These lemon lavender cookie bars are made from a buttery and deliciously chewy shortbread-esque cookie flavored with lavender and lemon. The bars are topped with a light and bright fresh lemon glaze for even more lemon flavor.
These lemon lavender cookies are the perfect sweet treat for all your warm weather outings and gatherings. They're simple to make, full of flavor and are sure to bring a smile to your face.
In a few words, these lemon cookie bars are best described as
- Buttery
- Tart
- Sweet
- Hint of floral lavender
- Lots of bright lemon
- Chewy
- Like little bites of sunshine
- Perfect for warmer weather
For more sweet and tart recipes, try my Lavender Cookies, Lemon Loaf, Lemon Cake Mix Cookies, Key Lime Cookies or Lemonade Bundt Cake Recipe.
The short and sweet ingredients list
- Culinary grade lavender buds
- Granulated sugar
- Lemons
- Vanilla extract
- Lemon extract
- Salt
- Unsalted butter
- Egg
- All purpose flour
- Almond flour
- Powdered sugar
From these ingredients you will make the lemon lavender cookie bars and fresh lemon glaze.
Baking pans and baking tools
- Food processor
- this is to make the lavender sugar
- Zester
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
- 8X8 metal pan
- Parchment paper
- Icing spatula
- this makes spreading the glaze so easy
Recipe notes and ingredient substituions
- Almond flour: use 1/4 c + 1 tbsp all purpose flour (38g)
- the almond flour brings a nice chewy texture to the cookies
- Egg yolk: this is for chewiness
- omit, but know the cookie will be less chewy
- similar to a true shortbread cookie
- Butter: to make this dairy free or vegan
- use 1:1 vegan butter
- omit the egg yolk
- Lemon and vanilla extracts: these are both flavor enhancers
- omit if needed
- Make sure all cold ingredients are room temperature
- Don't over mix the cookie dough
- mix until just combined
- incorporate any stray pieces of dough with your hands
- Line the pan with parchment paper (click here to see how)
- Press the dough into the sides + corners of the pan first
- Allow 60-90 minutes for the glaze to fully set
Step by step instructions
- 1: Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). line an 8x8 (20 cm) pan with parchment paper.
- 2: Make the lavender sugar by grinding the lavedner buds and sugar together in a food processor.
- 3: Mix the lavender sugar with the lemon zest, vanilla extract, lemon extract and salt until the mixture looks like wet sand.
- 4: Cream the sugar together with the butter until well combined.
- 5: Mix in the egg yolk until well combined.
- 6: Mix in the all purpose flour and almond flour until just combined.
- 7: Press the lemon lavender cookie dough into the prepared pan. Start at the edges, working towards the center. Make sure the dough is evenly distributed across the pan.
- 8: Bake at 350 F for 25 - 30 minutes. Cool the cookies in the pan for 30 minutes.
- 9: Make the fresh lemon glaze by whisking the powdered sugar together with lemon juice until smooth and well combined.
- 10: Remove the whole cookie from the pan using the parchment paper. cut the cookies to your preferred shape and size. place the cut cookies back into the pan.
- 11: Spread the lemon glaze over the still warm cookies.
- 12: Allow the glaze to fully set, cut along the precut lines and enjoy!
Storing the lemon cookie bars
Once the lemon glaze has fully set, the lemon lavender cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for several days. The cookie bars will stay soft and chewy for up to 3-4 days.
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lemon lavender cookie bars
these lemon lavender cookie bars are made from a buttery, chewy lemon and lavender shortbread cookie that's topped with a bright lemon glaze. they're sweet, tart and full of lemon flavor with just a hint of floral lavender.
Equipment
- food processor
- stand mixer with paddle attachment
- parchment paper
Ingredients
lemon lavender cookie bars
- 1 c (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ tsp (1 g) culinary grade lavender buds
- zest of two medium lemons
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 c (226 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
- 1 ¾ c (210 g) all purpose flour
- 1/3 c (35 g) almond flour
fresh lemon glaze
- 1 c (125 g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 tbsp (30-45 ml) lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 8X8 (20 cm) baking pan along the bottom and two sides with parchment paper. Leave 1-2 inches of overhang. This will help in removing the bars after baking. Set aside.
- Place the sugar and lavender buds into the food processor. Process for 30 seconds. Pour the lavender sugar into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Zest the lemons into the lavender sugar. Pour in the vanilla and lemon extracts. With the mixer on low, grind the sugar, zest and extracts together until well combined and the texture of wet sand.
- Add butter to the sugar mixture and cream together on medium speed for 3 minutes. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer on low, mix in the egg yolk until smooth and well combined.
- Add the all purpose flour and almond flour to the wet. Mix on the lowest setting until JUST combined. While the dough is still in the bowl, use your hands to incorporate any stray pieces that didn't get worked into the dough.Starting at the edges, working in to the center, evenly press the dough into the prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 F (177 C) oven for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set and golden brown. The center will look like a light golden brown. Remove the baked cookies from the oven to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for about 30 minutes.
- While the cookie bars are cooling, make the lemon glaze: Whisk the lemon juice with the powdered sugar. Add more sugar if desired to make a thicker glaze. Keep it thinner for drizzling on top of the cookies.
- Using the overhang parchment, carefully lift the cookies out of the pan. Cut the cookie into your preferred size and shape. Gently push the cookies back into roughly the same place. Using the overhang parchment paper, place the whole (cut) cookie base back into the pan. Pour the glaze over the top. Carefully and gently smooth the glaze across the top. Allow the glaze to fully set, about 60-90 minutes. Using the slings, remove the cookie bars from the pan. Cut along the precut edges and enjoy!
Notes
almond flour: the weight of 1/3 c can range depending on the brand you use. the easiest way to figure out the weight for the brand of almond flour you have it to look on the back. most have the weight for 1/4 c. multiply this number by 4. now divide the total by 3. this will tell you the weight of the flour you are using.
almond flour substitution: use 1/4 c + 1 tbsp all purpose flour (38g) in place of the almond flour. the almond flour gives the cookies a nice chewiness, so keep it if you can.
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These are great! For more lavender flavour, I left some lavender buds to soak in the lemon juice used for the glaze 🙂
Hi Marisa, that is a brilliant idea!
I have made these fabulous cookie bars now at least 5 times in the last 2 months; for family, friends and colleagues. Everyone loves them! I made them exactly as the recipe reads and used a scale to measure the dry ingredients, something I now totally understand makes a big difference. One question: I would love to make these gluten-free for a friend. Are there adaptations I should make when using gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour? Thank you so much for a no doubt about it keeper of a recipe!
Hi Julie,
I'm so happy to read how much you love these cookie bars. They're a favorite of mine as well. I would use a 1-1 GF flour subsitute. I usually recommend the one from Bob's Red Mill. I would go based off the weight of the flour versus the amount in cups. If you give this a try, please let me know how it turns out for you!
Yummy! Came out perfectly according to recipe!
Hi Alysa, I am so happy the lemon lavender cookie bars turned out perfectly!