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–+ servings
A plate of flower-shaped lemon thyme shortbread cookies with white icing, garnished with small green herbs and purple flowers.

Lemon Thyme Shortbread Cookies

Yield: 24 cookies
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 24 minutes
Total Time: 44 minutes
These lemon thyme shortbread cookies are buttery, zesty, and kissed with fresh thyme. They’re finished with a sweet lemon glaze and a sprinkle of thyme leaves that make them almost too pretty to eat—almost. I love making these when I want something simple, a little fancy, and totally delicious.

Ingredients

Lemon Glaze

Instructions 

  • Position a baking rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, thyme, and salt.
    3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon salt
    Image for recipe instruction: A metal whisk rests in a glass bowl filled with flour and a few thyme leaves, ready for making Lemon Thyme Shortbread, on a white surface.
  • In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and lemon juice using electric beaters until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
    1 cup butter, ¾ cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    Image for recipe instruction: A stand mixer is beating a yellow mixture for Lemon Thyme Cookies in a glass bowl on a white countertop.
  • Add the dry ingredients and mix until the dough looks crumbly, about 2 minutes.
    Image for recipe instruction: A glass bowl contains crumbly yellow Lemon Thyme shortbread dough with green herbs being mixed by an electric hand mixer on a white surface.
  • Use your hands to bring the dough together. It is quite dry so it won't come together into a nice ball, but squish it together as best as you can.
    Image for recipe instruction: A clear glass bowl containing a mound of pale yellow dough with flecks of thyme, perfect for making lemon thyme shortbread cookies, placed on a white surface.
  • Put the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and use your hands to press it together and flatten it. Roll out the dough so that it is ½ inch thick then use a cookie cutter (I like using a 2-inch round shape) to cut out the cookies. Re-roll the leftover dough and cut cookies until there is no more dough left. Place the cookies on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between each one.
    Image for recipe instruction: Rolled-out dough for Lemon Thyme Cookies with chopped herbs is being cut into flower shapes using a cookie cutter; a rolling pin and jar of flour rest nearby on parchment paper.
  • Place the cookies on cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches of space between each one.
    Image for recipe instruction: A metal baking sheet with twelve uncooked, flower-shaped Lemon Thyme Shortbread cookie dough pieces spaced evenly apart, ready to be baked.
  • Bake your cookies for 12-14 minutes, until the are very light golden brown on their bottoms. Let them cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a cooling rack.
    Image for recipe instruction: Six flower-shaped Lemon Thyme Cookies with green herb pieces are cooling on a black wire rack set on a light-colored surface.
  • In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the cookies or dip the tops of the cookies into it. Decorate the tops with fresh thyme leaves and flowers.
    ½ cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, Thyme leaves and flowers
    Image for recipe instruction: A Lemon Thyme Cookie with a grid pattern of white icing and decorated with thyme leaves leaves is placed next to a white bowl of icing on a light marble surface.