shortbread cookies with lemon drizzle

Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shortbread with Lemon Drizzle

Zoey McKinney
Delight in Brown Butter Brown Sugar Shortbread - golden, buttery perfection with optional lemony icing. An easy, satisfying treat!
Adapted from https://smittenkitchen.com/2023/12/brown-butter-brown-sugar-shortbread/
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Dough chilling 1 hour
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 30 cookies

Equipment

  • 1 electric mixer with paddle attachment
  • 8-inch square cake pan or circular, if you don't have a square pan

Ingredients
  

Shortbread

  • 1 cup 225 grams or 8 ounces unsalted butter, cut into chunks
  • 1 1/2 tbsp water
  • 2 cups plus 3 tablespoons 290 grams all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup 145 grams packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

Icing (optional, but recommended)

  • 1/2 cup 60 grams powdered sugar
  • 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions
 

  • Brown the butter in a medium saucepan. Pour butter and all the toasty flecks into a medium bowl when done and move to the freezer
  • After 30 minutes, stir the butter, scraping down the sides, and mixx the melted parts over the solidified chunks. Return to the freezer for another 30 minutes
  • Cut the frozen butter into chunks
  • Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line an 8-inch square cake pan with parchment paper that extends up two sides
  • Make the shortbread dough one of two ways:
  • In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat browned butter chunks, brown sugar, and salt together, scraping frequently, until evenly mixed
  • Add vanilla, water, and flour, and mix just until combined, scraping down the bowl again
  • Transfer shortbread dough to prepared baking pan and use your fingers to press it into an even, flat layer, then use an rubber spatula to smooth the top
  • Bake the shortbread: For 30 minutes — it will not be fully baked yet — and remove from the oven just long enough to shape the shortbread
  • Use the back of a paring knife to make light line indentations barely 1/4-inch into the shortbread, about 1 inch apart. Then, at about a 45-degree angle from the first lines, make remaining indentations 1.5 inches apart
  • Use a very thin, sharp paring knife to cut along these lines to the bottom of the pan. Use the back of a wooden skewer to dock the shortbread about 1/3 of the way into the cookie
  • Return the shortbread to the oven for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until more deeply golden at the edges. Let cool in the pan. Once cooled completely, separate the shortbread where they were cut. If needed, use your paring knife again to make clean separations
  • Space shortbread evenly out on a rack and place over a tray to catch drips
  • Place powdered sugar in a small bowl and add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, mixing to combine
  • Transfer icing to a sandwich bag and snip a tiny bit of the corner off and drizzle the icing over the shortbread. Let set for one hour at room temperature