometimes it can negatively affect the texture of the cookie. I do have an orange cookie that’s similar coming next week, if that is helpful!
Donna
Would lime kind of be like the orange in this recipe?
Sam
I think you could substitute lime for the lemon.