Name: Easy Lemon Biscuits Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: English
Ingredients: Large Baking Tray; Silicone Baking Mat (optional); Electric Stand Mixer OR Large Mixing Bowl and Electric Hand Whisk; Spatula; Baking Paper; Rolling Pin; 5.5cm Circular Cookie Cutter; Small Baking Tray OR Plate; Cooling Rack; Small Microwavable Bowl (optional); Disposable Piping Bag (optional); 115g (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp; 60g (1/4 Cup) Golden Caster Sugar; Zest and Juice of 1 x Lemon; 170g (1 + 1/4 Cups) Plain Flour; 50g (1.8 oz) White Chocolate, To Decorate (Optional)

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If you’re looking for an easy biscuit recipe with few ingredients that’s quick to make – you’re in the right place! Made with just 4 ingredients (and NO box mix), these zingy lemon biscuits are as easy as they are delicious! Keep reading to learn how to make them…

Close up of two lemon biscuits drizzled in white chocolate.

Why you’ll love this recipe

These lemon biscuits have come in SO handy when I don’t have much in, but don’t have time to go to the shop! They really are easy to make. And the flavour is amazing!!!

And when I say they need just 4 ingredients, I mean it. No – one of those ingredients is NOT a boxed mix! I’m talking, 4 REAL ingredients. These are still from scratch cookies!

These lemon biscuits might not be quite as quick to make as air fryer cookies, but they’re not far behind. Give them a go yourself and, I promise, they’ll become a regular bake!

Not a confident baker yet?

Feel like you need to brush up on your baking skills and knowledge before attempting these lemon cookies? Check out baking for beginners to boost your confidence and bag a couple of helpful freebies too!

You might also like to try these blueberry white chocolate cookies or lemon blueberry cookies.

Lemon biscuits on a plate with some on the work surface next to it.

Ingredients

Confused about what ingredients to buy? Not sure about a substitution? Here’s everything you might need to know…

Butter – I like to use unsalted butter in baking, but salted butter would work just as well. Try not to use margarine though, as this has added water and imparts zero flavour.
Sugar – Golden caster sugar is my favourite, but regular caster sugar will work just great. You could even use a brown sugar, like demerara. But don’t substitute for a dark brown sugar, as this will affect the texture.
Flour – Use plain flour (all purpose). Don’t substitute for self raising as this will cause all kinds of chaos, and you won’t end up with biscuits.
Lemon – We need the juice and zest for these biscuits. So ideally get unwaxed lemons if you can.
White Chocolate – This is completely optional. You can leave the biscuits plain. Or, if white chocolate isn’t your thing, dark chocolate would work just as well!

Lemon biscuits with gold curling ribbon and sliced lemons beside them.

Emma’s top tips

Here are tips you’ll find helpful when making these lemon biscuits.

The butter really needs to be at room temperature before you begin, or it won’t blend well with the other ingredients. Forgot or don’t have time? Here’s how to soften butter quickly.
Need something more ‘on tap‘? You can freeze the unbaked cookies, then bake them from frozen by adding on a few more minutes to the cooking time.
These biscuits don’t spread too much when baked, but do make sure to leave a little room between just in case.
Don’t skip chilling the cut out biscuits! It really helps them bake well and hold their shape.

Timings

Have limited time? Struggle with recipe timings? Or juggling around other things? Here’s some time managing info to make your life easier!

Making the biscuit dough will take about 10 minutes.
Rolling and cutting your biscuits should only take 5 minutes.
Allow 10 minutes for the biscuits to chill in the freezer.
Baking will take 10-12 minutes per batch.
Allow at least 30 minutes for your biscuits to fully cool.
If you choose to drizzle with white chocolate, this will only take about 5 minutes plus time to set.

Lemon biscuits on a white plate, with gold curling ribbon around the side, and other biscuits scattered around it.

4 Ingredient Lemon Cookies – Step by Step Picture Recipe

(For a printer friendly version, see the recipe card at the end of this post)

Please note, this recipe includes both UK metric and US Cup measurements.

Here is what you will need to make 20-22 cookies.

Ingredients

115g (1/2 Cup) Unsalted Butter, Room Temp
60g (1/4 Cup) Golden Caster Sugar
Zest and Juice of 1 x Lemon
170g (1 + 1/4 Cups) Plain Flour
50g (1.8 oz) White Chocolate, To Decorate (Optional)

Essential equipment

Large Baking Tray
Silicone Baking Mat (optional)
Electric Stand Mixer OR Large Mixing Bowl and Electric Hand Whisk
Spatula
Baking Paper
Rolling Pin
5.5cm Circular Cookie Cutter
Small Baking Tray OR Plate
Cooling Rack
Small Microwavable Bowl (optional)
Disposable Piping Bag (optional)

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 180°C/170°C Fan/356ºF and line a large baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or baking paper.

Then, in either an electric stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric hand whisk, cream together the butter (115g | 1/2 Cup) and sugar (60g | 1/4 Cup) until light and fluffy. At least 3 minutes.

Creamed butter and sugar in an electric stand mixer.

Then add in the zest of 1 lemon and 1 tbsp of lemon juice and mix again briefly.

Creamed butter and sugar with lemon zest and juice, in the bowl of an electric stand mixer.

Next, add the flour (170g | 1 + 1/4 Cups) into the bowl and, using a spatula, beat until it comes together to form a dough.

Lemon biscuit dough in a large mixing bowl with a spatula.

Tip the dough out onto your work surface and bring together to form a ball. Then between two sheets of baking paper (I find this way far easier and less messy) and roll out to 6mm/1/4″ thick.

Using your cutter, cut out as many circles as you can. Re-roll any leftovers to the same thickness and cut out more circles. Repeat until there is no more dough left.

Lemon biscuit dough rolled out between two sheets of baking paper. A round cutter has cut out several biscuits from it.

Transfer the cut cookies to a baking sheet lined with baking paper and pop them into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill. (This will help them hold their shape better in the oven.)

Cut out lemon biscuits on a lined baking tray ready to be chilled.

Place as many cookies as you can onto your prepared baking sheet without overcrowding and allowing for spreading between each one.

Unbaked lemon biscuits spaced out on a lined baking tray.

Bake in the oven for 10-12 minutes until the edges are just golden.

Baked lemon biscuits on a lined baking tray.

Allow to sit on the tray for a couple of minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat until all the cookies are baked.

Decoration instructions (optional)

The cookies will taste amazing as they are, but if you want to go the extra mile and decorate them, here’s how.

Break the white chocolate (50g | 1.8 oz) into a small bowl and melt in the microwave on half power in 10 second intervals. Stir well between each time until it’s melted and smooth.

Pour the melted chocolate into a disposable piping bag and snip the end. Pipe zig zags across all the cookies.

Melted white chocolate being drizzle over baked lemon biscuits on a wire rack set over a sheet of newspaper.

Allow them to set at room temperature.

Lemon biscuits on a plate with a cookie cutter next to it.

How to store lemon biscuits

Store these beautiful lemon biscuits in an airtight container at room temperature and consume within 5-7 days. I prefer to use a metal container as they tend to keep their crunch for longer. (Sugar sweats in plastic, so storing them in a plastic tub can quickly make them soft.)

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Close up of two lemon cookies drizzled in white chocolate. There is gold curling ribbon to the side of them. A text overlay says "Easy Peasy Lemon Biscuits".