Easy Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookies (Only 4 Ingredients!)

If you want an easy cookie recipe including the sunshiny flavor of lemon, these Meyer lemon shortbread cookies are for you!  I love making lemon custard and lemon tarts, but sometimes I want a simple recipe with only a handful of ingredients.  This lemon shortbread recipe has four ingredients, and the bright lemon flavor is a perfect complement to the flaky, buttery shortbread.

This post may contain affiliate links.  Please read my disclosure for more info.

Meyer Lemon Shortbread

Guys, these meyer lemon shortbread cookies are the bomb.

And they are so easy to make.

They’re the perfect combination of classic buttery shortbread cookies crossed with lemon cookies.

These delicious cookies take only five minutes of prep time, and are an easy recipe if this is your first time making shortbread.

More delicious recipes: 

• Mini peach scones with vanilla glaze (vegan)
• 3 minute healthy single serving banana bread (gluten-free)

Meyer Lemon Shortbread Cookie Ingredients

To make the lemon shortbread cookie dough, you only need four ingredients:

• meyer lemons (you can sub regular lemons)
• granulated sugar (cane sugar, white sugar, coconut sugar, monk fruit, erythritol, etc.)
• all purpose flour
• butter

I usually use organic cane sugar and sometimes coconut sugar but I ran out of both and had a perfectly ripe Meyer lemon calling to me to use it that morning.  I had a small bag of plain white sugar which did the job, but use any granular sugar you like.

Meyer Lemons Vs Lemons

My daughter and I live in a walkable neighborhood, in a city that is very much made for cars. 

The city is spread out onto the flat prairie landscape.  If you don’t have the privilege of having a car to get around, your commute by public transit (there are only buses) can be long with multiple transfers. 

That’s why I feel extra grateful for our neighborhood – it really is an anomaly here.

Within a couple of blocks, we have restaurants, cafes, a theater, a library, and a grocery store.  It is a full grocery store, not a corner store, but it’s small since it’s set right into a residential neighborhood. 

They have all the basics that we need and I’m there often, now with my little helper.  A couple times a month we drive to a bigger store to stock up on other essentials for the house.

On my last trip to the store I was browsing the produce and I came across a bag of fresh Meyer lemons. 

My tiny store only usually carries the regular pale yellow, very tart lemons. 

Those are good too but Meyer lemons, people, are on a whole other level! 

If you have never tried a Meyer lemon before, they are sweeter and darker than a regular lemon.  The color of egg yolks and tastes somewhere between a lemon and a mandarin orange – they are delicious.

If you don’t have tangy Meyer lemons, you can absolutely use regular lemons. 

How to Zest a Lemon

Don’t skip out on the zest as it gives a lot of the lemon flavor to this recipe. 

I use this to grate the lemon zest. 

Many years ago before I started my bakery I watched The Food Network all the time.  I considered it research for my soon-to-be business. 

The bakers and chefs seemed to have the same kitchen tool – a fine microplane grater/rasp for grating lemons, oranges, fresh nutmeg, and on the savory side for grated garlic and ginger. 

I bought one and love it and use it all the time.  I like it more than a regular grater as it only grates the flavorful yellow part of the rind, and doesn’t go into the bitter white part. 

If you don’t have a rasp, you can use a grater but just don’t go down too deep into the fruit.

Other popular recipes to try: 

• The best oatmeal raisin cookies
• Gluten-free almond joy scones

Are you ready to bake?  It only takes five minutes of active prep in the kitchen, so let’s do this!

——>  Save this post for later!